APOC: An Architecture Framework for Complex Agents

Abstract

In this chapter, we introduce an architecture framework called APOC (Activating-Processing-Observing-Components) for the analysis, evaluation, and design of complex agents. APOC provides a unified framework for the specification of agent architectures at different levels of abstraction. As such, it permits intermediary levels of architectural specification between high-level functional descriptions and low-level mechanistic descriptions that can be used to connect these two levels in a systematic way.