Challenges for adaptation in agent societies

The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/[insert DOIAdaptation in multiagent systems societies provides a paradigm for allowing these societies to change dynamically in order to satisfy the current requirements of the system. This support is especially required for the next generation of systems that focus on open, dynamic, and adaptive applications. In this paper, we analyze the current state of the art regarding approaches that tackle the adaptation issue in these agent societies. We survey the most relevant works up to now in order to highlight the most remarkable features according to what they support and how this support is provided. In order to compare these approaches, we also identify different characteristics of the adaptation process that are grouped in different phases. Finally, we discuss some of the most important considerations about the analyzed approaches, and we provide some interesting guidelines as open issues that should be required in future developments.This work has been partially supported by CONSOLIDER-INGENIO 2010 under grant CSD2007-00022, the European Cooperation in the field of Scientific and Technical Research IC0801 AT, and projects TIN2009-13839-C03-01 and TIN2011-27652-C03-01.Alberola Oltra, JM.; Julian Inglada, VJ.; García-Fornes, A. (2014). Challenges for adaptation in agent societies. Knowledge and Information Systems. 38(1):1-34. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10115-012-0565-yS134381Aamodt A, Plaza E (1994) Case-based reasoning; foundational issues, methodological variations, and system approaches. AI Commun 7(1):39–59Abdallah S, Lesser V (2007) Multiagent reinforcement learning and self-organization in a network of agents. In: Proceedings of the sixth international joint conference on autonomous agents and multi-agent systems, pp 172–179Abdu H, Lutfiyya H, Bauer MA (1999) A model for adaptive monitoring configurations. In: Proceedings of the VI IFIP/IEEE IM conference on network management, pp 371–384Alberola JM, Julian V, Garcia-Fornes A (2011) A cost-based transition approach for multiagent systems reorganization. In: Proceedings of the 10th international conference on aut. agents and MAS (AAMAS11), pp 1221–1222Alberola JM, Julian V, Garcia-Fornes A (2012) Multi-dimensional transition deliberation for organization adaptation in multiagent systems. In: Proceedings of the 11th international conference on aut. agents and MAS (AAMAS12) (in press)Argente E, Julian V, Botti V (2006) Multi-agent system development based on organizations. Electron Notes Theor Comput Sci 160(3):55–71Argente E, Botti V, Carrascosa C, Giret A, Julian V, Rebollo M (2011) An abstract architecture for virtual organizations: the Thomas approach. Knowl Inf Syst 29(2):379–403Ashford SJ, Taylor MS (1990) Adaptation to work transitions. An integrative approach. Res Pers Hum Resour Manag 8:1–39Ashford SJ, Blatt R, Walle DV (2003) Reflections on the looking glass: a review of research on feedback-seeking behavior in organizations. J Manag 29(6):773–799Astley WG, Van de Ven AH (1983) Central perspectives and debates in organization theory. Adm Sci Q 28(2):245–273Bond AH, Gasser L (1988) A survey of distributed artificial intelligence readings in distributed artificial intelligence. Morgan Kaufmann, Los AltosBou E, López-Sánchez M, Rodríguez-Aguilar JA (2006) Adaptation of autonomic electronic institutions through norms and institutional agents In: Engineering societies in the agents world. Number LNAI 445, Springer, Dublin, pp 300–319Bou E, López-Sánchez M, Rodríguez-Aguilar JA (2007) Towards self-configuration in autonomic electronic institutions. In: COIN 2006 workshops. Number LNAI 4386, pp 220–235Bou E, López-Sánchez M, Rodríguez-Aguilar JA (2008) Using case-based reasoning in autonomic electronic institutions. In: Proceedings of the 2007 international conference on coordination, organizations, institutions, and norms in agent systems III, pp 125–138Brett JM, Feldman DC, Weingart LR (1990) Feedback-seeking behavior of new hires and job changers. J Manag 16:737–749Bulka B, Gaston ME, desJardins M (2007) Local strategy learning in networked multi-agent team formation. Auton Agents Multi-Agent Syst 15(1):29–45Campos J, López-Sánchez M, Esteva M (2009) Assistance layer, a step forward in multi-agent systems. In: Coordination support international joint conference on autonomous agents and multiagent systems (AAMAS), pp 1301–1302Campos J, Esteva M, López-Sánchez M, Morales J, Salamó M (2011) Organisational adaptation of multi-agent systems in a peer-to-peer scenario. Computing 91(2):169–215Carley KM, and Gasser L (1999) Computational organization theory. Multiagent systems: a modern approach to distributed artificial intelligence. MIT Press, Cambridge, pp 299–330Carvalho G, Almeida H, Gatti M, Vinicius G, Paes R, Perkusich, A, Lucena C (2006) Dynamic law evolution in governance mechanisms for open multi-agent systems. In: Second workshop on software engineering for agent-oriented systemsCernuzzi L, Zambonelli F (2011) Adaptive organizational changes in agent-oriented methodologies. Knowl Eng Rev 26(2):175–190Cheng BH, Lemos R, Giese H, Inverardi P, Magee J (2009) Software engineering for self-adaptive systems: a research roadmap, pp 1–26Corkill DD, Lesser VR (1983) The use of meta-level control for coordination in a distributed problem solving networks. In: Proceedings of the eighth international joint conference on artificial intelligence. IEEE Computer Society Press, pp 748–756Corkill DD, Lander SE (1998) Diversity in agent organizations. Object Mag 8(4):41–47de Paz JF, Bajo J, González A, Rodríguez S, Corchado JM (2012) Combining case-based reasoning systems and support vector regression to evaluate the atmosphere-ocean interaction. Knowl Inf Syst 30(1):155–177DeLoach SA, Matson E (2004) An organizational model for designing adaptive multiagent systems. In: The AAAI-04 workshop on agent organizations: theory and practice (AOTP), pp 66–73DeLoach SA, Oyeman W, Matson E (2008) A capabilities-based model for adaptive organizations. Auton Agents Multi-Agent Syst 16:13–56Dignum V, Dignum F (2001) Modelling agent societies: co-ordination frameworks and institutions progress in artificial intelligence. LNAI 2258, pp 191–204Dignum V (2004) A model for organizational interaction: based on agents, founded in logic. PhD dissertation, Universiteit Utrecht. SIKS dissertation series 2004-1Dignum V, Dignum F, Sonenberg L (2004) Towards dynamic reorganization of agent societies. In: Proceedings of the workshop on coordination in emergent agent societies, pp 22–27Dignum V, Dignum F (2006) Exploring congruence between organizational structure and task performance: a simulation approach coordination, organization, institutions and norms in agent systems I. In: Proceedings of the ANIREM ’05/OOOP ’05, pp 213–230Dignum V, Dignum F (2007) A logic for agent organizations. In: Proceedings of the multi-agent logics, languages, and organisations federated workshops (MALLOW ’007), formal approaches to multi-agent systems (FAMAS ’007) workshopFox MS (1981) Formalizing virtual organizations. IEEE Transact Syst Man Cybern 11(1):70–80Gaston ME, desJardins M (2005) Agent-organized networks for dynamic team formation. In: Proceedings of the fourth international joint conference on autonomous agents and multiagent systems, pp 230–237Gaston ME, desJardins M (2008) The effect of network structure on dynamic team formation in multi-agent systems. Comput Intell 24(2):122–157Norbert G, Philippe M (1997) The reorganization of societies of autonomous agents. In: MAAMAW-97. Springer, London, pp 98–111Goldman CV, Rosenschein JS (1997) Evolving organizations of agents American association for artificial intelligence. In: Multiagent learning workshop at AAAI97Greve HR (1998) Performance, aspirations, and risky organizational change. Adm Sci Quart 43(1):58–86Guessoum Z, Ziane M, Faci N (2004) Monitoring and organizational-level adaptation of multi-agent systems. In: Proceedings of the AAMAS ’04, pp 514–521Hoogendoorn M, Treur J (2006) An adaptive multi-agent organization model based on dynamic role allocation. In: Proceedings of the IAT ’06, pp 474–481Horling B, Benyo B, Lesser V (1999) Using self-diagnosis to adapt organizational structures. In: Proceedings of the 5th international conference on autonomous agents, pp 529–536Horling B, Lesser V (2005) A survey of multi-agent organizational paradigms. Knowl Eng Rev 19(4): 281–316Hrebiniak LG, Joyce WF (1985) Organizational adaptation: strategic choice and environmental determinism. Adm Sci Quart 30(3):336–349Hübner JF, Sichman JS, Boissier O (2002) MOISE+: towards a structural, functional, and deontic model for MAS organization. In: Proceedings of the first international joint conference on autonomous agents and multiagent systems, pp 501–502Hübner JF, Sichman JS, Boissier O (2004) Using the MOISE+ for a cooperative framework of MAS reorganisation. In: Proceedings of the 17th Brazilian symposium on artificial intelligence (SBIA ’04), vol 3171, pp 506–515Hübner JF, Boissier O, Sichman JS (2005) Specifying E-alliance contract dynamics through the MOISE + reorganisation process Anais do V Encontro Nacional de Inteligde Inteligncia Artificial (ENIA 2005)Jennings NR (2001) An agent-based approach for building complex software systems. Commun ACM 44(4):35–41Kamboj S, Decker KS (2006) Organizational self-design in semi-dynamic environments In: 2007 IJCAI workshop on agent organizations: models and simulations (AOMS@IJCAI), pp 335–337Katz D, Kahn RL (1966) The social psychology of organizations. Wiley, New YorkKelly D, Amburgey TL (1991) Organizational inertia and momentum: a dynamic model of strategic change. Acad Manag J 34(3):591–612Kephart J, Chess DM (2003) The vision of autonomic computing. Computer 36(1):41–50Kim DH (1993) The link between individual and organizational learning. Sloan Manag Rev 35(1):37–50Kota R, Gibbins N, Jennings NR (2009a) Decentralised structural adaptation in agent organisations organized adaptation in multi-agent systems, pp 54–71Kota R, Gibbins N, Jennings NR (2009b) Self-organising agent organisations. In: Proceedings of the 8th international conference on autonomous agents and multiagent systems (AAMAS 2009)Kota R, Gibbins N, Jennings NR (2012) Decentralised approaches for self-adaptation in agent organisations. ACM Trans Auton Adapt Syst 7(1):1–28Kotter J, Schlesinger L (1979) Choosing strategies for change. Harv Bus Rev 106–1145Lesser VR (1998) Reflections on the nature of multi-agent coordination and its implications for an agent architecture. Auton Agents Multi-Agent Syst 89–111Levitt B, March JG (1988) Organizational learning. Annu Rev Sociol 14:319–340Luck M, McBurney P, Shehory O, Willmott S (2005) Agent technology: computing as interaction (a roadmap for agent based computing)Mathieu P, Routier JC, Secq Y (2002a) Dynamic organization of multi-agent systems. In: Proceedings of the first international joint conference on autonomous agents and multiagent systems: part 1, pp 451–452Mathieu P, Routier JC, Secq Y (2002b) Principles for dynamic multi-agent organizations. In: Proceedings of the 5th Pacific rim international workshop on multi agents: intelligent agents and multi-agent systems, pp 109–122Matson E, DeLoach S (2003) Using dynamic capability evaluation to organize a team of cooperative, autonomous robots. In: Proceedings of the 2003 international conference on artificial intelligence (IC-AI ’03), Las Vegas, pp 23–26Matson E, DeLoach S (2004) Enabling intra-robotic capabilities adaptation using an organization-based multiagent system. ICRA, pp 2135–2140Matson E, DeLoach S (2005) Formal transition in agent organizations. In: IEEE international conference on knowledge intensive multiagent systems (KIMAS ’05)Matson E, Bhatnagar R (2006) Properties of capability based agent organization transition. In: Proceedings of the IEEE/WIC/ACM international conference on intelligent agent technology IAT ’06, pp 59–65Morales J, López-Sánchez M, Esteva, M (2011) Using experience to generate new regulations. In: Proceedings of the twenty-second international joint conference on artificial Intelligence (IJCAI-11), pp 307–312Muhlestein D, Lim S (2011) Online learning with social computing based interest sharing. Knowl Inf Syst 26(1):31–58Nair R, Tambe M, Marsella S (2003) Role allocation and reallocation in multiagent teams: towards a practical analysis. In: Proceedings of the second AAMAS ’03, pp 552–559Orlikowski WJ (1996) Improvising organizational transformation over time: a situated change perspective. Inf Syst Res 7(1):63–92Panait L, Luke S (2005) Cooperative multi-agent learning: the state of the art. Auton Agents Multi-Agent Syst 11:387–434Ringold PL, Alegria J, Czaplewski RL, Mulder BS, Tolle T, Burnett K (1996) Adaptive monitoring design for ecosystem management. Ecol Appl 6(3):745–747Routier J, Mathieu P, Secq Y (2001) Dynamic skill learning: a support to agent evolution. In: Proceedings of the artificial intelligence and the simulation of behaviour symposium on adaptive agents and multi-agent systems (AISB ’01), pp 25–32Scott RW (2002) Organizations: rational, natural, and open systems, 5th edn. Prentice Hall International, New YorkSeelam A (2009) Reorganization of massive multiagent systems: MOTL/O http://books.google.es/books?id=R-s8cgAACAAJ . Southern Illinois University CarbondaleSo Y, Durfee EH (1993) An organizational self-design model for organizational change. In: AAAI93 workshop on AI and theories of groups and oranizations, pp 8–15So Y, Durfee EH (1998) Designing organizations for computational agents. Simulating organizations. MIT Press, Cambridge, pp 47–64Schwaninger M (2000) A theory for optimal organization. Technical report. Institute of Management at the University of St. Gallen, SwitzerlandTantipathananandh C, Berger-Wolf TY (2011) Finding communities in dynamic social networks. In: IEEE 11th international conference on data mining 2011, pp 1236–1241Wang Z, Liang X (2006) A graph based simulation of reorganization in multi-agent systems. In: IEEE WICACM international conference on intelligent agent technology, pp 129–132Wang D, Tse Q, Zhou Y (2011) A decentralized search engine for dynamic web communities. Knowl Inf Syst 26(1):105–125Weick KE (1979) The social psychology of organizing, 2nd edn. Addison-Wesley, ReadingWeyns D, Haesevoets R, Helleboogh A, Holvoet T, Joosen W (2010a) The MACODO middleware for context-driven dynamic agent organizations. ACM Transact Auton Adapt Syst 3:1–3:28Weyns D, Malek S, Andersson J (2010b) FORMS: a formal reference model for self-adaptation. In: Proceedings of the 7th international conference on autonomic computing, pp 205–214Weyns D, Georgeff M (2010) Self-adaptation using multiagent systems. IEEE Softw 27(1):86–91Zhong C (2006) An investigation of reorganization algorithms. Master-thesi

Organization of Multi-Agent Systems: An Overview

In complex, open, and heterogeneous environments, agents must be able to reorganize towards the most appropriate organizations to adapt unpredictable environment changes within Multi-Agent Systems (MAS). Types of reorganization can be seen from two different levels. The individual agents level (micro-level) in which an agent changes its behaviors and interactions with other agents to adapt its local environment. And the organizational level (macro-level) in which the whole system changes it structure by adding or removing agents. This chapter is dedicated to overview different aspects of what is called MAS Organization including its motivations, paradigms, models, and techniques adopted for statically or dynamically organizing agents in MAS.Comment: 12 page

Self-organising agent communities for autonomic resource management

The autonomic computing paradigm addresses the operational challenges presented by increasingly complex software systems by proposing that they be composed of many autonomous components, each responsible for the run-time reconfiguration of its own dedicated hardware and software components. Consequently, regulation of the whole software system becomes an emergent property of local adaptation and learning carried out by these autonomous system elements. Designing appropriate local adaptation policies for the components of such systems remains a major challenge. This is particularly true where the system’s scale and dynamism compromise the efficiency of a central executive and/or prevent components from pooling information to achieve a shared, accurate evidence base for their negotiations and decisions.In this paper, we investigate how a self-regulatory system response may arise spontaneously from local interactions between autonomic system elements tasked with adaptively consuming/providing computational resources or services when the demand for such resources is continually changing. We demonstrate that system performance is not maximised when all system components are able to freely share information with one another. Rather, maximum efficiency is achieved when individual components have only limited knowledge of their peers. Under these conditions, the system self-organises into appropriate community structures. By maintaining information flow at the level of communities, the system is able to remain stable enough to efficiently satisfy service demand in resource-limited environments, and thus minimise any unnecessary reconfiguration whilst remaining sufficiently adaptive to be able to reconfigure when service demand changes

Agent-Based Models and Human Subject Experiments

This paper considers the relationship between agent-based modeling and economic decision-making experiments with human subjects. Both approaches exploit controlled ``laboratory'' conditions as a means of isolating the sources of aggregate phenomena. Research findings from laboratory studies of human subject behavior have inspired studies using artificial agents in ``computational laboratories'' and vice versa. In certain cases, both methods have been used to examine the same phenomenon. The focus of this paper is on the empirical validity of agent-based modeling approaches in terms of explaining data from human subject experiments. We also point out synergies between the two methodologies that have been exploited as well as promising new possibilities.agent-based models, human subject experiments, zero- intelligence agents, learning, evolutionary algorithms

The Simulation Model Partitioning Problem: an Adaptive Solution Based on Self-Clustering (Extended Version)

This paper is about partitioning in parallel and distributed simulation. That means decomposing the simulation model into a numberof components and to properly allocate them on the execution units. An adaptive solution based on self-clustering, that considers both communication reduction and computational load-balancing, is proposed. The implementation of the proposed mechanism is tested using a simulation model that is challenging both in terms of structure and dynamicity. Various configurations of the simulation model and the execution environment have been considered. The obtained performance results are analyzed using a reference cost model. The results demonstrate that the proposed approach is promising and that it can reduce the simulation execution time in both parallel and distributed architectures

Preliminary specification and design documentation for software components to achieve catallaxy in computational systems

This Report is about the preliminary specifications and design documentation for software components to achieve Catallaxy in computational systems. -- Die Arbeit beschreibt die Spezifikation und das Design von Softwarekomponenten, um das Konzept der Katallaxie in Grid Systemen umzusetzen. Eine Einführung ordnet das Konzept der Katallaxie in bestehende Grid Taxonomien ein und stellt grundlegende Komponenten vor. Anschließend werden diese Komponenten auf ihre Anwendbarkeit in bestehenden Application Layer Netzwerken untersucht.Grid Computing

Towards adaptive multi-robot systems: self-organization and self-adaptation

Dieser Beitrag ist mit Zustimmung des Rechteinhabers aufgrund einer (DFG geförderten) Allianz- bzw. Nationallizenz frei zugänglich.This publication is with permission of the rights owner freely accessible due to an Alliance licence and a national licence (funded by the DFG, German Research Foundation) respectively.The development of complex systems ensembles that operate in uncertain environments is a major challenge. The reason for this is that system designers are not able to fully specify the system during specification and development and before it is being deployed. Natural swarm systems enjoy similar characteristics, yet, being self-adaptive and being able to self-organize, these systems show beneficial emergent behaviour. Similar concepts can be extremely helpful for artificial systems, especially when it comes to multi-robot scenarios, which require such solution in order to be applicable to highly uncertain real world application. In this article, we present a comprehensive overview over state-of-the-art solutions in emergent systems, self-organization, self-adaptation, and robotics. We discuss these approaches in the light of a framework for multi-robot systems and identify similarities, differences missing links and open gaps that have to be addressed in order to make this framework possible