Multi-platform coordination and resource management in command and control

Depuis plusieurs années, nous constatons l'augmentation de l'utilisation des techniques d'agents et multiagent pour assister l'humain dans ses tâches. Ce travail de maîtrise se situe dans la même voie. Précisément, nous proposons d'utiliser les techniques multiagent de planification et de coordination pour la gestion de ressources dans les systèmes de commande et contrôle (C2) temps réel. Le problème particulier que nous avons étudié est la conception d'un système d'aide à la décision pour les opérations anti-aérienne sur les frégates canadiennes. Dans le cas où plusieurs frégates doivent se défendre contre des menaces, la coordination est un problème d'importance capitale. L'utilisation de mécanismes de coordination efficaces permet d'éviter les actions conflictuelles et la redondance dans les engagements. Dans ce mémoire, nous présentons quatre mécanismes de coordination basés sur le partage de tâche. Trois sont basés sur les communications : la coordination centrale, le Contract Net, la coordination similaire à celle proposée par Brown; tandis que la défense de zone est basée sur les lois sociales. Nous exposons enfin les résultats auxquels nous sommes arrivés en simulant ces différents mécanismes.The use of agent and multiagent techniques to assist humans in their daily routines has been increasing for many years, notably in Command and Control (C2) systems. This thesis is is situated in this domain. Precisely, we propose to use multiagent planning and coordination techniques for resource management in real-time \acs{C2} systems. The particular problem we studied is the design of a decision-support for anti-air warfare on Canadian frigates. In the case of several frigates defending against incoming threats, multiagent coordination is a complex problem of capital importance. Better coordination mechanisms are important to avoid redundancy in engagements and inefficient defence caused by conflicting actions. In this thesis, we present four different coordination mechanisms based on task sharing. Three of these mechanisms are based on communications: central coordination, Contract Net coordination and Brown coordination, while the zone defence coordination is based on social laws. Finally, we expose the results obtained while simulating these various mechanisms

Multi-robot hunting in dynamic environments

This paper is concerned with multi-robot hunting in dynamic environments. A BCSLA approach is proposed to allow mobile robots to capture an intelligent evader. During the process of hunting, four states including dispersion-random-search, surrounding, catch and prediction are employed. In order to ensure each robot appropriate movement in each state, a series of strategies are developed in this paper. The dispersion-search strategy enables the robots to find the evader effectively. The leader-adjusting strategy aims to improve the hunting robots&rsquo; response to environmental changes and the outflank strategy is proposed for the hunting robots to force the evader to enter a besieging circle. The catch strategy is designed for shrinking the besieging circle to catch the evader. The predict strategy allows the robots to predict the evader&rsquo;s position when they lose the tracking information about the evader. A novel collision-free motion strategy is also presented in this paper, which is called the direction-optimization strategy. To test the effect of cooperative hunting, the target to be captured owns a safety-motion strategy, which helps it to escape being captured. The computer simulations support the rationality of the approach.<br /

MobiPADS: a reflective middleware for context-aware mobile computing

distributed computing services that essentially abstract the underlying network services to a monolithic “black box. ” In a mobile operating environment, the fundamental assumption of middleware abstracting a unified distributed service for all types of applications operating over a static network infrastructure is no longer valid. In particular, mobile applications are not able to leverage the benefits of adaptive computing to optimize its computation based on current contextual situations. In this paper, we introduce the Mobile Platform for Actively Deployable Service (MobiPADS) system. MobiPADS is designed to support context-aware processing by providing an executing platform to enable active service deployment and reconfiguration of the service composition in response to environments of varying contexts. Unlike most mobile middleware, MobiPADS supports dynamic adaptation at both the middleware and application layers to provide flexible configuration of resources to optimize the operations of mobile applications. Within the MobiPADS system, services (known as mobilets) are configured as chained service objects to provide augmented services to the underlying mobile applications so as to alleviate the adverse conditions of a wireless environment. Index Terms—Middleware, mobile applications, mobile computing support services, mobile environments.

Sotsiokultuuriline ruum: sotsiokultuuriline maailm ja ruumiline modelleerimine

Püüeldes sotsiokultuurilise maailma selgitamisele, on sotsiaal- ja kultuuriteooriate alusülesandeks tunnetuse ning selle esituse korrastamine. See on mudelite ja metakeelte valdkond, milles võtmerolli mängib ka ruumilisus. Sotsiaalne ruum, kultuuriruum, väli, sotsiaalne kaugus ja mobiilsus, piir – need ja teised ruumile vihjavad väljendid on vahendid sotsiaal- ja kultuuriteoreetilise tunnetuse korrastamiseks. Erinevad mõisted moodustavad sidusaid kimpe, mida aga laiema valdkonnana iseloomustab ruumilisuse mõistmise ja korrastusviiside paljusus. Selles mitmekesisuses aitab selgust luua mõistete paigutamine ruumilise modelleerimise kui tunnetusprotsessi raamesse – on ju ruumilisus esmajoones nimelt teadmuse korrastus; see ei lähtu otseselt füüsikalisest, materiaalsest ega geograafilisest ruumist, vaid võimest märgata tunnetuse objektide või nende võimalikkuste koosolemist kui ruumilist suhet. Lihtsamatest sel moel äratuntud suhetest moodustavad omakorda erinevad keerukamad teoreetilised või käegakatsutavad korrastused ehk ruumid. Nii on väga erinevad ruumilised kirjeldusvahendid seotud ühe ja sama alusega ning põimuvad mitmekihilisel ruumilise tunnetuse väljal. Semiootika eripärane positsioon võimaldab seostada metatasandi abstraktseid ruumilisi mudeleid objekttasandi ruumilisusega – nii kultuurilise maailmapildi sümboolse ruumi kui ka erinevate tegevuste ruumilisuse ja selle mõtestamisega. Oma uurimuses keskendun eelkõige kolme autori, Pierre Bourdieu, Juri Lotmani ja Pitirim Sorokini ruumilise metakeele analüüsile ning näitan, et varieeruva ruumimõistestiku rakendamise abil üldjoontes samale objektvaldkonnale on võimalik iseloomustada sotsiokultuurilise maailma eri külgi ja toimimisviise. Näiliselt süütudki ruumilised mõisted muudavad meie arusaama kirjeldatavast ruumiliseks – iseasi, millisel tasandil ning mis laadi korrastusega seoses.Social and cultural theories involve organising the knowledge and its representation as a basic task in their strive for explaining the sociocultural world. It is a domain of models and metalanguages where spatial models and metalanguage have a substantial role. Social space, cultural space, field, social distance and mobility, boundary – these and other spatial expressions are tools for organising social and cultural theoretical knowledge. Selected notions form coherent clusters which together still remain characterised by multitude of ideas of spatiality and respective kinds of structures. Contextualising notions in the framework of spatial modelling as a cognitive process enables further clarification of this variety. It is essential that spatiality is first of all an organisation of knowledge. It is not directly derived from physical, material or geographical space but from the ability to recognise the co-existence of objects of cognition or their potentialities as the spatial relation. From this kind of simple recognised relations various spatial complexes or spaces are formed – as abstract ideas or tangible articulations. Rather different spatial descriptive means are thus related to the same basis and are interlinked at the multi-layered field of spatial cognition. Through the particular perspective of semiotics it is possible to uncover the relations between metaleval abstract spatial models and object-level spatiality from the aspect of both the symbolic space of the cultural world-view and the spatiality of practices. In my analysis I focus on spatial terminology in works by three authors, Pierre Bourdieu, Juri Lotman and Pitirim Sorokin. I show that due to the variety implied in spatial terminology different applications of spatial metalanguage to a common object domain enable modelling the variety of sociocultural world and its functioning. It is also outlined how at first sight unbiased spatial notions can turn the understanding of the object to be spatial. The exact organisation and level of this spatiality can again be different. relations between metaleval abstract spatial models and object-level spatiality from the aspect of both the symbolic space of the cultural world-view and the spatiality of practice

Priority Directions of the Regional Food Complex Effectiveness Increase

In the article, the modern trends of management integration as a solution of food and sectoral problems are considered. On the basis of national and foreign experience of development of integration, the classification of integration in economic systems is developed. Based on the given classification, the concept of integration is conducted. In the article, much attention is given to the food problem solution, which depends more on the agro-industrial complex based on metaintegration. The leading place of a food complex in the system of agro-industrial complex is caused by a role of food and food raw materials in life of the population of the country. The ratio of the sectors participating in the food production and consumer goods makes the sectoral structure of agro-industrial complex. In the conditions of the resource limitation necessary for the production and food delivery to the domestic market, the role of trade will increase not only in agro-industrial complex, but in all national economy. Also, in this article, the phenomenon of clusters is studied. The attention to clusters as to innovation systems reflects a rising tide of interest of economic science to the questions of economics functioning in regional level and understanding of a role of specific local resources in stimulation of innovative opportunities and competitiveness of small and medium business. Creating a cluster, participants develop the spatial and organizational integrated structure, in interaction of legal entities the status is saved and cooperation provides competitive advantages with other business entities. The role of the state in integration of cluster formations in the Russian Federation is more significant, than in any other country. The state represented by regional authorities actively participates in decision-making process by the business located in its catchment area not only through membership in governing bodies of large joint stock companies

Embodied Communicative Activity in Cooperative Conversational Interactions - studies in Visual Interaction Management

Peer reviewe

Blackboard System Generator (BSG): An Alternative Distributed Problem-Solving Paradigm

The classical blackboard model employs a number of relaxations of team decision theory that are commonly organized into three panels of AI heuristics, including: 1) a shared information panel that offers a capability for ensuring agent knowledge sharing, 2) a contract formalism for the agent and event scheduling, coordinating, and control panel, and 3) a blackboard panel for metalevel planning and guidance that offers whole situation recognition, top down reasoning, and adaptive learning. The nature and implications of these relaxations are explained in terms of the blackboard system generator (BSG) and via comparisons to what is done in other blackboard shells. Particular attention is paid to theoretical relaxations inherent in the classical blackboard model and to research opportunities arising as a result. Progress made to date to counteract adverse effects of some of these relaxations is described in terms of a project management/work breakdown paradigm adopted in BSG that: 1) alleviates the knowledge engineering bottlenecks of traditional blackboards and that provides BSG with a semantic rather than just syntactic understanding of blackboard control and scheduling; 2) allows a distributed problem-solving capability for connecting agents at virtual addresses on a logical network and that permits concurrent processing on any machine available on the network; 3) establishes an open architecture that includes techniques for integrating preexisting agent methods (e.g., expert systems, procedures, or data bases) while laying the foundation for assessing the impact of “black boxes” on the global and local objective functions; and 4) utilizes project management techniques for team agents planning as well as an analogical reasoner subsystem for BSG metaplanning and generic controlled learning. This latter item is supported by a connectionist scheme for its associative memory. The techniques of each of the three panels and of the four sets of paradigm-related advances are described along with selected results from classroom teaching experiments and from three applications using BSG to date

Study of decentralised decision models in distributed environments

Many of today's complex systems require effective decision making within uncertain distributed environments. The central theme of the thesis considers the systematic analysis for the representation of decision making organisations. The basic concept of stochastic learning automata provides a framework for modelling decision making in complex systems. Models of interactive decision making are discussed, which result from interconnecting decision makers in both synchronous and sequential configurations. The concepts and viewpoints from learning theory and game theory are used to explain the behaviour of these structures. This work is then extended by presenting a quantitative framework based on Petri Net theory. This formalism provides a powerful means for capturing the information flow in the decision-making process and demonstrating the explicit interactions between decision makers. Additionally, it is also used for the description and analysis of systems that axe characterised as being concurrent, asynchronous, distributed, parallel and/ or stochastic activities. The thesis discusses the limitations of each modelling framework. The thesis proposes an extension to the existing methodologies by presenting a new class of Petri Nets. This extension has resulted in a novel structure which has the additional feature of an embedded stochastic learning automata. An application of this approach to a realistic decision problem demonstrates the impact that the use of an artificial intelligence technique embedded within Petri Nets can have on the performance of decision models

From systematic semiotic modelling to pseudointentional reference

Societies as open social systems work through semiotic modelling systems. We view their relevance for shaping primary and secondary needs, as well as metaneeds that are conditioned in social systems. Through conditioning in socialization, semiotic reality can be naturalized up to a level where we can start speaking about not only unconscious, but also unintentional semiosic activity. By that, the very realm of indexicality will be questioned. If indexicality is conjoined with unintended referentiality, then unintentional semiosis means the blurring and fusion of realities far beyond the so-called simulacral semiotic spaces. It is especially acute in the context of the development of technological availabilities where the physical, the semiotic, and the purely virtual reality merge. That quite novel phenomenon is exemplified by semiotic insularization. What follows is that it is hard to define the research object, for the subject is fading away, the real and the virtual are intermingling also in terms of their inhabitants (biological humans, computer users, avatars, virtual identities). Thus the pragmatic dimension of semiotics is gradually becoming lost. Also, the referential reality is moving farther from the informational space created and represented in “traditional” discursive flows, rather becoming based on pseudoreferential clues of meaning making