Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Abstract

The paper presents a methodological framework, ABVE-Frame, for the development of virtual enterprises based on intelligent agents that are implemented as a simulation. The proposed framework combines an agent-based approach with an ontological approach and is flexible enough to be adapted for a specific domain of application. The VE lifecycle phases (creation, operation and evolution, dissolution) are mapped on the agent-based VE development lifecycle and are described as a set of algorithms. A formal description of the agent-based VE model (ABVE-Model) is proposed and a case study of applying the framework to the IT domain for computer networks development is discussed.

Keywords

Virtual enterprise intelligent agents ontology VE lifecycle development framework

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

A.T.M.

Aerts,

N.B.

Szirbik and

J.B.M.

Goossenaerts, A flexible, agent-based ict architecture for virtual enterprises, Computers in Industry 49(3) (2002), 311–327. doi:10.1016/S0166-3615(02)00096-9.

Afsarmanesh and

Ermilova, The management of ontologies in the vo breeding environments domain, International Journal of Services and Operations Management 6(3) (2010), 257–292. doi:10.1504/IJSOM.2010.031954.

Andres,

Macedo,

L.M.

Camarinha-Matos and

Poler, Achieving coherence between strategies and value systems in collaborative networks, in: Collaborative Systems for Smart Networked Environments, IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology, Vol. 434, Springer, 2014, pp. 261–272.

M.B.

Ayhan,

M.E.

Aydin and

Oztemel, A multi-agent based approach for change management in manufacturing enterprises, Journal of Intelligent Manufacturing 26 (2015), 975–988. doi:10.1007/s10845-013-0794-2.

Bergenti,

M.P.

Gleizes and

Zambonelli, Methodologies and Software Engineering for Agent Systems – The Agent-Oriented Software Engineering Handbook, Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2004.

Bilal,

Daclin and

Chapurlat, Collaborative networked organizations as system of systems: A model-based engineering approach, in: Proc. of PRO-VE 2014, 2014, pp. 227–236.

Cabrera and

Cubillos, Multi-agent framework for a virtual enterprise of demand-responsive transportation, in: Proc. of Canadian AI 2008, LNAI, Vol. 5032, Springer, 2008, pp. 66–71.

L.M.

Camarinha-Matos and

Afsarmanesh (eds), Infrastructures for Virtual Enterprises – Networking Industrial Enterprises, Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1999.

L.M.

Camarinha-Matos and

Afsarmanesh, Virtual enterprise modeling and support infrastructures: Applying multi-agent system approaches, in: Multi-Agent Systems and Applications, LNAI, Vol. 2086. Springer-Verlag, 2001, pp. 335–364. doi:10.1007/3-540-47745-4_16.

10.

L.M.

Camarinha-Matos and

Afsarmanesh, A comprehensive modeling framework for collaborative networked organizations, Journal of Intelligent Manufacturing 18 (2007), 529–542. doi:10.1007/s10845-007-0063-3.

11.

L.M.

Camarinha-Matos,

Afsarmanesh,

Garita and

Lima, Towards an architecture for virtual enterprises, Journal of Intelligent Manufacturing 9(2) (1998), 189–199. doi:10.1023/A:1008880215595.

12.

L.M.

Camarinha-Matos,

Afsarmanesh and

Ollus (eds), Virtual Organizations: Systems and Practices, Springer-Verlag, 2005.

13.

L.M.

Camarinha-Matos,

Afsarmanesh and

Ollus, Ecolead and cno base concepts, in: Methods and Tools for Collaborative Networked Organizations,

L.M.

Camarinha-Matos,

Afsarmanesh and

Ollus, eds, Springer, 2008, pp. 3–32. doi:10.1007/978-0-387-79424-2_1.

14.

L.M.

Camarinha-Matos,

Afsarmanesh and

Ollus (eds), Methods and Tools for Collaborative Networked Organizations, Springer, 2008.

15.

H.L.

Cardoso and

Oliveira, Virtual enterprise normative framework within electronic institutions, in: Engineering Societies in the Agents World, LNAI, Vol. 3451, Springer-Verlag, 2005, pp. 14–32. doi:10.1007/11423355_2.

16.

H.L.

Cardoso,

Urbano,

A.P.

Rocha,

A.J.M.

Castro and

Oliveira, Ante: Agreement negotiation in normative and trust-enabled environments, in: Agreement Technologies, Law, Governance and Technology Series, Vol. 8, Springer, 2013, pp. 549–564. doi:10.1007/978-94-007-5583-3_32.

17.

Chalmeta and

Grangel, Ardin extension for virtual enterprise integration, The Journal of Systems and Software 67(3) (2003), 141–152. doi:10.1016/S0164-1212(02)00125-5.

18.

Chhun,

Moalla and

Ouzrout, Qos ontology for service selection and reuse, Journal of Intelligent Manufacturing 27 (2016), 187–199. doi:10.1007/s10845-013-0855-6.

19.

Danila,

Stanescu,

Jardim-Goncalves,

Agostinho,

A.M.

Florea and

Serbanescu, Sustainable interoperability of sensing enterprise, in: Proceedings of the IFAC Conference on Manufacturing Modeling, Management and Control, 2013, pp. 1304–1309.

20.

Davoli,

S.A.

Gallo and

Melloni, Virtes (virtual enterprise simulator): A proposed methodology for enterprise simulation modeling, in: Proc. of APMS,

Vallespir and

Alix, eds, IFIP AICT, Vol. 338, 2010, pp. 374–380.

21.

de Jonge and

Sierra,

n b^{3}

: A multilateral negotiation algorithm for large, non-linear agreement spaces with limited time, Autonomous Agents and Multi-Agent Systems 29 (2015), 896–942. doi:10.1007/s10458-014-9271-3.

22.

Diamantini,

Knoke and

Missikoff, Monitoring innovation in virtual enterprises: An agile semantic approach, in: Proceedings of INVIT 2012, 2012, pp. 51–58.

23.

C.B.

Excelente-Toledo and

N.R.

Jennings, The dynamic selection of coordination mechanisms, Autonomous Agents and Multi-Agent Systems 9 (2004), 55–85. doi:10.1023/B:AGNT.0000019689.48746.3e.

24.

Faratin,

Sierra and

Jennings, Negotiation decision functions for autonomous agents, Robotics and Autonomous Systems 24 (1998), 159–182. doi:10.1016/S0921-8890(98)00029-3.

25.

Feng and

Wang, Multi-agent based virtual enterprise, in: Proceedings of International Conference on Computer Technology and Development, 2009, pp. 520–524.

26.

Fidler and

Valcuha, Modeling methodology for development of virtual organizations supporting systems, Journal of Achievements in Materials and Manufacturing Engineering 25(2) (2007), 85–90.

27.

Garita,

Afsarmanesh and

L.O.

Hertzberger, The prodnet cooperative information management for industrial virtual enterprises, Journal of Intelligent Manufacturing 12(2) (2001), 151–170. doi:10.1023/A:1011252510739.

28.

Helaakoski,

Iskanius and

Peltomaa, Agent-based architecture for virtual enterprises to support agility, in: Establishing the Foundation of Collaborative Networks, IFIP, Vol. 243, Springer, 2007, pp. 299–306. doi:10.1007/978-0-387-73798-0_31.

29.

F.S.

Hsieh and

J.B.

Lin, Context-aware workflow management for virtual enterprises based on coordination of agents, Journal of Intelligent Manufacturing 25 (2014), 393–412. doi:10.1007/s10845-012-0688-8.

30.

F.S.

Hsieh and

J.B.

Lin, A self-adaptation scheme for workflow management in multi-agent systems, Journal of Intelligent Manufacturing 27 (2016), 131–148. doi:10.1007/s10845-013-0818-y.

31.

Huang,

Gou,

Liu,

Li and

Xie, A framework for virtual enterprise control with the holonic manufacturing paradigm, Journal of Computers in Industry 49(3) (2002), 299–310. doi:10.1016/S0166-3615(02)00098-2.

32.

Jiang,

Huang,

Xu and

Wang, Ga-sa/cpm/Markov based dynamic risk-management planning for virtual enterprises, Journal of Intelligent Manufacturing 26 (2015), 899–910. doi:10.1007/s10845-014-0905-8.

33.

Kaihara and

Fujii, Game theoretic negotiation strategy for virtual enterprise with multi-agent systems, in: Network-Centric Collaboration and Supporting Fireworks,

Camarinha-Matos,

Afsarmanesh and

Ollus, eds, IFIP, Vol. 224, 2006, pp. 439–448. doi:10.1007/978-0-387-38269-2_46.

34.

Kim,

Lee,

Kang and

Ryu, Ontology-based process model for business architecture of a virtual enterprise, International Journal of Computer Integrated Manufacturing 26(7) (2013), 583–595. doi:10.1080/0951192X.2012.749529.

35.

T.Y.

Kim,

Lee,

Kim and

C.H.

Kim, A modeling framework for agile and interoperable virtual enterprises, Computers in Industry 57 (2006), 204–217. doi:10.1016/j.compind.2005.12.003.

36.

M.A.

Moisescu and

I.S.

Sacala, Towards the development of interoperable sensing systems for the future enterprise, Journal of Intelligent Manufacturing 27 (2016), 33–54. doi:10.1007/s10845-014-0900-0.

37.

Molina,

Ponce,

Ramirez and

Sanchez-Ante, Designing a s²-enterprise (smart×sensing) reference model, in: Proc. of PRO-VE 2014,

L.M.

Camarinha-Matos and

Afsarmanesh, eds, 2014, pp. 384–395.

38.

Motro and

Guo, The soave platform: A service-oriented architecture for virtual enterprises, in: Proc. of PRO-VE,

L.M.

Camarinha-Matos,

Xu and

Afsarmanesh, eds, IFIP AICT, Vol. 380, 2012, pp. 216–224.

39.

Mu,

Benaben and

Pingaud, An ontology based collaborative business service selection – contributing to automatic building of collaborative business process, in: Proc. of PRO-VE 2015,

L.M.

Camarinha-Matos et al., eds, 2015, pp. 639–651.

40.

Munch,

Buchmann,

Pfeffer,

Ortiz,

Christi,

Hladik,

Ziefler,

Lazaro,

Karagiannis and

Urbas, An innovative virtual enterprise approach to agile micro and sme-based collaboration networks, in: Proc. of PRO-VE 2013,

L.M.

Camarinha-Matos and

R.J.

Scherer, eds, 2013, pp. 121–128.

41.

Nwana,

Ndumu,

Lee and

Collis, Zeus: A tool-kit for building distributed multi-agent systems, Applied Artificial Intelligence 13(1) (1999), 129–186. doi:10.1080/088395199117513.

42.

Oprea, A case study of agent-based virtual enterprise modeling, in: Proc. of CEEMAS 2005, LNAI, Vol. 3690, 2005, pp. 632–635.

43.

Oprea, Abve-construct: An agent-based virtual enterprise model for civil engineering, Scalable Computing: Practice and Experience 15(3) (2014), 231–249.

44.

Ozaki,

M.C.

Lo,

Kinoshita and

G.H.

Tzeng, Decision-making for the best selection of suppliers by using minor anp, Journal of Intelligent Manufacturing 23 (2012), 2171–2178. doi:10.1007/s10845-011-0563-z.

45.

Panetto,

Zdravkovic,

Jardin-Goncalves,

Romero,

Cecil and

Mezgar, New perspectives for the future interoperable enterprise systems, Computers in Industry 79 (2016), 47–63. doi:10.1016/j.compind.2015.08.001.

46.

S.A.

Petersen, Virtual enterprise formation and partner selection: An analysis using case studies, International Journal of Networking and Virtual Organisations 4(2) (2007), 201–215. doi:10.1504/IJNVO.2007.013544.

47.

S.A.

Petersen,

Divitini and

Matskin, An agent-based approach to modeling virtual enterprises, Int. Journal of Production Planning & Control 12(3) (2001), 224–233. doi:10.1080/095372801300107707.

48.

Presley,

Sarkis,

Barnett and

Liles, Engineering the virtual enterprise: An architecture-driven modeling approach, The Int. Journal of Flexible Manufacturing Systems 13 (2001), 145–162. doi:10.1023/A:1011131417956.

49.

M.R.

Rasouli,

R.J.

Kusters,

Trienekens and

P.W.P.J.

Grefen, Service orientation in demand-supply chains: Towards an integrated framework, in: Proc. of PRO-VE 2014,

L.M.

Camarinha-Matos and

Afsarmanesh, eds, 2014, pp. 182–196.

50.

Romanov,

Yudakova and

Efimova, Formal grammar approach to the virtual enterprise synthesis as web-services composition by parsing algorithm, in: EOMAS 2015,

Barjis et al., eds, LNBIP, Vol. 231, 2015, pp. 114–124.

51.

Romero and

Vernadat, Enterprise information systems state of the art: Past, present and future trends, Computers in Industry 79 (2016), 3–13. doi:10.1016/j.compind.2016.03.001.

52.

B.L.

Sadigh,

Arikan,

A.M.

Ozbayoglu,

H.O.

Unver and

S.E.

Kilic, A multi-agent system model for partner selection process in virtual enterprise, Procedia Computer Science 36 (2014), 367–372. doi:10.1016/j.procs.2014.09.007.

53.

B.L.

Sadigh,

H.O.

Unver,

Nikghadaam,

Dogdu,

A.M.

Ozbayoglu and

S.E.

Kilic, An ontology-based multi-agent virtual enterprise system (omave): Part 1: Domain modeling and rule management, International Journal of Computer Integrated Manufacturing 29 (2016), 1–24. doi:10.1080/0951192X.2016.1145811.

54.

A.M.

Stanescu,

J.C.

Hennet and

C.L.

Diaconescu, A new methodology for designing e-manufacturing platforms within virtual enterprises, in: Proc. of Int. Conf. on Automation, Quality and Testing Robotics – AQTR, 2004.

55.

Tolle,

Bernus and

Vesterager, Reference models for virtual enterprises, in: Proceedings of PROVE 2002, Kluwer Academic Press, 2002, pp. 3–10.

56.

Uschold and

Gruninger, Ontologies: Principles, methods and applications, Knowledge Engineering Review 11(2) (1996), 93–136. doi:10.1017/S0269888900007797.

57.

Wang,

T.N.

Wong and

Wang, A hybrid multi-agent negotiation protocol supporting agent mobility in virtual enterprise, Information Sciences 282 (2014), 1–14. doi:10.1016/j.ins.2014.06.021.

58.

Wang,

T.N.

Wong and

Wang, Service-oriented architecture for ontologies supporting multi-agent system negotiations in virtual enterprise, Journal of Intelligent Manufacturing 23 (2012), 1331–1349. doi:10.1007/s10845-010-0469-1.

59.

Weiss, Multiagent Systems – A Modern Approach to Distributed Artificial Intelligence, MIT Press, 1999.

60.

Ye and

Y.N.

Li, Group multi-attribute decision model to partner selection in the formation of virtual enterprise under incomplete information, Expert Systems With Applications 36 (2009), 9350–9357. doi:10.1016/j.eswa.2009.01.015.

61.

Zhang,

Lesser and

Abdallah, Efficient management of multi-linked negotiation based on a formalized model, Autonomous Agents and Multi-Agent Systems 10 (2005), 165–205. doi:10.1007/s10458-004-6978-6.

62.

Zhang,

Tao,

Lali,

Hou,

Lv and

Zhang, Green partner selection in virtual enterprise based on Pareto genetic algorithms, International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology 67(9) (2013), 2109–2125. doi:10.1007/s00170-012-4634-x.

ABVE-Frame: An agent-based virtual enterprise development framework

Abstract

Keywords

Get full access to this article

References