Ω∞: a research program for autonomous agent behavior specification and analysis

A framework for the specification and analysis of autonomous agents is described. In general, such agents require several levels of behavioral specifications, including low-level reflex actions, midlevel controllers to deal with the physical aspects of the world, and high-level representations for goals and plans. The paper focuses on the midlevel control problem (e.g. obstacle avoidance, grasping, etc.). The use of real-time programming languages as behavior specification tools, the use of formal techniques to prove properties of such specifications, and the physical-based simulation and animation of such specifications are explored