Socionic Multi-Agent Systems Based on Reflexive Petri Nets and Theories of Social Self-Organisation

This contribution summarises the core results of the transdisciplinary ASKO project, part of the German DFG's programme Sozionik, which combines sociologists' and computer scientists' skills in order to create improved theories and models of artificial societies. Our research group has (a) formulated a social theory, which is able to explain fundamental mechanisms of self-organisation in both natural and artificial societies, (b) modelled this in a mathematical way using a visual formalism, and (c) developed a novel multi-agent system architecture which is conceptually coherent, recursively structured (hence non-eclectic) and based on our social theory. The article presents an outline of both a sociological middle-range theory of social self-organisation in educational institutions, its formal, Petri net based model, including a simulation of one of its main mechanisms, and the multi-agent system architecture SONAR. It describes how the theory was created by a re-analysis of some grand social theories, by grounding it empirically, and finally how the theory was evaluated by modelling its concepts and statements.Multi-Agents Systems, Petri Nets, Self-Organisation, Social Theories

A group learning management method for intelligent tutoring systems

In this paper we propose a group management specification and execution method that seeks a compromise between simple course design and complex adaptive group interaction. This is achieved through an authoring method that proposes predefined scenarios to the author. These scenarios already include complex learning interaction protocols in which student and group models use and update are automatically included. The method adopts ontologies to represent domain and student models, and object Petri nets to specify the group interaction protocols. During execution, the method is supported by a multi-agent architecture

Workshop on Modelling of Objects, Components, and Agents, Aarhus, Denmark, August 27-28, 2001

This booklet contains the proceedings of the workshop Modelling of Objects, Components, and Agents (MOCA'01), August 27-28, 2001. The workshop is organised by the CPN group at the Department of Computer Science, University of Aarhus, Denmark and the "Theoretical Foundations of Computer Science" Group at the University of Hamburg, Germany. The papers are also available in electronic form via the web pages: http://www.daimi.au.dk/CPnets/workshop01

Overview on agent-based social modelling and the use of formal languages

Transdisciplinary Models and Applications investigates a variety of programming languages used in validating and verifying models in order to assist in their eventual implementation. This book will explore different methods of evaluating and formalizing simulation models, enabling computer and industrial engineers, mathematicians, and students working with computer simulations to thoroughly understand the progression from simulation to product, improving the overall effectiveness of modeling systems.Postprint (author's final draft

Second Workshop on Modelling of Objects, Components and Agents

This report contains the proceedings of the workshop Modelling of Objects, Components, and Agents (MOCA'02), August 26-27, 2002.The workshop is organized by the 'Coloured Petri Net' Group at the University of Aarhus, Denmark and the 'Theoretical Foundations of Computer Science' Group at the University of Hamburg, Germany. The homepage of the workshop is: http://www.daimi.au.dk/CPnets/workshop02

Petri net-based approach for web service automation resource coordination

In industrial automation, control systems and mechatronic devices are from diverse nature, supplied by different manufacturers and made of different technologies. The adoption of web services principles in an automated production system satisfies some requirements, namely the interoperability of such heterogeneous and distributed environments and the basis for flexibility and reconfigurability. Manufacturing processes require to access resources at different precedence levels and time instances, but in the other way resources may also be shared by different processes. A major challenge is then how individual services may interact, coordinating their activities. Petri nets may be used to describe complex system behaviour and therefore also applied to coordinate such systems. The paper introduces a Petri net based approach for the design, analysis and coordination of systems developed using web services to represent individual and autonomous resources. For this purpose, it is presented a Petri nets computational tool to support the design, validation and coordination of web service based automation systems.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Engineering of service-oriented automation systems: a survey

The evolution of manufacturing systems and the emergence of decentralised control require flexibility at various levels of their lifecycle. New emerging methods, such as multi-agent and service-oriented systems are major research topics in the sense of revitalizing the traditional production procedures. This paper takes an overview of the serviceoriented approach in terms of platform and engineering tools, from the perspective of automation and production systems. From the basic foundation to the more complex interactions, service-oriented architectures and its implementation in form of web services provide diverse and quality proved features that are welcome to different states of the production systems’ life-cycle. Key elements are the concepts of modelling and collaboration, which enhance the automatic binding and synchronisation of individual low-value services to more complex and meaningful structures. Such interactions can be specified by Petri nets, a mathematically well founded tool with features that enhance towards the modelling of systems. The right application of different methodologies together should motivate the development of service-oriented manufacturing systems that embrace the vision of collaborative automation.The authors would like to thank the European Commission and the partners of Network of Excellence “Innovative Production Machines and Systems” (http://www.iproms.org/) and the SOCRADES project (http://www.socrades.eu) for their support.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Engineering of service-oriented automation systems: a survey

The evolution of manufacturing systems and the emergence of decentralised control require flexibility at various levels of their lifecycle. New emerging methods, such as multi-agent and service-oriented systems are major research topics in the sense of revitalizing the traditional production procedures. This paper takes an overview of the serviceoriented approach in terms of platform and engineering tools, from the perspective of automation and production systems. From the basic foundation to the more complex interactions, service-oriented architectures and its implementation in form of web services provide diverse and quality proved features that are welcome to different states of the production systems’ life-cycle. Key elements are the concepts of modelling and collaboration, which enhance the automatic binding and synchronisation of individual low-value services to more complex and meaningful structures. Such interactions can be specified by Petri nets, a mathematically well founded tool with features that enhance towards the modelling of systems. The right application of different methodologies together should motivate the development of service-oriented manufacturing systems that embrace the vision of collaborative automation.The authors would like to thank the European Commission and the partners of Network of Excellence “Innovative Production Machines and Systems” (http://www.iproms.org/) and the SOCRADES project (http://www.socrades.eu) for their support.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Third Workshop on Modelling of Objects, Components, and Agents

This booklet contains the proceedings of the Third International Workshop on Modelling of Objects, Components, and Agents (MOCA'04), October 11-13, 2004. The workshop is organised by the CPN group at the Department of Computer Science, University of Aarhus, Denmark and the "Theoretical Foundations of Computer Science" group at the University of Hamburg. The home page of the workshop is: http://www.daimi.au.dk/CPnets/workshop0