Modelling and Analysis of Collective Adaptive Systems with CARMA and its Tools

Abstract

Abstract. Collective Adaptive Systems (CAS) are heterogeneous collections of autonomous task-oriented systems that cooperate on common goals forming a collective system. This class of systems is typically composed of a huge number of interacting agents that dynamically adjust and combine their behaviour to achieve specific goals. This chapter presents CARMA, a language recently defined to support specification and analysis of collective adaptive systems, and its tools developed for supporting system design and analysis. CARMA is equipped with linguistic constructs specifically developed for modelling and programming systems that can operate in open-ended and unpredictable environments. The chapter also presents the CARMA Eclipse plug-in that allows CARMA models to be specified by means of an appropriate high-level language. Finally, we show how CARMA and its tools can be used to support specification with a simple but illustrative example of a socio-technical collective adaptive system.

Rigorous Graphical Modelling of Movement in Collective Adaptive Systems

“…We choose to use a process algebra-style language in which entities are represented as components and communication is attribute-based, meaning that communication partners are selected according to their characteristics rather than their identity or location [2]. The language concerned is CARMA (Collective Adaptive Resource-sharing Markovian Agents), a high-level language designed specifically for modelling CAS [1].…”

“…CARMA is a formal modelling language designed for the purpose of representing CAS [1]. It provides a syntax for defining components, environments and systems as well as a number of tools for the exploration of the model, such as static analysis and simulation.…”

MELA: Modelling in Ecology with Location Attributes

“…Process algebras were introduced in concurrency theory, to model systems where processes may interact with each other and several actions may be executed simultaneously. In recent years there has been considerable interest in applying these formal languages and their benefits in fields other than computer science; particular examples include biology [7], public transportation systems [9] and collective adaptive systems [15]. Defining a process algebra for application in ecology is worthwhile for many different reasons.…”

Design and Optimisation of the FlyFast Front-end for Attribute-based Coordination

“…In fact, predicate-based communication can be used by components to dynamically organise themselves into ensembles and as a means to dynamically select partners for interaction. Furthermore, it provides a way for representing component features, like for instance component location in space, which are fundamental for systems distributed in space, such as CAS [30].In [9] we proposed a front-end modelling language for FlyFast that provides constructs for dealing with components and predicate-based interaction; in the sequel, the language-which has been inspired by CARMA-will be referred to as PiFF, which stands for for Predicate-based Interaction for FlyFast. Components interact via predicate-based communication.…”

“…In fact, predicate-based communication can be used by components to dynamically organise themselves into ensembles and as a means to dynamically select partners for interaction. Furthermore, it provides a way for representing component features, like for instance component location in space, which are fundamental for systems distributed in space, such as CAS [30].…”