An Analysis of the Insertion of Virtual Players in GMABS Methodology Using the Vip-JogoMan Prototype

The GMABS (Games and Multi-Agent-Based Simulation) methodology was created from the integration of RPG and MABS techniques. This methodology links the dynamic capacity of MABS (Multi-Agent-Based Simulation) and the discussion and learning capacity of RPG (Role-Playing Games). Using GMABS, we have developed two prototypes in the natural resources management domain. The first prototype, called JogoMan (Adamatti et. al, 2005), is a paper-based game: all players need to be physically present in the same place and time, and there is a minimum needed number of participants to play the game. In order to avoid this constraint, we have built a second prototype, called ViP-JogoMan (Adamatti et. al, 2007), which is an extension of the first one. This second game enables the insertion of virtual players that can substitute some real players in the game. These virtual players can partially mime real behaviors and capture autonomy, social abilities, reaction and adaptation of the real players. We have chosen the BDI architecture to model these virtual players, since its paradigm is based on folk psychology; hence, its core concepts easily map the language that people use to describe their reasoning and actions in everyday life. ViP-JogoMan is a computer-based game, in which people play via Web, players can be in different places and it does not have a hard constraint regarding the minimum number of real players. Our aim in this paper is to present some test results obtained with both prototypes, as well as to present a preliminary discussion on how the insertion of virtual players has affected the game results.Role-Playing Games, Multi-Agent Based Simulation, Natural Resources, Virtual Players

Proceedings of The Multi-Agent Logics, Languages, and Organisations Federated Workshops (MALLOW 2010)

http://ceur-ws.org/Vol-627/allproceedings.pdfInternational audienceMALLOW-2010 is a third edition of a series initiated in 2007 in Durham, and pursued in 2009 in Turin. The objective, as initially stated, is to "provide a venue where: the cost of participation was minimum; participants were able to attend various workshops, so fostering collaboration and cross-fertilization; there was a friendly atmosphere and plenty of time for networking, by maximizing the time participants spent together"

Multi-Agent Systems

A multi-agent system (MAS) is a system composed of multiple interacting intelligent agents. Multi-agent systems can be used to solve problems which are difficult or impossible for an individual agent or monolithic system to solve. Agent systems are open and extensible systems that allow for the deployment of autonomous and proactive software components. Multi-agent systems have been brought up and used in several application domains

Multi-Agent Systems

This Special Issue ""Multi-Agent Systems"" gathers original research articles reporting results on the steadily growing area of agent-oriented computing and multi-agent systems technologies. After more than 20 years of academic research on multi-agent systems (MASs), in fact, agent-oriented models and technologies have been promoted as the most suitable candidates for the design and development of distributed and intelligent applications in complex and dynamic environments. With respect to both their quality and range, the papers in this Special Issue already represent a meaningful sample of the most recent advancements in the field of agent-oriented models and technologies. In particular, the 17 contributions cover agent-based modeling and simulation, situated multi-agent systems, socio-technical multi-agent systems, and semantic technologies applied to multi-agent systems. In fact, it is surprising to witness how such a limited portion of MAS research already highlights the most relevant usage of agent-based models and technologies, as well as their most appreciated characteristics. We are thus confident that the readers of Applied Sciences will be able to appreciate the growing role that MASs will play in the design and development of the next generation of complex intelligent systems. This Special Issue has been converted into a yearly series, for which a new call for papers is already available at the Applied Sciences journal’s website: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/applsci/special_issues/Multi-Agent_Systems_2019

Group decision support systems for current times: Overcoming the challenges of dispersed group decision-making

We are living a change of paradigm regarding decision-making. On the one hand, there is a growing need to make decisions in group at both professional and personal levels, on the other hand, it is increasingly difficult for decision-makers to meet at the same place and at the same time. The Web-based Group Decision Support Systems intend to overcome this limitation, allowing decision-makers to contribute to the decision process anytime and anywhere. However, they have been defined inadequately which has been compromising its success. This work discusses the current Group Decision Support Systems limitations in terms of challenges and possible impediments for their acceptance by the organizations and propose a conceptual definition of a Web-based Group Decision Support System that intends to overcome the existing limitations and help them to affirm as a reliable and useful tool. In addition, some crucial topics are addressed, such as communication and perception, that are essential and sometimes forgotten in the support of dispersed decision-makers. We concluded that there are still some limitations, mostly in terms of models and applications, that prevent the design of higher quality systems.This work was supported by the GrouPlanner Project (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-29178) and by National Funds through the FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology) within the Projects UIDB/00319/2020 and UIDB/00760/2020

Trust in Sharing Resources in Logistics Collaboration

Collaboration on resource sharing advocates a joint usage of resources by multiple parties (actors) to attain mutual benefits. Resource sharing becomes vital when resources under consideration are scarce, challenging, and expensive to attain; as well when they are idle or underutilized. In collaborative logistics, resource sharing entails the joint usage of the physical and non-physical assets. Shared assets include the transportation vehicles (trucks), warehouses, distribution centers, information, on-demand staffing, and logistics services offered under cloud computing. Through sharing, collaborating partners in logistics can reduce costs and harms to the environment, but also improve the efficiency of logistical functions. Although collaborative sharing is beneficial, still many difficulties impede its uptake. The difficulties include how to choose partners, establish and maintain trust among partners involved. Indeed, in both academia and industry, low-level trust inhibits the collaboration critically on sharing logistics resources. To this end, the present dissertation addresses the trust problem encountered by collaborating partners when they are sharing logistics resources. It deals with the trust problem by developing the Trust Mechanism (TrustMech) concept. The primary role of the TrustMech is to help logistics stakeholders acquire the far-reaching understanding about the trustworthiness of prospective networks of sharing they configure, before advancing them to an implementation stage. The TrustMech stands on a mitigation approach that focuses on estimating outcomes of trust uncertainties a rather than a their sources. Henceforth, this dissertation advances on estimating outcomes of trust uncertainties to answer the following central Research Question (RQ): how can collaborating partners acquire the far-reaching understanding about the trustworthiness of prospective networks of sharing they configure? An approach to the research problem, which as well answers the RQ proceeds as follows. The first steps involve establishing behavioral factors and parameters, which influence trust in collaborative sharing of logistics resources. The second stage entails establishing a conceptual framework that depicts and guides trust-based interaction of collaborating partners. The third step comprises developing the TrustMech concept, validating it in both the conceptual and operational aspects, and demonstrating its application by carrying out controlled (simulation) experiments in Multi-Agent Systems. In particular, the proposed TrustMech concept characterizes fundamental logical processes that account for trusting decisions, actions, and reactions of collaborating partners to reinforce emergent trusting outcomes The core contributions of this dissertation are the general-purpose TrustMech and the operational TrustMech. The operational TrustMech is customary for collaborative sharing of logistics resources. Regarding its application, the operational TrustMech provides logistics managers and stakeholders the ability to forecast how a configured network of sharing may, in respect of trustworthiness, function upon its implementation. To clarify further, the operational TrustMech scrutinizes many issues. For example, it scrutinizes trustworthiness of the configured network regarding possible strengths and pitfalls and provides pathway explanations underlying such foreseen strengths and pitfalls. Secondly, the operational TrustMech scrutinizes effects which such strengths and pitfalls can generate. Moreover, the operational TrustMech estimates an extent to which behavioral factors influence the trustworthiness of the individual partner and entire resource sharing network. Future research works include extending the TrustMech and replicating the study using system data. Additional future work consists of adjusting the design and settings used, as well as incorporating additional predictor and response variables into the operational TrustMech

A hybrid model of electronic negotiation : integration of negotiation support and automated negotiation models

Electronic business negotiations are enabled by different electronic negotiation models: automated negotiation models for software agents, negotiation support models for human negotiators, and auction models for both. To date, there is no electronic negotiation model that enables bilateral multi-issue negotiations between a human negotiator and a negotiation agent?an important task in electronic negotiation research. In this thesis, a model is presented that integrates the automated negotiation model and the negotiation support model. The resulting hybrid negotiation model paves the way for human-agent business negotiations. The integration of two models is realised at the levels of negotiation process, communication support and decision making. To this end, the negotiation design, negotiation process, negotiation decision making, and negotiation communication in negotiation support systems (NSSs) and agent negotiation systems (ANSs) are studied and analysed. The analyses on these points help in strengthening the motivation behind hybrid negotiation model and setting aims for the integration of an NSS and an ANS in hybrid negotiation model. We mainly propose a human-agent negotiation design, negotiation process protocols to support the design, a hybrid communication model for human-agent interaction, an agent decision-making model for negotiation with human, and a component for interoperability between NSS and ANS. The agent decision-making model is composed of heuristic and argumentation-based negotiation techniques. It is proposed after analysing different automated negotiation models for different human negotiation strategies. The proposed communication model supports human negotiator and negotiation agent to understand and process negotiation messages from each other. This communication model consists of negotiation ontology, a wrapper agent, and a proper selection of an agent communication language (ACL) and a content language. The wrapper agent plays a role for interoperability between agent system and NSS by providing a communication interface along with the negotiation ontology. The negotiation ontology, ACL and agent content language make the communication model of negotiation agent in ANS. The proposed hybrid model is realised by integrating an ANS into NSS Negoisst. The research aim is to show that a hybrid negotiation system, composed of two heterogeneous negotiation models, can enable human-agent multi-issue integrative negotiations.Elektronische ökonomische Verhandlungen werden durch verschiedene Verhandlungsmodelle ermöglicht: Automatisierte Verhandlungsmodelle für Softwareagenten, Verhandlungsunterstützung für menschliche Verhandelnde und Auktionsmodelle für Beide. Bis heute existiert kein elektronisches Verhandlungsmodell, das bilaterale multi-attributive Verhandlungen zwischen einem menschlichen Verhandelnden und einem Verhandlungsagenten ? eine wichtige Aufgabe in der Forschung im Bereich elektronischer Verhandlungen. In dieser Arbeit wird ein Modell präsentiert, welches das automatisierte Verhandlungsmodell und das Verhandlungsunterstützungsmodell integriert. Das resultierende hybride Verhandlungsmodell ebnet den Weg für ökonomische Mensch-Agent-Verhandlungen. Die Integration der zwei Modelle ist realisiert auf der Ebene von Verhandlungsprozess, Kommunikationsunterstützung und Entscheidungsunterstützung. Dazu werden Verhandlungsdesign, Verhandlungsprozess, verhandlungsbezogene Entscheidungsfindung und Verhandlungskommunikation in Verhandlungsunterstützungssystemen (NSS) und Agentenverhandlungssystemen (ANS) studiert und analysiert. Die Analysen zu diesen Punkten verstärken die Motivation hinter dem hybriden Verhandlungsmodell und bestimmen die Ziele für die Integration von NSS und ANS. Es werden hauptsächlich ein Mensch-Agent-Verhandlungsdesign, Verhandlungsprozessprotokolle zur Unterstützung des Designs, ein hybrides Kommunikationsmodell für Mensch-Agent-Kommunikation, ein Agenten-Entscheidungsmodell für die Verhandlung mit menschlichem Gegenpart und eine Komponente für die Interoperabilität zwischen NSS und ANS. Das Entscheidungsmodell für Agenten besteht aus heuristischen und argumentativen Verhandlungstechniken. Es wird aufgestellt nachdem verschiedene automatisierte Verhandlungsmodelle für verschiedene menschliche Verhandlungsstrategien analysiert worden sind. Die vorgeschlagenen Kommunikationsmodelle unterstützen menschliche Verhandler und Verhandlungsagenten dabei Verhandlungsnachrichten voneinander zu verstehen und zu verarbeiten. Dieses Kommunikationsmodell besteht aus einer Verhandlungsontologie, einem Wrapper-Agenten und einer angemessenen Auswahl der Agentenkommunikationssprache (ACL) und der Inhaltssprache. Der Wrapper-Agent spielt eine Rolle bei der Interoperabilität zwischen dem Agentensystem und dem NSS durch eine Kommunikationsschnittstelle zusammen mit der Verhandlungsontologie. Die Verhandlungsontologie, die ACL und die Inhaltssprache der Agenten ergeben das Kommunikationsmodell der Verhandlungsagenten im ANS. Das vorgestellte hybride Modell ist realisiert als Integration eines ANS in das NSS Negoisst. Das Forschungsziel ist zu zeigen, dass ein hybrides Verhandlungssystem, basierend auf zwei heterogenen Verhandlungsmodellen, integrative multi-attributive Mensch-Agent-Verhandlungen ermöglicht

A hybrid model of electronic negotiation : integration of negotiation support and automated negotiation models

Electronic business negotiations are enabled by different electronic negotiation models: automated negotiation models for software agents, negotiation support models for human negotiators, and auction models for both. To date, there is no electronic negotiation model that enables bilateral multi-issue negotiations between a human negotiator and a negotiation agent?an important task in electronic negotiation research. In this thesis, a model is presented that integrates the automated negotiation model and the negotiation support model. The resulting hybrid negotiation model paves the way for human-agent business negotiations. The integration of two models is realised at the levels of negotiation process, communication support and decision making. To this end, the negotiation design, negotiation process, negotiation decision making, and negotiation communication in negotiation support systems (NSSs) and agent negotiation systems (ANSs) are studied and analysed. The analyses on these points help in strengthening the motivation behind hybrid negotiation model and setting aims for the integration of an NSS and an ANS in hybrid negotiation model. We mainly propose a human-agent negotiation design, negotiation process protocols to support the design, a hybrid communication model for human-agent interaction, an agent decision-making model for negotiation with human, and a component for interoperability between NSS and ANS. The agent decision-making model is composed of heuristic and argumentation-based negotiation techniques. It is proposed after analysing different automated negotiation models for different human negotiation strategies. The proposed communication model supports human negotiator and negotiation agent to understand and process negotiation messages from each other. This communication model consists of negotiation ontology, a wrapper agent, and a proper selection of an agent communication language (ACL) and a content language. The wrapper agent plays a role for interoperability between agent system and NSS by providing a communication interface along with the negotiation ontology. The negotiation ontology, ACL and agent content language make the communication model of negotiation agent in ANS. The proposed hybrid model is realised by integrating an ANS into NSS Negoisst. The research aim is to show that a hybrid negotiation system, composed of two heterogeneous negotiation models, can enable human-agent multi-issue integrative negotiations.Elektronische ökonomische Verhandlungen werden durch verschiedene Verhandlungsmodelle ermöglicht: Automatisierte Verhandlungsmodelle für Softwareagenten, Verhandlungsunterstützung für menschliche Verhandelnde und Auktionsmodelle für Beide. Bis heute existiert kein elektronisches Verhandlungsmodell, das bilaterale multi-attributive Verhandlungen zwischen einem menschlichen Verhandelnden und einem Verhandlungsagenten ? eine wichtige Aufgabe in der Forschung im Bereich elektronischer Verhandlungen. In dieser Arbeit wird ein Modell präsentiert, welches das automatisierte Verhandlungsmodell und das Verhandlungsunterstützungsmodell integriert. Das resultierende hybride Verhandlungsmodell ebnet den Weg für ökonomische Mensch-Agent-Verhandlungen. Die Integration der zwei Modelle ist realisiert auf der Ebene von Verhandlungsprozess, Kommunikationsunterstützung und Entscheidungsunterstützung. Dazu werden Verhandlungsdesign, Verhandlungsprozess, verhandlungsbezogene Entscheidungsfindung und Verhandlungskommunikation in Verhandlungsunterstützungssystemen (NSS) und Agentenverhandlungssystemen (ANS) studiert und analysiert. Die Analysen zu diesen Punkten verstärken die Motivation hinter dem hybriden Verhandlungsmodell und bestimmen die Ziele für die Integration von NSS und ANS. Es werden hauptsächlich ein Mensch-Agent-Verhandlungsdesign, Verhandlungsprozessprotokolle zur Unterstützung des Designs, ein hybrides Kommunikationsmodell für Mensch-Agent-Kommunikation, ein Agenten-Entscheidungsmodell für die Verhandlung mit menschlichem Gegenpart und eine Komponente für die Interoperabilität zwischen NSS und ANS. Das Entscheidungsmodell für Agenten besteht aus heuristischen und argumentativen Verhandlungstechniken. Es wird aufgestellt nachdem verschiedene automatisierte Verhandlungsmodelle für verschiedene menschliche Verhandlungsstrategien analysiert worden sind. Die vorgeschlagenen Kommunikationsmodelle unterstützen menschliche Verhandler und Verhandlungsagenten dabei Verhandlungsnachrichten voneinander zu verstehen und zu verarbeiten. Dieses Kommunikationsmodell besteht aus einer Verhandlungsontologie, einem Wrapper-Agenten und einer angemessenen Auswahl der Agentenkommunikationssprache (ACL) und der Inhaltssprache. Der Wrapper-Agent spielt eine Rolle bei der Interoperabilität zwischen dem Agentensystem und dem NSS durch eine Kommunikationsschnittstelle zusammen mit der Verhandlungsontologie. Die Verhandlungsontologie, die ACL und die Inhaltssprache der Agenten ergeben das Kommunikationsmodell der Verhandlungsagenten im ANS. Das vorgestellte hybride Modell ist realisiert als Integration eines ANS in das NSS Negoisst. Das Forschungsziel ist zu zeigen, dass ein hybrides Verhandlungssystem, basierend auf zwei heterogenen Verhandlungsmodellen, integrative multi-attributive Mensch-Agent-Verhandlungen ermöglicht

Using Norms To Control Open Multi-Agent Systems

Internet es, tal vez, el avance científico más relevante de nuestros días. Entre otras cosas, Internet ha permitido la evolución de los paradigmas de computación tradicionales hacia el paradigma de computaciónn distribuida, que se caracteriza por utilizar una red abierta de ordenadores. Los sistemas multiagente (SMA) son una tecnolog a adecuada para abordar los retos motivados por estos sistemas abiertos distribuidos. Los SMA son aplicaciones formadas por agentes heterog eneos y aut onomos que pueden haber sido dise~nados de forma independiente de acuerdo con objetivos y motivaciones diferentes. Por lo tanto, no es posible realizar ninguna hip otesis a priori sobre el comportamiento de los agentes. Por este motivo, los SMA necesitan de mecanismos de coordinaci on y cooperaci on, como las normas, para garantizar el orden social y evitar la aparici on de conictos. El t ermino norma cubre dos dimensiones diferentes: i) las normas como un instrumento que gu a a los ciudadanos a la hora de realizar acciones y actividades, por lo que las normas de nen los procedimientos y/o los protocolos que se deben seguir en una situaci on concreta, y ii) las normas como ordenes o prohibiciones respaldadas por un sistema de sanciones, por lo que las normas son medios para prevenir o castigar ciertas acciones. En el area de los SMA, las normas se vienen utilizando como una especi caci on formal de lo que est a permitido, obligado y prohibido dentro de una sociedad. De este modo, las normas permiten regular la vida de los agentes software y las interacciones entre ellos. La motivaci on principal de esta tesis es permitir a los dise~nadores de los SMA utilizar normas como un mecanismo para controlar y coordinar SMA abiertos. Nuestro objetivo es elaborar mecanismos normativos a dos niveles: a nivel de agente y a nivel de infraestructura. Por lo tanto, en esta tesis se aborda primero el problema de la de nici on de agentes normativos aut onomos que sean capaces de deliberar acercaCriado Pacheco, N. (2012). Using Norms To Control Open Multi-Agent Systems [Tesis doctoral no publicada]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/17800Palanci