ALP-CoABS Interprogram Technology Integration

Executive Summary

Progress for February 1999

• I attended an ALP demonstration at DARPA on February 4, and spoke briefly with Todd Carrico.   I also had an initial meeting with Jim Hendler the same day to discuss the ALP-CoABS integration effort.  See Trip Report <http://www.objs.com/agility/tech-reports/9902-trip-report-ALP-CoABS-FM.html>.
• I did some background reading on Army logistics to prepare for the ALP demo,  including Moving Mountains:  Lessons in Leadership and Logistics from the Gulf War, by Lt. General William Pagonis with Jeffrey Cruikshank , and a 1993 Rand study "Army Experiences with Deployment Planning in Operation Desert Shield" by James Stucker and Iris Kameny.  I also did some additional background reading on agent technology (e.g., N. R. Jennings and M. J. Wooldridge, Agent Technology:  Foundations, Applications, and Markets, Springer, 1998).
• I downloaded a number of ALP documents, including a 1998 Plugin Developers Guide (PDG) from the (SRA) ALP Web site, and went through them (particularly the PDG) in some detail.  I compiled a list of questions on various ALP technical issues to raise in discussions with Marshall Brinn and others.
• I downloaded information about the various CoABS projects and the TIEs from the CoABS Web site, and some additional ALP-related information from various DoD logistics-related organizations, and read through that.
• I sent initial email messages to Max Mansur (ALPINE), Marshall Brinn (BBN), Steve Milligan (BBN), and Brian Kettler (ISX) introducing the CoABS / ALP activity.  I had email interactions with Max Mansur on getting access to ALP technical material, and with Marshall Brinn attempting to set up a meeting to discuss the project (Marshall was out of town a lot this month, so our intial meeting will be in March).
• I attended a meeting at Sun, February 22, with Jeff Bradshaw (Boeing), and Kate Stout and Geoff Arnold (of Sun's agent research team), which covered FIPA architecture activities and the CoABS grid.  See Trip Report <http://www.objs.com/agility/tech-reports/9902-trip-report-Sun-FM.html>.
• I revised our original list of ALP-CoABS architectural issues, adding information based on my reading of ALP and CoABS documents and identifying potential relationships with CoABS projects.  I also revised our original list of CoABS projects with corresponding information on potential relationships with ALP issues.  I merged these two lists into an initial Design Document <http://www.objs.com/agility/tech-reports/9902-COABS-ALP-design-doc-1.html> for specifying ALP-CoABS technology integration, and sent a pointer to the document to Todd Carrico and Jim Hendler.
• I received an invitation to attend a meeting in Washington on March 11 at which new CoABS participants will be briefed into the program, and plan to attend.
• I received an invitation from David Kotz (PI of Dartmouth's D'Agents project) to visit Dartmouth and give a talk (based on some material I'd posted on MIT's Mobility email list some time ago on "Why Mobility") and agreed to go (in the April - May timeframe), but also mentioned the CoABS/ALP work.

Plans for March 1999

• meet with Marshall Brinn to discuss detailed ALP issues and questions, and CoABS interaction
• interact with Brian Kettler regarding the ALP-CoABS interaction
• continue development of the Design Document;  in particular:
• validate associations between issues and CoABS projects and make associations more specific
• construct matrix from validated associations
• Travel:  attend the CoABS introductory meeting 11 March in Washington.
• Travel:  present initial ALP / CoABS interaction ideas to Jim Hendler and Todd Carrico

Send the Design Document (or extracts) to Marshall Brinn and Brian Kettler (and possibly elsewhere) for their feedback.