41 research outputs found

    RLBOA: A modular reinforcement learning framework for autonomous negotiating agents

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    Negotiation is a complex problem, in which the variety of settings and opponents that may be encountered prohibits the use of a single predefined negotiation strategy. Hence the agent should be able to learn such a strategy autonomously. To this end we propose RLBOA, a modular framework that facilitates the creation of autonomous negotiation agents using reinforcement learning. The framework allows for the creation of agents that are capable of negotiating effectively in many different scenarios. To be able to cope with the large size of the state and action spaces and diversity of settings, we leverage the modular BOA-framework. This decouples the negotiation strategy into a Bidding strategy, an Opponent model and an Acceptance condition. Furthermore, we map the multidimensional contract space onto the utility axis which enables a compact and generic state and action description. We demonstrate the value of the RLBOA framework by implementing an agent that uses tabular Q-learning on the compressed state and action space to learn a bidding strategy.We show that the resulting agent is able to learn well-performing bidding strategies in a range of negotiation settings and is able to generalize across opponents and domains

    Fabrication and J c

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    Population genetic structure, worker reproduction and thelytokous parthenogenesis in the desert ant Cataglyphis sabulosa

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    In social Hymenoptera, within-colony relatedness is usually high due to the haplodiploid sex-determining system. However, factors such as the presence of multiple reproductive queens (polygyny), multiple queen matings (polyandry) or worker reproduction result in decreased relatedness among workers and the brood they rear, and consequently dilute their inclusive fitness benefits from helping. Here, we investigated population genetic structure, mating system, worker reproduction and parthenogenesis in the desert ant Cataglyphis sabulosa. Analysis of worker genotypes showed that colonies are headed by a single queen, mated with 1-5 males. The inbreeding coefficient within colonies and the levels of relatedness between the queens and their mates were positive, indicating that mating occurs between related individuals. Moreover, the mates of a queen are on average related and contribute equally to worker production. Our analyses also indicate that colonies are genetically differentiated and form a population exhibiting no isolation-by-distance pattern, consistent with the independent foundation of new colonies (that is, without the help of workers). Finally, both ovarian dissections and genetic data on the parentage of males show that workers do not reproduce in queenright colonies; however, they lay both haploid (arrhenotokous males) and diploid (thelytokous females) eggs in queenless colonies. In contrast to the congeneric species C. cursor, where new queens are produced by thelytokous parthenogenesis, female sexuals of C. sabulosa result from classical sexual reproduction.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishe
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