144 research outputs found
Detection and resolution of normative conflicts in multi-agent systems : a literature survey
Peer reviewedPostprin
Reasoning about norms under uncertainty in dynamic environments
The behaviour of norm-autonomous agents is determined by their goals and the
norms that are explicitly represented inside their minds. Thus, they require
mechanisms for acquiring and accepting norms, determining when norms are
relevant to their case, and making decisions about norm compliance. Up un-
til now the existing proposals on norm-autonomous agents assume that agents
interact within a deterministic environment that is certainly perceived. In prac-
tice, agents interact by means of sensors and actuators under uncertainty with
non-deterministic and dynamic environments. Therefore, the existing propos-
als are unsuitable or, even, useless to be applied when agents have a physical
presence in some real-world environment. In response to this problem we have
developed the n-BDI architecture. In this paper, we propose a multi -context
graded BDI architecture (called n-BDI) that models norm-autonomous agents
able to deal with uncertainty in dynamic environments. The n-BDI architecture
has been experimentally evaluated and the results are shown in this paper.This paper was partially funded by the Spanish government under Grant CONSOLIDER-INGENIO 2010 CSD2007-00022 and the Valencian government under Project PROMETEOH/2013/019.Criado Pacheco, N.; Argente, E.; Noriega, P.; Botti Navarro, VJ. (2014). Reasoning about norms under uncertainty in dynamic environments. International Journal of Approximate Reasoning. 55(9):2049-2070. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijar.2014.02.004S2049207055
Adaptive deterrence sanctions in a normative framework
Normative environments are used to regulate multi-agent interactions. In business encounters, agents representing business entities make contracts including norms that prescribe what agents should do. Agent autonomy, however, gives agents the ability to decide whether they fulfill or violate their commitments. In this paper we present an adaptive mechanism that enables a normative framework to change deterrence sanctions according to an agent population, in order to preclude agents from exploiting potential normative flaws. The system tries to avoid institutional control beyond what is strictly necessary, seeking to maximize agent contracting activity while ensuring a certain commitment compliance level, when agents have unknown risk and social attitudes
Reasoning about norms under uncertainty in dynamic environments
The behaviour of norm-autonomous agents is determined by their goals and the norms that are explicitly represented inside their minds. Thus, they require mechanisms for acquiring and accepting norms, determining when norms are relevant to their case, and making decisions about norm compliance. Up until now the existing proposals on norm-autonomous agents assume that agents interact within a deterministic environment that is certainly perceived. In practise, agents interact by means of sensors and actuators under uncertainty with non-deterministic and dynamic environments. Therefore, the existing proposals are unsuitable or, even, useless to be applied when agents have a physical presence in some real-world environment. In response to this problem we have developed the n-BDI architecture. In this paper, we propose a multi-context graded BDI architecture (called n-BDI) that models norm-autonomous agents able to deal with uncertainty in dynamic environments. The n-BDI architecture has been experimentally evaluated and the results are shown in this paper. © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved
Electronic institutions with normative environments for agent-based E-contracting
Tese de doutoramento. Engenharia Informática. Faculdade de Engenharia. Universidade do Porto. 201
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
Flexible autonomy and context in human-agent collectives
Human-agent collectives (HACs) are collaborative relationships between humans and software agents that are formed to meet the individual and collective goals of their members.
In general, different members of a HAC should have differing degrees of autonomy in determining how a goal is to be achieved, and the degree of autonomy that should be enjoyed by each member of the collective varies with context. This thesis explores how norms can be used to achieve context sensitive flexible autonomy in HACs.
Norms can be viewed as defining standards of ideal behaviour. In the form of rules and codes, they are widely used to coordinate and regulate activity in human organisations, and more recently they have also been proposed as a coordination mechanism for multi-agent systems (MAS). Norms therefore have the potential to form a common framework for coordination and control in HACs. The thesis develops a novel framework in which group and individual norms are used to specify both the goal to be achieved by a HAC and the degree of autonomy of the HAC and/or of its members in achieving a goal.
The framework allows members of a collective to create norms specifying how a goal should (or should not) be achieved, together with sanctions for non-compliance. These norms form part of the decision making context of both the humans and agents in the collective. A prototype implementation of the framework was evaluated using the Colored Trails test-bed in a scenario involving mixed human-agent teams. The experiments confirmed that norms can be used for coordination of HACs and to facilitate context related flexible autonomy
Flexible autonomy and context in human-agent collectives
Human-agent collectives (HACs) are collaborative relationships between humans and software agents that are formed to meet the individual and collective goals of their members.
In general, different members of a HAC should have differing degrees of autonomy in determining how a goal is to be achieved, and the degree of autonomy that should be enjoyed by each member of the collective varies with context. This thesis explores how norms can be used to achieve context sensitive flexible autonomy in HACs.
Norms can be viewed as defining standards of ideal behaviour. In the form of rules and codes, they are widely used to coordinate and regulate activity in human organisations, and more recently they have also been proposed as a coordination mechanism for multi-agent systems (MAS). Norms therefore have the potential to form a common framework for coordination and control in HACs. The thesis develops a novel framework in which group and individual norms are used to specify both the goal to be achieved by a HAC and the degree of autonomy of the HAC and/or of its members in achieving a goal.
The framework allows members of a collective to create norms specifying how a goal should (or should not) be achieved, together with sanctions for non-compliance. These norms form part of the decision making context of both the humans and agents in the collective. A prototype implementation of the framework was evaluated using the Colored Trails test-bed in a scenario involving mixed human-agent teams. The experiments confirmed that norms can be used for coordination of HACs and to facilitate context related flexible autonomy
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