A framework for interacting situated agents in virtual environments

This paper presents a framework supporting the definition and implementation of virtual environment inhabited by interacting situated agents defined according to the Multilayered Multi-Agent Situated System model. The framework supports the specification and execution of visually rich 3D virtual environment endowed by the presence of mobile agents acting and interacting inside it according to a multi-agent model. The paper briefly describes the related works and possible application scenarios for the framework, then it introduces the multi-agent model underlying the framework and its basic architecture. Sample applications are also described so as to show the potential of the framework in executing models comprising several hundreds of agents producing an effective visualization of the generated dynamics.