An Application Science for Multi-Agent Systems

Wagner T.A. (ed.)0792372107, 0792374509, 1402070578, 1402070616

An Application Science For Multi-Agent Systems addresses the complexity of choosing which multi-agent control technologies are appropriate for a given problem domain or a given application. Without such knowledge, when faced with a new application domain, agent developers must rely on past experience and intuition to determine whether a multi-agent system is the right approach, and if so, how to structure the agents, how to decompose the problem, and how to coordinate the activities of the agents, and so forth. This unique collection of contributions, written by leading international researchers in the agent community, provides valuable insight into the issues of deciding which technique to apply and when it is appropriate to use them. The contributions also discuss potential trade-offs or caveats involved with each decision.

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Table of contents :
Team DDU……Page 1
Table Of Contents……Page 6
An Application Science for Multi-Agent Systems……Page 8
Coordination Challenges for Autonomous Spacecraft……Page 14
A Framework for Evaluation of Multi-Agent System Approaches to Logistics Network Management……Page 34
Centralized Versus Decentralized Coordination: Two Application Case Studies……Page 48
A Complex Systems Perspective on Collaborative Design……Page 84
Multi-Agent System Interaction Protocols in a Dynamically Changing Environment……Page 102
Challenges to Scaling-Up Agent Coordination Strategies……Page 120
Roles in MAS: Managing the Complexity of Tasks and Environments……Page 140
An Evolutionary Framework for Large-Scale Experimentation in Multi-Agent Systems……Page 162
Application Characteristics Motivating Adaptive Organizational Capabilities within Multi-Agent Systems……Page 182
Applying Coordination Mechanisms for Dependency Relationships under Various Environments……Page 206
Performance Models for Large Scale Multi-Agent Systems: A Distributed POMDP-Based Approach……Page 228
Index……Page 252