A multiagent architecture for vehicle and structural health monitoring is proposed. A prototype using this architecture was developed using JADE. Critical aspects of the design were verified using the SPIN model checker. The tasks in our framework are related to data-fusion levels and Gibson’s realist position on direct perception of objects and affordances. We show how a system consisting of a multiagent system along with the monitored platform exhibits behavior at several levels, from the physics of acoustic emissions to inter-agent conversations expressing desires and beliefs. Communication, perception of public events, and system design conspire to provide the common knowledge needed to coordinate diagnostic tasks.