Multi-Agent System for IIoT

agentMET4FOF is an implementation of a multi-agent system for agent-based analysis and processing of both static data sets and data streams with IIoT applications in mind. More on the motivation that drives the project can be found in the section About.

Table of content

• 💫 Quickstart
• 💬 About
• 📈 The agentMET4FOF dashboard
• 📖 Documentation and video tutorials
• 💻 Installation
• 💨 Coming soon
• 💎 Acknowledgement
• ⚠ Disclaimer
• ©️ License

💫Quickstart

agentMET4FOF comes bundled with some tutorials to get you started as quick as possible. In your Python console execute the following to run the first tutorial.

>>> from agentMET4FOF_tutorials.tutorial_1_generator_agent import demonstrate_generator_agent_use
>>> generator_agent_network = demonstrate_generator_agent_use()

Starting NameServer...
Broadcast server running on 0.0.0.0:9091
NS running on 127.0.0.1:3333 (127.0.0.1)
URI = PYRO:Pyro.NameServer@127.0.0.1:3333

--------------------------------------------------------------
|                                                            |
| Your agent network is starting up. Open your browser and   |
| visit the agentMET4FOF dashboard on http://127.0.0.1:8050/ |
|                                                            |
--------------------------------------------------------------

INFO [2021-02-05 18:12:52.277759] (SineGeneratorAgent_1): INITIALIZED
INFO [2021-02-05 18:12:52.302862] (MonitorAgent_1): INITIALIZED
[2021-02-05 18:12:52.324078] (SineGeneratorAgent_1): Connected output module: MonitorAgent_1
SET STATE:   Running
[...]

>>> generator_agent_network.shutdown()
0
NS shut down.

💬About

Sensor deployments in industrial applications usually form networks in all sorts of environments. This requires a flexible framework for the implementation of the corresponding data analysis. An excellent way to represent such networks is a multi-agent system (MAS), where independent software modules (agents) encapsulate properties and functionalities. agentMET4FOF is an interactive and flexible open-source implementation of such a MAS. The software engineering process is driven by several industry-oriented use cases with the aim of impacting on IIoT applications. This leads to a framework that is specialized in representing heterogeneous sensor networks.

A special emphasize is put on supporting metrological treatment of sensor streaming data. This includes the consideration of measurement uncertainties during data analysis and processing as well as propagating metadata alongside the data itself.

One of the many questions that drive us in the project is:

How can metrological input be incorporated into an agent-based system for addressing uncertainty of machine learning in future manufacturing?

📈The agentMET4FOF dashboard

agentMET4FOF comes bundled with our so called dashboard. It is an optional component of every agent network and provides a web browser based view. You can observe the state of your agents, modify the connections between them and even add more pre-made agents to your network all during run-time. The address to your dashboard is printed to the console on every launch of an agent network.

The following image is close to what you will find in your browser on execution of tutorial 2. For details on the tutorials visit our video tutorial series.

📖Documentation and video tutorials

Extended documentation can be found on ReadTheDocs.

Video tutorial series

Additionally, we provide some video tutorials based on agentMET4FOF 0.4.1 on the project homepage in the section Tutorials for the multi-agent system agentMET4FOF. You can self-register on the linked page and get started immediately. The video series begins with our motivation for creating agentMET4FOF, guide you through the installation of Python and other recommended software until you execute the tutorials on your machine.

Live online tutorial during early development

In an early development stage we held a live online tutorial based on agentMET4FOF 0.1.0 which you can download.

If questions arise, or you feel something is missing, reach out to us.

💻Installation

The installation of agentMET4FOF is as straightforward as the Python ecosystem suggests. In the video tutorials series we guide you through every step until you have agentMET4FOF running on your machine. Besides that we have more details in the installation section of the docs.

💨Coming soon

• Dockerize agentMET4FOF
• Improve handling of metadata
• Further improve plotting

For a comprehensive overview of current development activities and upcoming tasks, take a look at the project board, issues and pull requests.

💎Acknowledgement

This work was part of the Joint Research Project Metrology for the Factory of the Future (Met4FoF), project number 17IND12 of the European Metrology Programme for Innovation and Research (EMPIR). The EMPIR is jointly funded by the EMPIR participating countries within EURAMET and the European Union.

⚠Disclaimer

This software is developed as a joint effort of several project partners namely:

• Institute for Manufacturing of the University of Cambridge (IfM)
• Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB)
• Van Swinden Laboratory (VSL)

under the lead of IfM. The software is made available "as is" free of cost. The authors and their institutions assume no responsibility whatsoever for its use by other parties, and makes no guarantees, expressed or implied, about its quality, reliability, safety, suitability or any other characteristic. In no event will the authors be liable for any direct, indirect or consequential damage arising in connection with the use of this software.

©️License

agentMET4FOF is distributed under the LGPLv3 license.