A State of Art Review on Various Aspects of Multi-Agent System

Abstract

The world is witnessing a sudden shift in the paradigm of technology moving from centralized to decentralized approach. Centralized approach leads to single point of failure if any fault occurs and hence a whole system comes to rest. Hence, a decentralized approach like Multi-Agent System is trending now-a-days. A MAS is a collection of a number software entities (agents) working together in pursuit of specified tasks. This paper presents a comprehensive review on various aspects of multi-agent system. The paper explains the basic concepts of MAS with various ways it has been defined in literature. A comparison has been made on the standards to be followed for applying MAS. Classification of MAS architecture has been investigated and compared. Application of MAS in various areas of optimization technique, software platform and real-time simulation are listed in the paper. The paper draws attentions toward benefits and limitations of using MAS based on the survey done. Finally, after visualizing the wide scope of research in the field of MAS, an attempt has been made to identify future research avenues.