Integrating hardware agents into an enhanced multi-agent architecture for Ambient Intelligence systems

Ambient Intelligence (AmI) systems require the integration of complex and innovative solutions. In this sense, agents and multi-agent systems have characteristics such as autonomy, reasoning, reactivity, social abilities and pro-activity which make them appropriate for developing distributed systems based on Ambient Intelligence. In addition, the use of context-aware technologies is an essential aspect in these developments in order to perceive stimuli from the context and react to it autonomously. This paper presents the integration of the Hardware-Embedded Reactive Agents (HERA) Platform into the Flexible and User Services Oriented Multi-agent Architecture (FUSION@), a multi-agent architecture for developing AmI systems that integrates intelligent agents with a service-oriented architecture approach. Because of this integration, FUSION@ has the ability to manage both software and hardware agents by using self-adaptable heterogeneous wireless sensor networks. Preliminary results presented in this paper demonstrate the feasibility of FUSION@ as a future alternative for developing Ambient Intelligence systems where users and systems can use both software and hardware agents in a transparent way, achieving a higher level of ubiquitous computing and communication

Normative agent reasoning in dynamic societies

Several innovative software applications such as those required by ambient intelligence, the semantic grid, e-commerce and e-marketing, can be viewed as open societies of heterogeneous and self-interested agents in which social order is achieved through norms. For agents to participate in these kinds of societies, it is enough that they are able to represent and fulfill norms, and to recognise the authority of certain agents. However, to voluntarily be part of a society or to voluntarily leave it, other characteristics of agents are needed. To find these characteristics we observe that on the one hand, autonomous agents have their own goals and, sometimes, they act on behalf of others whose goals must be satisfied. On the other, we observe that by being members, agents must comply with some norms that can be in clear conflict with their goals. Consequently, agents must evaluate the positive or negative effects of norms on their goals before making a decision concerning their social behaviour. Providing a model of autonomous agents that undertake this kind of norm reasoning is the aim of this paper

Mixed reality participants in smart meeting rooms and smart home enviroments

Human–computer interaction requires modeling of the user. A user profile typically contains preferences, interests, characteristics, and interaction behavior. However, in its multimodal interaction with a smart environment the user displays characteristics that show how the user, not necessarily consciously, verbally and nonverbally provides the smart environment with useful input and feedback. Especially in ambient intelligence environments we encounter situations where the environment supports interaction between the environment, smart objects (e.g., mobile robots, smart furniture) and human participants in the environment. Therefore it is useful for the profile to contain a physical representation of the user obtained by multi-modal capturing techniques. We discuss the modeling and simulation of interacting participants in a virtual meeting room, we discuss how remote meeting participants can take part in meeting activities and they have some observations on translating research results to smart home environments