Cougaar
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Software development |
| Founded | 2001 |
Area served | Worldwide |
| Products | Cougaar agent framework, ActiveEdge RFID Middleware, ActiveEdge Intelligent Agent Platform |
| Website | www |
Cougaar (Cognitive Agent Architecture) represents a Java-based framework designed for agent architectures.
Development History of Cougaar
Established in 2001, Cougaar Software Inc. traces its origins to investments beginning in 1996, primarily funded by DARPA. The initiatives supported by DARPA laid the foundation for what eventually became the Cougaar Open Source project.
Key Milestones
- 1996: DARPA initiates the Advanced Logistics Program (ALP), allocating $80 million to create core architectural technology
- 2000: DARPA releases ALP technology as open source under the new name Cougaar
- 2000: DARPA launches the Ultralog program, investing $70 million to improve Cougaar’s security, scalability, and survivability for battlefield applications
- 2001: Cougaar Software, Inc. begins commercial development of Cougaar technology
- 2004: The first commercial product based on Cougaar, ActiveEdge RFID Middleware, is introduced by CSI
- 2005: Release of ActiveEdge Intelligent Agent Platform version 1.0; adopted by three system integrators for significant projects
- 2006: Initial operational deployment of ActiveEdge solution achieved by a partner for a major retail client
- 2007: ActiveEdge version 1.5 launched; licensing agreements secured with The Boeing Company and other defense contractors; CSI provides support to SAIC and Honeywell on ALCT theater distribution planning; U.S. Army licenses ActiveEdge
- 2008: Deployment of ActiveEdge version 1.6
Capabilities
Cougaar is an open source agent framework that offers essential infrastructure and foundational services. It enables autonomous software agents to interact with each other or external systems to fulfill specialized domain functions. The architecture facilitates direct breakdown of complex tasks into manageable components.
Agents are responsible for governing application logic, while the environment oversees systemic adaptation processes. Both elements can be independently developed, tested, and configured but function collaboratively.
Prominent integrated services include:
- Blackboard-based publish/subscribe communication both within individual agents and across agents
- HTTP servlet engine supporting user interface delivery
- Knowledge representation frameworks for logistics assets and FrameSets
- Coordination strategies such as slate coordination and task assignments
Agents execute on nodes hosted within the Cougaar Java Virtual Machine environment. Each agent’s behavior is defined through one or more plugins; an agent lacking plugins remains inactive.
Distinct from purely message-driven designs, Cougaar employs blackboard plugins as key data managers. These plugins respond to blackboard data by issuing notifications that add, modify, or remove information. The platform transparently manages data transformations between agents via asynchronous subscription mechanisms.
The blackboard system processes notifications in batches—including additions, changes, and deletions—thereby enhancing system robustness and scalability. It maintains a comprehensive record of the entire system state, enabling recovery after failures.
Fundamental services encompass agent migration across nodes, persistence and restoration of agent states following crashes, and support for multi-protocol message transport.
Utilization Areas
- Integrated Critical Infrastructure Modeling and Simulation
- Logistics Modeling Tool for Highly Adaptable Military Organizations
- Logistics-Aided Battle Command Planning
- Support for Robot Teams Operating over Wireless Ad hoc Networks
- Control Surface Management
- Administrative Tools for Monitoring Distributed Agent Communities