Specification of Behavioural Requirements within Compositional Multi-Agent System Design

OpenAIRE

Herlea, D.E.; Jonker, C.M.; Treur, J.; Wijngaards, N.J.E.

1999-01-01

In this paper it is shown how informal and formal specification of behavioural requirements and scenarios for agents and multi-agent systems can be integrated within multi-agent system design. In particular, it is addressed how a compositional

A meta-ontological framework for multi-agent systems design

OpenAIRE

Sokolova, Marina; Fernández Caballero, Antonio

2007-01-01

The paper introduces an approach to using a meta-ontology framework for complex multi-agent systems design, and illustrates it in an application related to ecological-medical issues. The described shared ontology is pooled from private sub-ontologies, which represent a problem area ontology, an agent ontology, a task ontology, an ontology of interactions, and the multi-agent system architecture ontology.

A Comparison of Organization-Centered and Agent-Centered Multi-Agent Systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Andreas Schmidt; Villadsen, Jørgen

2013-01-01

Whereas most classical multi-agent systems have the agent in center, there has recently been a development towards focusing more on the organization of the system, thereby allowing the designer to focus on what the system goals are, without considering how the goals should be fulfilled. We have d...

Autonomous Formations of Multi-Agent Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Dhali, Sanjana; Joshi, Suresh M.

2013-01-01

Autonomous formation control of multi-agent dynamic systems has a number of applications that include ground-based and aerial robots and satellite formations. For air vehicles, formation flight ("flocking") has the potential to significantly increase airspace utilization as well as fuel efficiency. This presentation addresses two main problems in multi-agent formations: optimal role assignment to minimize the total cost (e.g., combined distance traveled by all agents); and maintaining formation geometry during flock motion. The Kuhn-Munkres ("Hungarian") algorithm is used for optimal assignment, and consensus-based leader-follower type control architecture is used to maintain formation shape despite the leader s independent movements. The methods are demonstrated by animated simulations.

A Multi-Agent Traffic Control Model Based on Distributed System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Qian WU

2014-06-01

Full Text Available With the development of urbanization construction, urban travel has become a quite thorny and imminent problem. Some previous researches on the large urban traffic systems easily change into NPC problems. We purpose a multi-agent inductive control model based on the distributed approach. To describe the real traffic scene, this model designs four different types of intelligent agents, i.e. we regard each lane, route, intersection and traffic region as different types of intelligent agents. Each agent can achieve the real-time traffic data from its neighbor agents, and decision-making agents establish real-time traffic signal plans through the communication between local agents and their neighbor agents. To evaluate the traffic system, this paper takes the average delay, the stopped time and the average speed as performance parameters. Finally, the distributed multi-agent is simulated on the VISSIM simulation platform, the simulation results show that the multi-agent system is more effective than the adaptive control system in solving the traffic congestion.

Reimplementing a Multi-Agent System in Python

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Villadsen, Jørgen; Jensen, Andreas Schmidt; Ettienne, Mikko Berggren

2012-01-01

We provide a brief description of our Python-DTU system, including the overall design, the tools and the algorithms that we used in the Multi-Agent Programming Contest 2012, where the scenario was called Agents on Mars like in 2011. Our solution is an improvement of our Python-DTU system from last...

Reimplementing a Multi-Agent System in Python

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Villadsen, Jørgen; Jensen, Andreas Schmidt; Ettienne, Mikko Berggren

2013-01-01

We provide a brief description of our Python-DTU system, including the overall design, the tools and the algorithms that we used in the Multi-Agent Programming Contest 2012, where the scenario was called Agents on Mars like in 2011. Our solution is an improvement of our Python-DTU system from last...

Semiotics, Multi-Agent Systems and Organizations

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gazendam, H.W.M.; Jorna, René J.

1998-01-01

Multi-agent systems are promising as models of organization because they are based on the idea that most work in human organizations is done based on intelligence, communication, cooperation, and massive parallel processing. They offer an alternative for system theories of organization, which are

2015 Special Sessions of the 13th International Conference on Practical Applications of Agents and Multi-Agent Systems

CERN Document Server

Hernández, Josefa; Mathieu, Philippe; Campbell, Andrew; Fernández-Caballero, Antonio; Moreno, María; Julián, Vicente; Alonso-Betanzos, Amparo; Jiménez-López, María; Botti, Vicente; Trends in Practical Applications of Agents, Multi-Agent Systems and Sustainability : the PAAMS Collection

2015-01-01

This volume presents the papers that have been accepted for the 2015 special sessions of the 13th International Conference on Practical Applications of Agents and Multi-Agent Systems, held at University of Salamanca, Spain, at 3rd-5th June, 2015: Agents Behaviours and Artificial Markets (ABAM); Agents and Mobile Devices (AM); Multi-Agent Systems and Ambient Intelligence (MASMAI); Web Mining and Recommender systems (WebMiRes); Learning, Agents and Formal Languages (LAFLang); Agent-based Modeling of Sustainable Behavior and Green Economies (AMSBGE); Emotional Software Agents (SSESA) and Intelligent Educational Systems (SSIES). The volume also includes the paper accepted for the Doctoral Consortium in PAAMS 2015. PAAMS, the International Conference on Practical Applications of Agents and Multi-Agent Systems is an evolution of the International Workshop on Practical Applications of Agents and Multi-Agent Systems. PAAMS is an international yearly tribune to present, to discuss, and to disseminate the latest develo...

Fault-Tolerant Consensus of Multi-Agent System With Distributed Adaptive Protocol.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Shun; Ho, Daniel W C; Li, Lulu; Liu, Ming

2015-10-01

In this paper, fault-tolerant consensus in multi-agent system using distributed adaptive protocol is investigated. Firstly, distributed adaptive online updating strategies for some parameters are proposed based on local information of the network structure. Then, under the online updating parameters, a distributed adaptive protocol is developed to compensate the fault effects and the uncertainty effects in the leaderless multi-agent system. Based on the local state information of neighboring agents, a distributed updating protocol gain is developed which leads to a fully distributed continuous adaptive fault-tolerant consensus protocol design for the leaderless multi-agent system. Furthermore, a distributed fault-tolerant leader-follower consensus protocol for multi-agent system is constructed by the proposed adaptive method. Finally, a simulation example is given to illustrate the effectiveness of the theoretical analysis.

11th International Conference on Practical Applications of Agents and Multi-Agent Systems

CERN Document Server

Hermoso, Ramon; Moreno, María; Rodríguez, Juan; Hirsch, Benjamin; Mathieu, Philippe; Campbell, Andrew; Suarez-Figueroa, Mari; Ortega, Alfonso; Adam, Emmanuel; Navarro, Elena

2013-01-01

Research on Agents and Multi-agent Systems has matured during the last decade and many effective applications of this technology are now deployed. PAAMS provides an international forum to presents and discuss the latest scientific developments and their effective applications, to assess the impact of the approach, and to facilitate technology transfer. PAAMS started as a local initiative, but since grown to become the international yearly platform to present, to discuss, and to disseminate the latest developments and the most important outcomes related to real-world applications. It provides a unique opportunity to bring multi-disciplinary experts, academics and practitioners together to Exchange their experience in the development and deployment of Agents and Multiagents systems. PAAMS intends to bring together researchers and developers from industry and the academic world to report on the latest scientific and technical advances on the application of multi-agent systems, to discuss and debate the major iss...

Modeling Multi-Mobile Agents System Based on Coalition Signature Mechanism Using UML

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

SUNZhixin; HUANGHaiping; WANGRuchuan

2004-01-01

With the development of electronic commerce and agent techniques, multi-mobile agents cooperation can not only improve the efficiency of electronic business trade, but more importantly, it has a comprehensive applicative value in solving the security issues of mobile agent system. This paper firstly describes the mechanism of multi-mobile agents coalition signature aiming at the system security. Subsequently it brings forward a basic architecture of Multi-mobile agents system (MMAS) based on the design pattern of multi-mobile agents. The paper uses the diagrs_rn of UML, such as use case diagram, class diagram and sequence diagram to build the detailed model of the coalition signature and multi-mobile agents cooperation results. Through security analysis, we find that multimobile agents cooperation and interaction can solve some security problems of mobile agents in transfer, and also it can improve the efficiency of business trade. These results indicate that MMAS has a high security performance and can be widely used in E-commerce trade.

Modeling of a production system using the multi-agent approach

Science.gov (United States)

Gwiazda, A.; Sękala, A.; Banaś, W.

2017-08-01

The method that allows for the analysis of complex systems is a multi-agent simulation. The multi-agent simulation (Agent-based modeling and simulation - ABMS) is modeling of complex systems consisting of independent agents. In the case of the model of the production system agents may be manufactured pieces set apart from other types of agents like machine tools, conveyors or replacements stands. Agents are magazines and buffers. More generally speaking, the agents in the model can be single individuals, but you can also be defined as agents of collective entities. They are allowed hierarchical structures. It means that a single agent could belong to a certain class. Depending on the needs of the agent may also be a natural or physical resource. From a technical point of view, the agent is a bundle of data and rules describing its behavior in different situations. Agents can be autonomous or non-autonomous in making the decision about the types of classes of agents, class sizes and types of connections between elements of the system. Multi-agent modeling is a very flexible technique for modeling and model creating in the convention that could be adapted to any research problem analyzed from different points of views. One of the major problems associated with the organization of production is the spatial organization of the production process. Secondly, it is important to include the optimal scheduling. For this purpose use can approach multi-purposeful. In this regard, the model of the production process will refer to the design and scheduling of production space for four different elements. The program system was developed in the environment NetLogo. It was also used elements of artificial intelligence. The main agent represents the manufactured pieces that, according to previously assumed rules, generate the technological route and allow preprint the schedule of that line. Machine lines, reorientation stands, conveyors and transport devices also represent the

Cooperative control of multi-agent systems optimal and adaptive design approaches

CERN Document Server

Lewis, Frank L; Hengster-Movric, Kristian; Das, Abhijit

2014-01-01

Task complexity, communication constraints, flexibility and energy-saving concerns are all factors that may require a group of autonomous agents to work together in a cooperative manner. Applications involving such complications include mobile robots, wireless sensor networks, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), spacecraft, and so on. In such networked multi-agent scenarios, the restrictions imposed by the communication graph topology can pose severe problems in the design of cooperative feedback control systems.  Cooperative control of multi-agent systems is a challenging topic for both control theorists and practitioners and has been the subject of significant recent research. Cooperative Control of Multi-Agent Systems extends optimal control and adaptive control design methods to multi-agent systems on communication graphs.  It develops Riccati design techniques for general linear dynamics for cooperative state feedback design, cooperative observer design, and cooperative dynamic output feedback design.  B...

Organization of the secure distributed computing based on multi-agent system

Science.gov (United States)

Khovanskov, Sergey; Rumyantsev, Konstantin; Khovanskova, Vera

2018-04-01

Nowadays developing methods for distributed computing is received much attention. One of the methods of distributed computing is using of multi-agent systems. The organization of distributed computing based on the conventional network computers can experience security threats performed by computational processes. Authors have developed the unified agent algorithm of control system of computing network nodes operation. Network PCs is used as computing nodes. The proposed multi-agent control system for the implementation of distributed computing allows in a short time to organize using of the processing power of computers any existing network to solve large-task by creating a distributed computing. Agents based on a computer network can: configure a distributed computing system; to distribute the computational load among computers operated agents; perform optimization distributed computing system according to the computing power of computers on the network. The number of computers connected to the network can be increased by connecting computers to the new computer system, which leads to an increase in overall processing power. Adding multi-agent system in the central agent increases the security of distributed computing. This organization of the distributed computing system reduces the problem solving time and increase fault tolerance (vitality) of computing processes in a changing computing environment (dynamic change of the number of computers on the network). Developed a multi-agent system detects cases of falsification of the results of a distributed system, which may lead to wrong decisions. In addition, the system checks and corrects wrong results.

Anticipatory vehicle routing using delegate multi-agent systems

OpenAIRE

Weyns, Danny; Holvoet, Tom; Helleboogh, Alexander

2007-01-01

This paper presents an agent-based approach, called delegate multi-agent systems, for anticipatory vehicle routing to avoid traffic congestion. In this approach, individual vehicles are represented by agents, which themselves issue light-weight agents that explore alternative routes in the environment on behalf of the vehicles. Based on the evaluation of the alternatives, the vehicles then issue light-weight agents for allocating road segments, spreading the vehicles’ intentions and coordi...

Fast Conflict Resolution Based on Reinforcement Learning in Multi-agent System

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

PIAOSonghao; HONGBingrong; CHUHaitao

2004-01-01

In multi-agent system where each agen thas a different goal (even the team of agents has the same goal), agents must be able to resolve conflicts arising in the process of achieving their goal. Many researchers presented methods for conflict resolution, e.g., Reinforcement learning (RL), but the conventional RL requires a large computation cost because every agent must learn, at the same time the overlap of actions selected by each agent results in local conflict. Therefore in this paper, we propose a novel method to solve these problems. In order to deal with the conflict within the multi-agent system, the concept of potential field function based Action selection priority level (ASPL) is brought forward. In this method, all kinds of environment factor that may have influence on the priority are effectively computed with the potential field function. So the priority to access the local resource can be decided rapidly. By avoiding the complex coordination mechanism used in general multi-agent system, the conflict in multi-agent system is settled more efficiently. Our system consists of RL with ASPL module and generalized rules module. Using ASPL, RL module chooses a proper cooperative behavior, and generalized rule module can accelerate the learning process. By applying the proposed method to Robot Soccer, the learning process can be accelerated. The results of simulation and real experiments indicate the effectiveness of the method.

Multi Agent System Based Wide Area Protection against Cascading Events

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Liu, Zhou; Chen, Zhe; Liu, Leo

2012-01-01

In this paper, a multi-agent system based wide area protection scheme is proposed in order to prevent long term voltage instability induced cascading events. The distributed relays and controllers work as a device agent which not only executes the normal function automatically but also can...... the effectiveness of proposed protection strategy. The simulation results indicate that the proposed multi agent control system can effectively coordinate the distributed relays and controllers to prevent the long term voltage instability induced cascading events....

Distributed Cooperative Control of Nonlinear and Non-identical Multi-agent Systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bidram, Ali; Lewis, Frank; Davoudi, Ali

2013-01-01

This paper exploits input-output feedback linearization technique to implement distributed cooperative control of multi-agent systems with nonlinear and non-identical dynamics. Feedback linearization transforms the synchronization problem for a nonlinear and heterogeneous multi-agent system...... for electric power microgrids. The effectiveness of the proposed control is verified by simulating a microgrid test system....

An Evolutionary Approach for Optimizing Hierarchical Multi-Agent System Organization

OpenAIRE

Shen, Zhiqi; Yu, Ling; Yu, Han

2014-01-01

It has been widely recognized that the performance of a multi-agent system is highly affected by its organization. A large scale system may have billions of possible ways of organization, which makes it impractical to find an optimal choice of organization using exhaustive search methods. In this paper, we propose a genetic algorithm aided optimization scheme for designing hierarchical structures of multi-agent systems. We introduce a novel algorithm, called the hierarchical genetic algorithm...

Multi agent gathering waste system

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Álvaro LOZANO MURCIEGO

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Along this paper, we present a new multi agent-based system to gather waste on cities and villages. We have developed a low cost wireless sensor prototype to measure the volume level of the containers. Furthermore a route system is developed to optimize the routes of the trucks and a mobile application has been developed to help drivers in their working days. In order to evaluate and validate the proposed system a practical case study in a real city environment is modeled using open data available and with the purpose of identifying limitations of the system.

Agent Based Fuzzy T-S Multi-Model System and Its Applications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiaopeng Zhao

2015-11-01

Full Text Available Based on the basic concepts of agent and fuzzy T-S model, an agent based fuzzy T-S multi-model (ABFT-SMM system is proposed in this paper. Different from the traditional method, the parameters and the membership value of the agent can be adjusted along with the process. In this system, each agent can be described as a dynamic equation, which can be seen as the local part of the multi-model, and it can execute the task alone or collaborate with other agents to accomplish a fixed goal. It is proved in this paper that the agent based fuzzy T-S multi-model system can approximate any linear or nonlinear system at arbitrary accuracy. The applications to the benchmark problem of chaotic time series prediction, water heater system and waste heat utilizing process illustrate the viability and the efficiency of the mentioned approach. At the same time, the method can be easily used to a number of engineering fields, including identification, nonlinear control, fault diagnostics and performance analysis.

Continuum deformation of multi-agent systems

CERN Document Server

Rastgoftar, Hossein

2016-01-01

This monograph presents new algorithms for formation control of multi-agent systems (MAS) based on principles of continuum mechanics. Beginning with an overview of traditional methods, the author then introduces an innovative new approach whereby agents of an MAS are considered as particles in a continuum evolving in ℝn whose desired configuration is required to satisfy an admissible deformation function. The necessary theory and its validation on a mobile-agent-based swarm test bed are considered for two primary tasks: homogeneous transformation of the MAS and deployment of a random distribution of agents on a desired configuration. The framework for this model is based on homogeneous transformations for the evolution of an MAS under no inter-agent communication, local inter-agent communication, and intelligent perception by agents. Different communication protocols for MAS evolution, the robustness of tracking of a desired motion by an MAS evolving in ℝn, and the effect of communication delays in an MAS...

An Interactive Tool for Creating Multi-Agent Systems and Interactive Agent-based Games

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lund, Henrik Hautop; Pagliarini, Luigi

2011-01-01

Utilizing principles from parallel and distributed processing combined with inspiration from modular robotics, we developed the modular interactive tiles. As an educational tool, the modular interactive tiles facilitate the learning of multi-agent systems and interactive agent-based games...

Model of interaction in Smart Grid on the basis of multi-agent system

Science.gov (United States)

Engel, E. A.; Kovalev, I. V.; Engel, N. E.

2016-11-01

This paper presents model of interaction in Smart Grid on the basis of multi-agent system. The use of travelling waves in the multi-agent system describes the behavior of the Smart Grid from the local point, which is being the complement of the conventional approach. The simulation results show that the absorption of the wave in the distributed multi-agent systems is effectively simulated the interaction in Smart Grid.

Consensus of second-order multi-agent dynamic systems with quantized data

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Guan, Zhi-Hong, E-mail: zhguan@mail.hust.edu.cn [Department of Control Science and Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430074 (China); Meng, Cheng [Department of Control Science and Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430074 (China); Liao, Rui-Quan [Petroleum Engineering College,Yangtze University, Jingzhou, 420400 (China); Zhang, Ding-Xue, E-mail: zdx7773@163.com [Petroleum Engineering College,Yangtze University, Jingzhou, 420400 (China)

2012-01-09

The consensus problem of second-order multi-agent systems with quantized link is investigated in this Letter. Some conditions are derived for the quantized consensus of the second-order multi-agent systems by the stability theory. Moreover, a result characterizing the relationship between the eigenvalues of the Laplacians matrix and the quantized consensus is obtained. Examples are given to illustrate the theoretical analysis. -- Highlights: ► A second-order multi-agent model with quantized data is proposed. ► Two sufficient and necessary conditions are obtained. ► The relationship between the eigenvalues of the Laplacians matrix and the quantized consensus is discovered.

Study on collaborative optimization control of ventilation and radon reduction system based on multi-agent technology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dai Jianyong; Meng Lingcong; Zou Shuliang

2015-01-01

According to the radioactive safety features such as radon and its progeny, combined with the theory of ventilation system, structure of multi-agent system for ventilation and radon reduction system is constructed with the application of multi agent technology. The function attribute of the key agent and the connection between the nodes in the multi-agent system are analyzed to establish the distributed autonomous logic structure and negotiation mechanism of multi agent system of ventilation and radon reduction system, and thus to implement the coordination optimization control of the multi-agent system. The example analysis shows that the system structure of the multi-agent system of ventilation and reducing radon system and its collaborative mechanism can improve and optimize the radioactive pollutants control, which provides a theoretical basis and important application prospect. (authors)

From fault classification to fault tolerance for multi-agent systems

CERN Document Server

Potiron, Katia; Taillibert, Patrick

2013-01-01

Faults are a concern for Multi-Agent Systems (MAS) designers, especially if the MAS are built for industrial or military use because there must be some guarantee of dependability. Some fault classification exists for classical systems, and is used to define faults. When dependability is at stake, such fault classification may be used from the beginning of the system's conception to define fault classes and specify which types of faults are expected. Thus, one may want to use fault classification for MAS; however, From Fault Classification to Fault Tolerance for Multi-Agent Systems argues that

Multi-agent system for energy resource scheduling of integrated microgrids in a distributed system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Logenthiran, T.; Srinivasan, Dipti; Khambadkone, Ashwin M.

2011-01-01

This paper proposes a multi-agent system for energy resource scheduling of an islanded power system with distributed resources, which consists of integrated microgrids and lumped loads. Distributed intelligent multi-agent technology is applied to make the power system more reliable, efficient and capable of exploiting and integrating alternative sources of energy. The algorithm behind the proposed energy resource scheduling has three stages. The first stage is to schedule each microgrid individually to satisfy its internal demand. The next stage involves finding the best possible bids for exporting power to the network and compete in a whole sale energy market. The final stage is to reschedule each microgrid individually to satisfy the total demand, which is the addition of internal demand and the demand from the results of the whole sale energy market simulation. The simulation results of a power system with distributed resources comprising three microgrids and five lumped loads show that the proposed multi-agent system allows efficient management of micro-sources with minimum operational cost. The case studies demonstrate that the system is successfully monitored, controlled and operated by means of the developed multi-agent system. (author)

Multi-agent system for energy resource scheduling of integrated microgrids in a distributed system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Logenthiran, T.; Srinivasan, Dipti; Khambadkone, Ashwin M. [Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, National University of Singapore, 4 Engineering Drive 3, Singapore 117576 (Singapore)

2011-01-15

This paper proposes a multi-agent system for energy resource scheduling of an islanded power system with distributed resources, which consists of integrated microgrids and lumped loads. Distributed intelligent multi-agent technology is applied to make the power system more reliable, efficient and capable of exploiting and integrating alternative sources of energy. The algorithm behind the proposed energy resource scheduling has three stages. The first stage is to schedule each microgrid individually to satisfy its internal demand. The next stage involves finding the best possible bids for exporting power to the network and compete in a whole sale energy market. The final stage is to reschedule each microgrid individually to satisfy the total demand, which is the addition of internal demand and the demand from the results of the whole sale energy market simulation. The simulation results of a power system with distributed resources comprising three microgrids and five lumped loads show that the proposed multi-agent system allows efficient management of micro-sources with minimum operational cost. The case studies demonstrate that the system is successfully monitored, controlled and operated by means of the developed multi-agent system. (author)

Teamwork in Multi-Agent Systems A Formal Approach

CERN Document Server

Dunin-Keplicz, Barbara Maria

2010-01-01

What makes teamwork tick?. Cooperation matters, in daily life and in complex applications. After all, many tasks need more than a single agent to be effectively performed. Therefore, teamwork rules!. Teams are social groups of agents dedicated to the fulfilment of particular persistent tasks. In modern multiagent environments, heterogeneous teams often consist of autonomous software agents, various types of robots and human beings. Teamwork in Multi-agent Systems: A Formal Approach explains teamwork rules in terms of agents' attitudes and their complex interplay. It provides the first comprehe

Research of negotiation in network trade system based on multi-agent

Science.gov (United States)

Cai, Jun; Wang, Guozheng; Wu, Haiyan

2009-07-01

A construction and implementation technology of network trade based on multi-agent is described in this paper. First, we researched the technology of multi-agent, then we discussed the consumer's behaviors and the negotiation between purchaser and bargainer which emerges in the traditional business mode and analysed the key technology to implement the network trade system. Finally, we implement the system.

Second-Order Controllability of Multi-Agent Systems with Multiple Leaders

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu Bo; Han Xiao; Shi Yun-Tao; Su Hou-Sheng

2016-01-01

This paper proposes a new second-order continuous-time multi-agent model and analyzes the controllability of second-order multi-agent system with multiple leaders based on the asymmetric topology. This paper considers the more general case: velocity coupling topology is different from location coupling topology. Some sufficient and necessary conditions are presented for the controllability of the system with multiple leaders. In addition, the paper studies the controllability of the system with velocity damping gain. Simulation results are given to illustrate the correctness of theoretical results. (paper)

Opportunities of creating multi-agent systems in the service sector

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shatsky A.A.

2017-03-01

Full Text Available the paper seeks to examine opportunities to create multi-agent systems (MAS in the service sector. Using methods of theoretical analysis and synthesis, the author attempts to apply a multi-agent technology to description of the socio-economic system, such as the service sector. As a result, the author identifies three types of MAS in the service sector based on different types of architecture of intelligent information systems. The research shows that the problem posed by the author requires further study and clarification of results

Multi-agent robotic systems and applications for satellite missions

Science.gov (United States)

Nunes, Miguel A.

A revolution in the space sector is happening. It is expected that in the next decade there will be more satellites launched than in the previous sixty years of space exploration. Major challenges are associated with this growth of space assets such as the autonomy and management of large groups of satellites, in particular with small satellites. There are two main objectives for this work. First, a flexible and distributed software architecture is presented to expand the possibilities of spacecraft autonomy and in particular autonomous motion in attitude and position. The approach taken is based on the concept of distributed software agents, also referred to as multi-agent robotic system. Agents are defined as software programs that are social, reactive and proactive to autonomously maximize the chances of achieving the set goals. Part of the work is to demonstrate that a multi-agent robotic system is a feasible approach for different problems of autonomy such as satellite attitude determination and control and autonomous rendezvous and docking. The second main objective is to develop a method to optimize multi-satellite configurations in space, also known as satellite constellations. This automated method generates new optimal mega-constellations designs for Earth observations and fast revisit times on large ground areas. The optimal satellite constellation can be used by researchers as the baseline for new missions. The first contribution of this work is the development of a new multi-agent robotic system for distributing the attitude determination and control subsystem for HiakaSat. The multi-agent robotic system is implemented and tested on the satellite hardware-in-the-loop testbed that simulates a representative space environment. The results show that the newly proposed system for this particular case achieves an equivalent control performance when compared to the monolithic implementation. In terms on computational efficiency it is found that the multi-agent

Reviewing Microgrids from a Multi-Agent Systems Perspective

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jorge J. Gomez-Sanz

2014-05-01

Full Text Available The construction of Smart Grids leads to the main question of what kind of intelligence such grids require and how to build it. Some authors choose an agent based solution to realize this intelligence. However, there may be some misunderstandings in the way this technology is being applied. This paper exposes some considerations of this subject, focusing on the Microgrid level, and shows a practical example through INGENIAS methodology, which is a methodology for the development of Agent Oriented systems that applies Model Driven Development techniques to produce fully functional Multi-Agent Systems.

Trends in Cyber-Physical Multi-Agent Systems. The PAAMS Collection - 15th International Conference

OpenAIRE

Fernando De la Prieta; Zita Vale; Luis Antunes; Tiago Pinto; Andrew T. Campbell; Vicente Julián; Antonio J.R. Neves; María N. Moreno

2017-01-01

PAAMS, the International Conference on Practical Applications of Agents and Multi-Agent Systems is an evolution of the International Workshop on Practical Applications of Agents and Multi-Agent Systems. PAAMS is an international yearly tribune to present, to discuss, and to disseminate the latest developments and the most important outcomes related to real-world applications. It provides a unique opportunity to bring multi-disciplinary experts, academics and practitioners together to exchange...

Distributed Consensus of Stochastic Delayed Multi-agent Systems Under Asynchronous Switching.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Xiaotai; Tang, Yang; Cao, Jinde; Zhang, Wenbing

2016-08-01

In this paper, the distributed exponential consensus of stochastic delayed multi-agent systems with nonlinear dynamics is investigated under asynchronous switching. The asynchronous switching considered here is to account for the time of identifying the active modes of multi-agent systems. After receipt of confirmation of mode's switching, the matched controller can be applied, which means that the switching time of the matched controller in each node usually lags behind that of system switching. In order to handle the coexistence of switched signals and stochastic disturbances, a comparison principle of stochastic switched delayed systems is first proved. By means of this extended comparison principle, several easy to verified conditions for the existence of an asynchronously switched distributed controller are derived such that stochastic delayed multi-agent systems with asynchronous switching and nonlinear dynamics can achieve global exponential consensus. Two examples are given to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.

Multi-agent system-based event-triggered hybrid control scheme for energy internet

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dou, Chunxia; Yue, Dong; Han, Qing Long

2017-01-01

This paper is concerned with an event-triggered hybrid control for the energy Internet based on a multi-agent system approach with which renewable energy resources can be fully utilized to meet load demand with high security and well dynamical quality. In the design of control, a multi-agent system...

Relay tracking control for second-order multi-agent systems with damaged agents.

Science.gov (United States)

Dong, Lijing; Li, Jing; Liu, Qin

2017-11-01

This paper investigates a situation where smart agents capable of sensory and mobility are deployed to monitor a designated area. A preset number of agents start tracking when a target intrudes this area. Some of the tracking agents are possible to be out of order over the tracking course. Thus, we propose a cooperative relay tracking strategy to ensure the successful tracking with existence of damaged agents. Relay means that, when a tracking agent quits tracking due to malfunction, one of the near deployed agents replaces it to continue the tracking task. This results in jump of tracking errors and dynamic switching of topology of the multi-agent system. Switched system technique is employed to solve this specific problem. Finally, the effectiveness of proposed tracking strategy and validity of the theoretical results are verified by conducting a numerical simulation. Copyright © 2017 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Negotiation and argumentation in multi-agent systems

CERN Document Server

Lopes, Fernando

2014-01-01

Multi-agent systems (MAS) composed of autonomous agents representing individuals or organizations and capable of reaching mutually beneficial agreements through negotiation and argumentation are becoming increasingly important and pervasive.Research on both automated negotiation and argumentation in MAS has a vigorous, exciting tradition. However, efforts to integrate both areas have received only selective attention in the academia and the practitioner literature. A symbiotic relationship could significantly strengthen each area's progress and trigger new R&D challenges and prospects toward t

An Approach for Autonomy: A Collaborative Communication Framework for Multi-Agent Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Dufrene, Warren Russell, Jr.

2005-01-01

Research done during the last three years has studied the emersion properties of Complex Adaptive Systems (CAS). The deployment of Artificial Intelligence (AI) techniques applied to remote Unmanned Aerial Vehicles has led the author to investigate applications of CAS within the field of Autonomous Multi-Agent Systems. The core objective of current research efforts is focused on the simplicity of Intelligent Agents (IA) and the modeling of these agents within complex systems. This research effort looks at the communication, interaction, and adaptability of multi-agents as applied to complex systems control. The embodiment concept applied to robotics has application possibilities within multi-agent frameworks. A new framework for agent awareness within a virtual 3D world concept is possible where the vehicle is composed of collaborative agents. This approach has many possibilities for applications to complex systems. This paper describes the development of an approach to apply this virtual framework to the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) tetrahedron structure developed under the Autonomous Nano Technology Swarm (ANTS) program and the Super Miniaturized Addressable Reconfigurable Technology (SMART) architecture program. These projects represent an innovative set of novel concepts deploying adaptable, self-organizing structures composed of many tetrahedrons. This technology is pushing current applied Agents Concepts to new levels of requirements and adaptability.

Collective Machine Learning: Team Learning and Classification in Multi-Agent Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Gifford, Christopher M.

2009-01-01

This dissertation focuses on the collaboration of multiple heterogeneous, intelligent agents (hardware or software) which collaborate to learn a task and are capable of sharing knowledge. The concept of collaborative learning in multi-agent and multi-robot systems is largely under studied, and represents an area where further research is needed to…

Nondestructive Intervention to Multi-Agent Systems through an Intelligent Agent

Science.gov (United States)

Han, Jing; Wang, Lin

2013-01-01

For a given multi-agent system where the local interaction rule of the existing agents can not be re-designed, one way to intervene the collective behavior of the system is to add one or a few special agents into the group which are still treated as normal agents by the existing ones. We study how to lead a Vicsek-like flocking model to reach synchronization by adding special agents. A popular method is to add some simple leaders (fixed-headings agents). However, we add one intelligent agent, called ‘shill’, which uses online feedback information of the group to decide the shill's moving direction at each step. A novel strategy for the shill to coordinate the group is proposed. It is strictly proved that a shill with this strategy and a limited speed can synchronize every agent in the group. The computer simulations show the effectiveness of this strategy in different scenarios, including different group sizes, shill speed, and with or without noise. Compared to the method of adding some fixed-heading leaders, our method can guarantee synchronization for any initial configuration in the deterministic scenario and improve the synchronization level significantly in low density groups, or model with noise. This suggests the advantage and power of feedback information in intervention of collective behavior. PMID:23658695

Nondestructive intervention to multi-agent systems through an intelligent agent.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jing Han

Full Text Available For a given multi-agent system where the local interaction rule of the existing agents can not be re-designed, one way to intervene the collective behavior of the system is to add one or a few special agents into the group which are still treated as normal agents by the existing ones. We study how to lead a Vicsek-like flocking model to reach synchronization by adding special agents. A popular method is to add some simple leaders (fixed-headings agents. However, we add one intelligent agent, called 'shill', which uses online feedback information of the group to decide the shill's moving direction at each step. A novel strategy for the shill to coordinate the group is proposed. It is strictly proved that a shill with this strategy and a limited speed can synchronize every agent in the group. The computer simulations show the effectiveness of this strategy in different scenarios, including different group sizes, shill speed, and with or without noise. Compared to the method of adding some fixed-heading leaders, our method can guarantee synchronization for any initial configuration in the deterministic scenario and improve the synchronization level significantly in low density groups, or model with noise. This suggests the advantage and power of feedback information in intervention of collective behavior.

OWL model of multi-agent Smart-system of distance learning for people with vision disabilities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Galina A. Samigulina

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The aim of the study is to develop an ontological model of multiagent smart-system of distance learning for visually impaired people based on Java Agent Development Framework for obtaining high-quality engineering education in laboratories of join use on modern equipment.Materials and methods of research. In developing multi-agent smart-system of distance learning, using various agents based on cognitive, ontological, statistical and intellectual methods is important. It is more convenient to implement this task in the form of software using multi-agent approach and Java Agent Development Framework. The main advantages of the platform are stability of operation, clear interface, simplicity of creating agents and extensive user database. In multi-agent systems, the solution is obtained automatically as result of interaction of many independent, purposeful agents. Each agent can perform certain tasks and pursue specified goals. Intellectual multi-agent systems and practical applications in distance learning based on them are considered.Results. The structural diagram of functioning of smart system distance learning for visually impaired people using various agents based on the system approach and the multi-agent platform Java Agent Development Framework is developed. The complex approach of distance learning of visually impaired people for obtaining highquality engineering education in laboratories of joint use on modern equipment is offered.The ontological model of multi-agent smart-system with a detailed description of the functions of following agents is created: personal, manager, ontological, cognitive, statistical, intellectual, shared laboratory agent, health agent, assistant to the agent and state agent. These agents execute their individual functions and provide a quality environment for learning.Conclusion. Thus, the proposed smart-system of distance learning for visually impaired people can significantly improve effectiveness and

10th KES Conference on Agent and Multi-Agent Systems : Technologies and Applications

CERN Document Server

Chen-Burger, Yun-Heh; Howlett, Robert; Jain, Lakhmi

2016-01-01

The modern economy is driven by technologies and knowledge. Digital technologies can free, shift and multiply choices, often intruding on the space of other industries, by providing new ways of conducting business operations and creating values for customers and companies. The topics covered in this volume include software agents, multi-agent systems, agent modelling, mobile and cloud computing, big data analysis, business intelligence, artificial intelligence, social systems, computer embedded systems and nature inspired manufacturing, etc. that contribute to the modern Digital Economy. This volume highlights new trends and challenges in agent, new digital and knowledge economy research and includes 28 papers classified in the following specific topics: business process management, agent-based modeling and simulation, anthropic-oriented computing, learning paradigms, business informatics and gaming, digital economy, and advances in networked virtual enterprises. Published papers were selected for presentatio...

Consensus pursuit of heterogeneous multi-agent systems under a directed acyclic graph

Science.gov (United States)

Yan, Jing; Guan, Xin-Ping; Luo, Xiao-Yuan

2011-04-01

This paper is concerned with the cooperative target pursuit problem by multiple agents based on directed acyclic graph. The target appears at a random location and moves only when sensed by the agents, and agents will pursue the target once they detect its existence. Since the ability of each agent may be different, we consider the heterogeneous multi-agent systems. According to the topology of the multi-agent systems, a novel consensus-based control law is proposed, where the target and agents are modeled as a leader and followers, respectively. Based on Mason's rule and signal flow graph analysis, the convergence conditions are provided to show that the agents can catch the target in a finite time. Finally, simulation studies are provided to verify the effectiveness of the proposed approach.

Multi-Agent System-Based Microgrid Operation Strategy for Demand Response

OpenAIRE

Cha, Hee-Jun; Won, Dong-Jun; Kim, Sang-Hyuk; Chung, Il-Yop; Han, Byung-Moon

2015-01-01

The microgrid and demand response (DR) are important technologies for future power grids. Among the variety of microgrid operations, the multi-agent system (MAS) has attracted considerable attention. In a microgrid with MAS, the agents installed on the microgrid components operate optimally by communicating with each other. This paper proposes an operation algorithm for the individual agents of a test microgrid that consists of a battery energy storage system (BESS) and an intelligent load. A...

VigilAgent for the development of agent-based multi-robot surveillance systems

OpenAIRE

Gascueña Noheda, José Manuel; Navarro Martínez, Elena María; Fernández Caballero, Antonio

2011-01-01

Usually, surveillance applications are developed following an ad-hoc approach instead of using a methodology to guide stakeholders in achieving quality standards expected from commercial software. To solve this gap, our conjecture is that surveillance applications can be fully developed from their initial design stages by means of agent-based methodologies. Specifically, this paper describes the experience and the results of using a multi-agent systems approach according to the process provid...

Research on monitoring system of water resources in irrigation region based on multi-agent

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhao, T H; Wang, D S

2012-01-01

Irrigation agriculture is the basis of agriculture and rural economic development in China. Realizing the water resource information of irrigated area will make full use of existing water resource and increase benefit of irrigation agriculture greatly. However, the water resource information system of many irrigated areas in our country is not still very sound at present, it lead to the wasting of a lot of water resources. This paper has analyzed the existing water resource monitoring system of irrigated areas, introduced the Multi-Agent theories, and set up a water resource monitoring system of irrigated area based on multi-Agent. This system is composed of monitoring multi-Agent federal, telemetry multi-Agent federal, and the Communication Network GSM between them. It can make full use of good intelligence and communication coordination in the multi-Agent federation interior, improve the dynamic monitoring and controlling timeliness of water resource of irrigated area greatly, provide information service for the sustainable development of irrigated area, and lay a foundation for realizing high information of water resource of irrigated area.

Game-theoretic learning and distributed optimization in memoryless multi-agent systems

CERN Document Server

Tatarenko, Tatiana

2017-01-01

This book presents new efficient methods for optimization in realistic large-scale, multi-agent systems. These methods do not require the agents to have the full information about the system, but instead allow them to make their local decisions based only on the local information, possibly obtained during scommunication with their local neighbors. The book, primarily aimed at researchers in optimization and control, considers three different information settings in multi-agent systems: oracle-based, communication-based, and payoff-based. For each of these information types, an efficient optimization algorithm is developed, which leads the system to an optimal state. The optimization problems are set without such restrictive assumptions as convexity of the objective functions, complicated communication topologies, closed-form expressions for costs and utilities, and finiteness of the system’s state space. .

Theories about architecture and performance of multi-agent systems

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gazendam, Henk W.M.; Jorna, René J.

1998-01-01

Multi-agent systems are promising as models of organization because they are based on the idea that most work in human organizations is done based on intelligence, communication, cooperation, and massive parallel processing. They offer an alternative for system theories of organization, which are

L{sup 1} group consensus of multi-agent systems with switching topologies and stochastic inputs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shang, Yilun, E-mail: shylmath@hotmail.com [Institute for Cyber Security, University of Texas at San Antonio, TX 78249 (United States); SUTD-MIT International Design Center, Singapore University of Technology and Design, Singapore 138682 (Singapore)

2013-10-01

Understanding how interacting subsystems of an overall system lead to cluster/group consensus is a key issue in the investigation of multi-agent systems. In this Letter, we study the L{sup 1} group consensus problem of discrete-time multi-agent systems with external stochastic inputs. Based on ergodicity theory and matrix analysis, L{sup 1} group consensus criteria are obtained for multi-agent systems with switching topologies. Some numerical examples are provided to illustrate the effectiveness and feasibility of the theoretical results.

Controllability of multi-agent systems with time-delay in state and switching topology

Science.gov (United States)

Ji, Zhijian; Wang, Zidong; Lin, Hai; Wang, Zhen

2010-02-01

In this article, the controllability issue is addressed for an interconnected system of multiple agents. The network associated with the system is of the leader-follower structure with some agents taking leader role and others being followers interconnected via the neighbour-based rule. Sufficient conditions are derived for the controllability of multi-agent systems with time-delay in state, as well as a graph-based uncontrollability topology structure is revealed. Both single and double integrator dynamics are considered. For switching topology, two algebraic necessary and sufficient conditions are derived for the controllability of multi-agent systems. Several examples are also presented to illustrate how to control the system to shape into the desired configurations.

Multi-Agent System based Event-Triggered Hybrid Controls for High-Security Hybrid Energy Generation Systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dou, Chun-Xia; Yue, Dong; Guerrero, Josep M.

2017-01-01

This paper proposes multi-agent system based event- triggered hybrid controls for guaranteeing energy supply of a hybrid energy generation system with high security. First, a mul-ti-agent system is constituted by an upper-level central coordi-nated control agent combined with several lower......-level unit agents. Each lower-level unit agent is responsible for dealing with internal switching control and distributed dynamic regula-tion for its unit system. The upper-level agent implements coor-dinated switching control to guarantee the power supply of over-all system with high security. The internal...

Research and Implementation of Key Technologies in Multi-Agent System to Support Distributed Workflow

Science.gov (United States)

Pan, Tianheng

2018-01-01

In recent years, the combination of workflow management system and Multi-agent technology is a hot research field. The problem of lack of flexibility in workflow management system can be improved by introducing multi-agent collaborative management. The workflow management system adopts distributed structure. It solves the problem that the traditional centralized workflow structure is fragile. In this paper, the agent of Distributed workflow management system is divided according to its function. The execution process of each type of agent is analyzed. The key technologies such as process execution and resource management are analyzed.

Diagnosis of multi-agent systems and its application to public administration

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Boer, A.; van Engers, T.; Abramowicz, W.; Maciaszek, L.; Węcel, K.

2011-01-01

In this paper we present a model-based diagnosis view on the complex social systems in which large public administration organizations operate. The purpose of diagnosis as presented in this paper is to identify agent role instances that are not conforming to expectations in a multi-agent system

Optimal Sequential Resource Sharing and Exchange in Multi-Agent Systems

OpenAIRE

Xiao, Yuanzhang

2014-01-01

Central to the design of many engineering systems and social networks is to solve the underlying resource sharing and exchange problems, in which multiple decentralized agents make sequential decisions over time to optimize some long-term performance metrics. It is challenging for the decentralized agents to make optimal sequential decisions because of the complicated coupling among the agents and across time. In this dissertation, we mainly focus on three important classes of multi-agent seq...

Dynamical Consensus Algorithm for Second-Order Multi-Agent Systems Subjected to Communication Delay

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu Chenglin; Liu Fei

2013-01-01

To solve the dynamical consensus problem of second-order multi-agent systems with communication delay, delay-dependent compensations are added into the normal asynchronously-coupled consensus algorithm so as to make the agents achieve a dynamical consensus. Based on frequency-domain analysis, sufficient conditions are gained for second-order multi-agent systems with communication delay under leaderless and leader-following consensus algorithms respectively. Simulation illustrates the correctness of the results. (interdisciplinary physics and related areas of science and technology)

Event-triggered hybrid control based on multi-Agent systems for Microgrids

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dou, Chun-xia; Liu, Bin; Guerrero, Josep M.

2014-01-01

This paper is focused on a multi-agent system based event-triggered hybrid control for intelligently restructuring the operating mode of an microgrid (MG) to ensure the energy supply with high security, stability and cost effectiveness. Due to the microgrid is composed of different types...... of distributed energy resources, thus it is typical hybrid dynamic network. Considering the complex hybrid behaviors, a hierarchical decentralized coordinated control scheme is firstly constructed based on multi-agent sys-tem, then, the hybrid model of the microgrid is built by using differential hybrid Petri...

Adaptive tracking control of leader-following linear multi-agent systems with external disturbances

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Hanquan; Wei, Qinglai; Liu, Derong; Ma, Hongwen

2016-10-01

In this paper, the consensus problem for leader-following linear multi-agent systems with external disturbances is investigated. Brownian motions are used to describe exogenous disturbances. A distributed tracking controller based on Riccati inequalities with an adaptive law for adjusting coupling weights between neighbouring agents is designed for leader-following multi-agent systems under fixed and switching topologies. In traditional distributed static controllers, the coupling weights depend on the communication graph. However, coupling weights associated with the feedback gain matrix in our method are updated by state errors between neighbouring agents. We further present the stability analysis of leader-following multi-agent systems with stochastic disturbances under switching topology. Most traditional literature requires the graph to be connected all the time, while the communication graph is only assumed to be jointly connected in this paper. The design technique is based on Riccati inequalities and algebraic graph theory. Finally, simulations are given to show the validity of our method.

Perturbation of Fractional Multi-Agent Systems in Cloud Entropy Computing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rabha W. Ibrahim

2016-01-01

Full Text Available A perturbed multi-agent system is a scheme self-possessed of multiple networking agents within a location. This scheme can be used to discuss problems that are impossible or difficult for a specific agent to solve. Intelligence cloud entropy management systems involve functions, methods, procedural approaches, and algorithms. In this study, we introduce a new perturbed algorithm based on the fractional Poisson process. The discrete dynamics are suggested by using fractional entropy and fractional type Tsallis entropy. Moreover, we study the algorithm stability.

Robust Consensus of Multi-Agent Systems with Uncertain Exogenous Disturbances

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang Hong-Yong; Guo Lei; Han Chao

2011-01-01

The objective of this paper is to investigate the consensus of the multi-agent systems with nonlinear coupling function and external disturbances. The disturbance includes two parts, one part is supposed to be generated by an exogenous system, which is not required to be neutrally stable as in the output regulation theory, the other part is the modeling uncertainty in the exogenous disturbance system. A novel composite disturbance observer based control (DOBC) and H ∞ control scheme is presented so that the disturbance with the exogenous system can be estimated and compensated and the consensus of the multi-agent systems with fixed and switching graph can be reached by using H ∞ control law. Simulations demonstrate the advantages of the proposed DOBC and H ∞ control scheme. (interdisciplinary physics and related areas of science and technology)

A Multi-Agent Based Energy Management Solution for Integrated Buildings and Microgrid System

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Anvari-Moghaddam, Amjad; Rahimi-Kian, Ashkan; Mirian, Maryam S.

2017-01-01

-reflex to complex learning agents are designed and implemented to cooperate with each other to reach an optimal operating strategy for the mentioned integrated energy system (IES) while meeting the system’s objectives and related constraints. The optimization process for the EMS is defined as a coordinated......In this paper, an ontology-driven multi-agent based energy management system (EMS) is proposed for monitoring and optimal control of an integrated homes/buildings and microgrid system with various renewable energy resources (RESs) and controllable loads. Different agents ranging from simple...... distributed generation (DG) and demand response (DR) management problem within the studied environment and is solved by the proposed agent-based approach utilizing cooperation and communication among decision agents. To verify the effectiveness and applicability of the proposed multi-agent based EMS, several...

A Multi-Agent System for Tracking the Intent of Surface Contacts in Ports and Waterways

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Tan, Kok S

2005-01-01

...) and employ them to identify asymmetric maritime threats in port and waterways. Each surface track is monitored by a compound multi-agent system that comprise of the several intent models, each containing a nested multi-agent system...

Consensus of heterogeneous multi-agent systems based on sampled data with a small sampling delay

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Na; Wu Zhi-Hai; Peng Li

2014-01-01

In this paper, consensus problems of heterogeneous multi-agent systems based on sampled data with a small sampling delay are considered. First, a consensus protocol based on sampled data with a small sampling delay for heterogeneous multi-agent systems is proposed. Then, the algebra graph theory, the matrix method, the stability theory of linear systems, and some other techniques are employed to derive the necessary and sufficient conditions guaranteeing heterogeneous multi-agent systems to asymptotically achieve the stationary consensus. Finally, simulations are performed to demonstrate the correctness of the theoretical results. (interdisciplinary physics and related areas of science and technology)

Endogenous Price Bubbles in a Multi-Agent System of the Housing Market.

Science.gov (United States)

Kouwenberg, Roy; Zwinkels, Remco C J

2015-01-01

Economic history shows a large number of boom-bust cycles, with the U.S. real estate market as one of the latest examples. Classical economic models have not been able to provide a full explanation for this type of market dynamics. Therefore, we analyze home prices in the U.S. using an alternative approach, a multi-agent complex system. Instead of the classical assumptions of agent rationality and market efficiency, agents in the model are heterogeneous, adaptive, and boundedly rational. We estimate the multi-agent system with historical house prices for the U.S. market. The model fits the data well and a deterministic version of the model can endogenously produce boom-and-bust cycles on the basis of the estimated coefficients. This implies that trading between agents themselves can create major price swings in absence of fundamental news.

Endogenous Price Bubbles in a Multi-Agent System of the Housing Market.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Roy Kouwenberg

Full Text Available Economic history shows a large number of boom-bust cycles, with the U.S. real estate market as one of the latest examples. Classical economic models have not been able to provide a full explanation for this type of market dynamics. Therefore, we analyze home prices in the U.S. using an alternative approach, a multi-agent complex system. Instead of the classical assumptions of agent rationality and market efficiency, agents in the model are heterogeneous, adaptive, and boundedly rational. We estimate the multi-agent system with historical house prices for the U.S. market. The model fits the data well and a deterministic version of the model can endogenously produce boom-and-bust cycles on the basis of the estimated coefficients. This implies that trading between agents themselves can create major price swings in absence of fundamental news.

Endogenous Price Bubbles in a Multi-Agent System of the Housing Market

Science.gov (United States)

2015-01-01

Economic history shows a large number of boom-bust cycles, with the U.S. real estate market as one of the latest examples. Classical economic models have not been able to provide a full explanation for this type of market dynamics. Therefore, we analyze home prices in the U.S. using an alternative approach, a multi-agent complex system. Instead of the classical assumptions of agent rationality and market efficiency, agents in the model are heterogeneous, adaptive, and boundedly rational. We estimate the multi-agent system with historical house prices for the U.S. market. The model fits the data well and a deterministic version of the model can endogenously produce boom-and-bust cycles on the basis of the estimated coefficients. This implies that trading between agents themselves can create major price swings in absence of fundamental news. PMID:26107740

Automatic Generation of Agents using Reusable Soft Computing Code Libraries to develop Multi Agent System for Healthcare

OpenAIRE

Priti Srinivas Sajja

2015-01-01

This paper illustrates architecture for a multi agent system in healthcare domain. The architecture is generic and designed in form of multiple layers. One of the layers of the architecture contains many proactive, co-operative and intelligent agents such as resource management agent, query agent, pattern detection agent and patient management agent. Another layer of the architecture is a collection of libraries to auto-generate code for agents using soft computing techni...

Achieving semantic interoperability in multi-agent systems: A dialogue-based approach

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Diggelen, J. van

2007-01-01

Software agents sharing the same ontology can exchange their knowledge fluently as their knowledge representations are compatible with respect to the concepts regarded as relevant and with respect to the names given to these concepts. However, in open heterogeneous multi-agent systems, this scenario

Adaptive Multi-Agent Systems for Constrained Optimization

Science.gov (United States)

Macready, William; Bieniawski, Stefan; Wolpert, David H.

2004-01-01

Product Distribution (PD) theory is a new framework for analyzing and controlling distributed systems. Here we demonstrate its use for distributed stochastic optimization. First we review one motivation of PD theory, as the information-theoretic extension of conventional full-rationality game theory to the case of bounded rational agents. In this extension the equilibrium of the game is the optimizer of a Lagrangian of the (probability distribution of) the joint state of the agents. When the game in question is a team game with constraints, that equilibrium optimizes the expected value of the team game utility, subject to those constraints. The updating of the Lagrange parameters in the Lagrangian can be viewed as a form of automated annealing, that focuses the MAS more and more on the optimal pure strategy. This provides a simple way to map the solution of any constrained optimization problem onto the equilibrium of a Multi-Agent System (MAS). We present computer experiments involving both the Queen s problem and K-SAT validating the predictions of PD theory and its use for off-the-shelf distributed adaptive optimization.

A multi-agent design for a pressurized water reactor (P.W.R.) control system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aimar-Lichtenberger, M.

1999-01-01

This PhD work is in keeping with the complex industrial process control. The starting point is the analysis of control principles in a Pressurized Water Reactor (P.W.R). In order to cope with the limits of the present control procedures, a new control organisation by objectives and means is defined. This functional organisation is based on the state approach and is characterized by the parallel management of control functions to ensure the continuous control of the installation essential variables. With regard to this complex system problematic, we search the most adapted computer modeling. We show that a multi-agent system approach brings an interesting answer to manage the distribution and parallelism of control decisions and tasks. We present a synthetic study of multi-agent systems and their application fields.The choice of a multi-agent approach proceeds with the design of an agent model. This model gains experiences from other applications. This model is implemented in a computer environment which combines the mechanisms of an object language with Prolog. We propose in this frame a multi-agent modeling of the control system where each function is represented by an agent. The agents are structured in a hierarchical organisation and deal with different abstraction levers of the problem. Following a prototype process, the validation is realized by an implementation and by a coupling to a reactor simulator. The essential contributions of an agent approach turn on the mastery of the system complexity, the openness, the robustness and the potentialities of human-machine cooperation. (author)

Design and Development a Control and Monitoring System for Greenhouse Conditions Based-On Multi Agent System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Seyed Hamidreza Kasaei

2011-12-01

Full Text Available The design of a multi-agent system for integrated management of greenhouse production is described. The model supports the integrated greenhouse production, with targets set to quality and quantity of produce with the minimum possible cost in resources and environmental consequences.
In this paper, we propose a real time and robust system for monitoring and control of the greenhouse condition which can automatically control of greenhouse temperature, lights, humidity, CO2 concentration, sunshine, pH, salinity, water available, soil temperature and soil nutrient for efficient production. We will propose a multi-agent methodology for integrated management systems in greenhouses. In this regards wireless sensor networks play a vital role to monitor
greenhouse and environment parameters. Each control process of the greenhouse environment is modeled as an autonomous agent with its own inputs, outputs and its own interactions with the other agents. Each agent acts autonomously, as it knows a priori the desired environmental setpoints. Many researchers have been making attempts to develop the greenhouse environment management system. The existing environment management systems are bulky, very costly and difficult to maintain. In the last years, Multi Agent Systems and Wireless Sensor Networks are becoming important solutions to this problem. This paper describes the implementation and
configuration of the wireless sensor network to monitor and control various parameter of greenhouse. The developed system is simple, cost effective, and easily installable.

Synchronization of multi-agent systems with metric-topological interactions.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Lin; Chen, Guanrong

2016-09-01

A hybrid multi-agent systems model integrating the advantages of both metric interaction and topological interaction rules, called the metric-topological model, is developed. This model describes planar motions of mobile agents, where each agent can interact with all the agents within a circle of a constant radius, and can furthermore interact with some distant agents to reach a pre-assigned number of neighbors, if needed. Some sufficient conditions imposed only on system parameters and agent initial states are presented, which ensure achieving synchronization of the whole group of agents. It reveals the intrinsic relationships among the interaction range, the speed, the initial heading, and the density of the group. Moreover, robustness against variations of interaction range, density, and speed are investigated by comparing the motion patterns and performances of the hybrid metric-topological interaction model with the conventional metric-only and topological-only interaction models. Practically in all cases, the hybrid metric-topological interaction model has the best performance in the sense of achieving highest frequency of synchronization, fastest convergent rate, and smallest heading difference.

Data Mining Process Optimization in Computational Multi-agent Systems

OpenAIRE

Kazík, O.; Neruda, R. (Roman)

2015-01-01

In this paper, we present an agent-based solution of metalearning problem which focuses on optimization of data mining processes. We exploit the framework of computational multi-agent systems in which various meta-learning problems have been already studied, e.g. parameter-space search or simple method recommendation. In this paper, we examine the effect of data preprocessing for machine learning problems. We perform the set of experiments in the search-space of data mining processes which is...

Decentralized control of multi-agent aerial transportation system

KAUST Repository

Toumi, Noureddine

2017-04-01

Autonomous aerial transportation has multiple potential applications including emergency cases and rescue missions where ground intervention may be difficult. In this context, the following work will address the control of multi-agent Vertical Take-off and Landing aircraft (VTOL) transportation system. We develop a decentralized method. The advantage of such a solution is that it can provide better maneuverability and lifting capabilities compared to existing systems. First, we consider a cooperative group of VTOLs transporting one payload. The main idea is that each agent perceive the interaction with other agents as a disturbance while assuming a negotiated motion model and imposing certain magnitude bounds on each agent. The theoretical model will be then validated using a numerical simulation illustrating the interesting features of the presented control method. Results show that under specified disturbances, the algorithm is able to guarantee the tracking with a minimal error. We describe a toolbox that has been developed for this purpose. Then, a system of multiple VTOLs lifting payloads will be studied. The algorithm assures that the VTOLs are coordinated with minimal communication. Additionally, a novel gripper design for ferrous objects is presented that enables the transportation of ferrous objects without a cable. Finally, we discuss potential connections to human in the loop transportation systems.

Learning in engineered multi-agent systems

Science.gov (United States)

Menon, Anup

Consider the problem of maximizing the total power produced by a wind farm. Due to aerodynamic interactions between wind turbines, each turbine maximizing its individual power---as is the case in present-day wind farms---does not lead to optimal farm-level power capture. Further, there are no good models to capture the said aerodynamic interactions, rendering model based optimization techniques ineffective. Thus, model-free distributed algorithms are needed that help turbines adapt their power production on-line so as to maximize farm-level power capture. Motivated by such problems, the main focus of this dissertation is a distributed model-free optimization problem in the context of multi-agent systems. The set-up comprises of a fixed number of agents, each of which can pick an action and observe the value of its individual utility function. An individual's utility function may depend on the collective action taken by all agents. The exact functional form (or model) of the agent utility functions, however, are unknown; an agent can only measure the numeric value of its utility. The objective of the multi-agent system is to optimize the welfare function (i.e. sum of the individual utility functions). Such a collaborative task requires communications between agents and we allow for the possibility of such inter-agent communications. We also pay attention to the role played by the pattern of such information exchange on certain aspects of performance. We develop two algorithms to solve this problem. The first one, engineered Interactive Trial and Error Learning (eITEL) algorithm, is based on a line of work in the Learning in Games literature and applies when agent actions are drawn from finite sets. While in a model-free setting, we introduce a novel qualitative graph-theoretic framework to encode known directed interactions of the form "which agents' action affect which others' payoff" (interaction graph). We encode explicit inter-agent communications in a directed

Modeling and simulation of virtual human's coordination based on multi-agent systems

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Mei; Wen, Jing-Hua; Zhang, Zu-Xuan; Zhang, Jian-Qing

2006-10-01

The difficulties and hotspots researched in current virtual geographic environment (VGE) are sharing space and multiusers operation, distributed coordination and group decision-making. The theories and technologies of MAS provide a brand-new environment for analysis, design and realization of distributed opening system. This paper takes cooperation among virtual human in VGE which multi-user participate in as main researched object. First we describe theory foundation truss of VGE, and present the formalization description of Multi-Agent System (MAS). Then we detailed analyze and research arithmetic of collectivity operating behavior learning of virtual human based on best held Genetic Algorithm(GA), and establish dynamics action model which Multi-Agents and object interact dynamically and colony movement strategy. Finally we design a example which shows how 3 evolutional Agents cooperate to complete the task of colony pushing column box, and design a virtual world prototype of virtual human pushing box collectively based on V-Realm Builder 2.0, moreover we make modeling and dynamic simulation with Simulink 6.

Sampled-Data Consensus of Linear Multi-agent Systems With Packet Losses.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Wenbing; Tang, Yang; Huang, Tingwen; Kurths, Jurgen

In this paper, the consensus problem is studied for a class of multi-agent systems with sampled data and packet losses, where random and deterministic packet losses are considered, respectively. For random packet losses, a Bernoulli-distributed white sequence is used to describe packet dropouts among agents in a stochastic way. For deterministic packet losses, a switched system with stable and unstable subsystems is employed to model packet dropouts in a deterministic way. The purpose of this paper is to derive consensus criteria, such that linear multi-agent systems with sampled-data and packet losses can reach consensus. By means of the Lyapunov function approach and the decomposition method, the design problem of a distributed controller is solved in terms of convex optimization. The interplay among the allowable bound of the sampling interval, the probability of random packet losses, and the rate of deterministic packet losses are explicitly derived to characterize consensus conditions. The obtained criteria are closely related to the maximum eigenvalue of the Laplacian matrix versus the second minimum eigenvalue of the Laplacian matrix, which reveals the intrinsic effect of communication topologies on consensus performance. Finally, simulations are given to show the effectiveness of the proposed results.In this paper, the consensus problem is studied for a class of multi-agent systems with sampled data and packet losses, where random and deterministic packet losses are considered, respectively. For random packet losses, a Bernoulli-distributed white sequence is used to describe packet dropouts among agents in a stochastic way. For deterministic packet losses, a switched system with stable and unstable subsystems is employed to model packet dropouts in a deterministic way. The purpose of this paper is to derive consensus criteria, such that linear multi-agent systems with sampled-data and packet losses can reach consensus. By means of the Lyapunov function

Exchanging large data object in multi-agent systems

Science.gov (United States)

Al-Yaseen, Wathiq Laftah; Othman, Zulaiha Ali; Nazri, Mohd Zakree Ahmad

2016-08-01

One of the Business Intelligent solutions that is currently in use is the Multi-Agent System (MAS). Communication is one of the most important elements in MAS, especially for exchanging large low level data between distributed agents (physically). The Agent Communication Language in JADE has been offered as a secure method for sending data, whereby the data is defined as an object. However, the object cannot be used to send data to another agent in a different location. Therefore, the aim of this paper was to propose a method for the exchange of large low level data as an object by creating a proxy agent known as a Delivery Agent, which temporarily imitates the Receiver Agent. The results showed that the proposed method is able to send large-sized data. The experiments were conducted using 16 datasets ranging from 100,000 to 7 million instances. However, for the proposed method, the RAM and the CPU machine had to be slightly increased for the Receiver Agent, but the latency time was not significantly different compared to the use of the Java Socket method (non-agent and less secure). With such results, it was concluded that the proposed method can be used to securely send large data between agents.

Multi Agent Systems to Set Up Virtual Enterprises

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Catalin Lupu

2008-01-01

Full Text Available This work presents a model of organizing moreenterprises into a virtual or a web enterprise. To constitutevirtual enterprises multiagent systems are utilized.In this sense the following are to be considered:elaborating a model to constitute the virtual enterprise, theimplementation of a multiagent system based on this modeland the testing and evaluation of the system performances,comparing them with more classic types of realization.In this paper, we describe how the multi-agentarchitecture can be used to support Virtual Enterprises(VE. We have focused on understanding how aVE is formedand, in particular, how the partners of a VE are selected. Wetryto analyse this scenario in the form of an AgentInteraction Protocol (AIP and then discuss how the multiagentarchitecrure can be used to support this process.Our working definition of a VE is: a team of partners thatcollaborate to achieve a specific goal. The partners may behuman beings, organisations or software agents. We believethat software agents, hereafter referred to as agents, are asuitable means of representing the partners of a VE. Oneimportant reason is that by representing the partners of aVE as agents and by delegating agents to look for the nextVE and conduct the negotiation on behalf of the partners, thepartners would then have the time to do the actual workrequired in the current VE.At the end of the paper we will present an experimentalsystem for the architecture of a virtual enterprise.

Implementing a Multi-Agent System in Python

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ettienne, Mikko Berggren; Vester, Steen; Villadsen, Jørgen

2012-01-01

We describe the solution used by the Python-DTU team in the Multi-Agent Programming Contest 2011, where the scenario was called Agents on Mars. We present our auction-based agreement, area controlling and pathfinding algorithms and discuss our chosen strategy and our choice of technology used...

Multi-agent grid system Agent-GRID with dynamic load balancing of cluster nodes

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Satymbekov, M. N.; Pak, I. T.; Naizabayeva, L.; Nurzhanov, Ch. A.

2017-12-01

In this study the work presents the system designed for automated load balancing of the contributor by analysing the load of compute nodes and the subsequent migration of virtual machines from loaded nodes to less loaded ones. This system increases the performance of cluster nodes and helps in the timely processing of data. A grid system balances the work of cluster nodes the relevance of the system is the award of multi-agent balancing for the solution of such problems.

Consensus of Multi-Agent Systems with Prestissimo Scale-Free Networks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang Hongyong; Lu Lan; Cao Kecai; Zhang Siying

2010-01-01

In this paper, the relations of the network topology and the moving consensus of multi-agent systems are studied. A consensus-prestissimo scale-free network model with the static preferential-consensus attachment is presented on the rewired link of the regular network. The effects of the static preferential-consensus BA network on the algebraic connectivity of the topology graph are compared with the regular network. The robustness gain to delay is analyzed for variable network topology with the same scale. The time to reach the consensus is studied for the dynamic network with and without communication delays. By applying the computer simulations, it is validated that the speed of the convergence of multi-agent systems can be greatly improved in the preferential-consensus BA network model with different configuration. (interdisciplinary physics and related areas of science and technology)

A multi-agent design for a pressurized water reactor (P.W.R.) control system; Modelisation multi-agents pour la conduite d'un reacteur a eau sous pression (REP)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Aimar-Lichtenberger, M. [Paris-11 Univ., 91 - Orsay (France)

1999-01-01

This PhD work is in keeping with the complex industrial process control. The starting point is the analysis of control principles in a Pressurized Water Reactor (P.W.R). In order to cope with the limits of the present control procedures, a new control organisation by objectives and means is defined. This functional organisation is based on the state approach and is characterized by the parallel management of control functions to ensure the continuous control of the installation essential variables. With regard to this complex system problematic, we search the most adapted computer modeling. We show that a multi-agent system approach brings an interesting answer to manage the distribution and parallelism of control decisions and tasks. We present a synthetic study of multi-agent systems and their application fields.The choice of a multi-agent approach proceeds with the design of an agent model. This model gains experiences from other applications. This model is implemented in a computer environment which combines the mechanisms of an object language with Prolog. We propose in this frame a multi-agent modeling of the control system where each function is represented by an agent. The agents are structured in a hierarchical organisation and deal with different abstraction levers of the problem. Following a prototype process, the validation is realized by an implementation and by a coupling to a reactor simulator. The essential contributions of an agent approach turn on the mastery of the system complexity, the openness, the robustness and the potentialities of human-machine cooperation. (author)

An Online Q-learning Based Multi-Agent LFC for a Multi-Area Multi-Source Power System Including Distributed Energy Resources

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H. Shayeghi

2017-12-01

Full Text Available This paper presents an online two-stage Q-learning based multi-agent (MA controller for load frequency control (LFC in an interconnected multi-area multi-source power system integrated with distributed energy resources (DERs. The proposed control strategy consists of two stages. The first stage is employed a PID controller which its parameters are designed using sine cosine optimization (SCO algorithm and are fixed. The second one is a reinforcement learning (RL based supplementary controller that has a flexible structure and improves the output of the first stage adaptively based on the system dynamical behavior. Due to the use of RL paradigm integrated with PID controller in this strategy, it is called RL-PID controller. The primary motivation for the integration of RL technique with PID controller is to make the existing local controllers in the industry compatible to reduce the control efforts and system costs. This novel control strategy combines the advantages of the PID controller with adaptive behavior of MA to achieve the desired level of robust performance under different kind of uncertainties caused by stochastically power generation of DERs, plant operational condition changes, and physical nonlinearities of the system. The suggested decentralized controller is composed of the autonomous intelligent agents, who learn the optimal control policy from interaction with the system. These agents update their knowledge about the system dynamics continuously to achieve a good frequency oscillation damping under various severe disturbances without any knowledge of them. It leads to an adaptive control structure to solve LFC problem in the multi-source power system with stochastic DERs. The results of RL-PID controller in comparison to the traditional PID and fuzzy-PID controllers is verified in a multi-area power system integrated with DERs through some performance indices.

Fuzzy-probabilistic multi agent system for breast cancer risk assessment and insurance premium assignment.

Science.gov (United States)

Tatari, Farzaneh; Akbarzadeh-T, Mohammad-R; Sabahi, Ahmad

2012-12-01

In this paper, we present an agent-based system for distributed risk assessment of breast cancer development employing fuzzy and probabilistic computing. The proposed fuzzy multi agent system consists of multiple fuzzy agents that benefit from fuzzy set theory to demonstrate their soft information (linguistic information). Fuzzy risk assessment is quantified by two linguistic variables of high and low. Through fuzzy computations, the multi agent system computes the fuzzy probabilities of breast cancer development based on various risk factors. By such ranking of high risk and low risk fuzzy probabilities, the multi agent system (MAS) decides whether the risk of breast cancer development is high or low. This information is then fed into an insurance premium adjuster in order to provide preventive decision making as well as to make appropriate adjustment of insurance premium and risk. This final step of insurance analysis also provides a numeric measure to demonstrate the utility of the approach. Furthermore, actual data are gathered from two hospitals in Mashhad during 1 year. The results are then compared with a fuzzy distributed approach. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A flocking algorithm for multi-agent systems with connectivity preservation under hybrid metric-topological interactions.

Science.gov (United States)

He, Chenlong; Feng, Zuren; Ren, Zhigang

2018-01-01

In this paper, we propose a connectivity-preserving flocking algorithm for multi-agent systems in which the neighbor set of each agent is determined by the hybrid metric-topological distance so that the interaction topology can be represented as the range-limited Delaunay graph, which combines the properties of the commonly used disk graph and Delaunay graph. As a result, the proposed flocking algorithm has the following advantages over the existing ones. First, range-limited Delaunay graph is sparser than the disk graph so that the information exchange among agents is reduced significantly. Second, some links irrelevant to the connectivity can be dynamically deleted during the evolution of the system. Thus, the proposed flocking algorithm is more flexible than existing algorithms, where links are not allowed to be disconnected once they are created. Finally, the multi-agent system spontaneously generates a regular quasi-lattice formation without imposing the constraint on the ratio of the sensing range of the agent to the desired distance between two adjacent agents. With the interaction topology induced by the hybrid distance, the proposed flocking algorithm can still be implemented in a distributed manner. We prove that the proposed flocking algorithm can steer the multi-agent system to a stable flocking motion, provided the initial interaction topology of multi-agent systems is connected and the hysteresis in link addition is smaller than a derived upper bound. The correctness and effectiveness of the proposed algorithm are verified by extensive numerical simulations, where the flocking algorithms based on the disk and Delaunay graph are compared.

A flocking algorithm for multi-agent systems with connectivity preservation under hybrid metric-topological interactions.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chenlong He

Full Text Available In this paper, we propose a connectivity-preserving flocking algorithm for multi-agent systems in which the neighbor set of each agent is determined by the hybrid metric-topological distance so that the interaction topology can be represented as the range-limited Delaunay graph, which combines the properties of the commonly used disk graph and Delaunay graph. As a result, the proposed flocking algorithm has the following advantages over the existing ones. First, range-limited Delaunay graph is sparser than the disk graph so that the information exchange among agents is reduced significantly. Second, some links irrelevant to the connectivity can be dynamically deleted during the evolution of the system. Thus, the proposed flocking algorithm is more flexible than existing algorithms, where links are not allowed to be disconnected once they are created. Finally, the multi-agent system spontaneously generates a regular quasi-lattice formation without imposing the constraint on the ratio of the sensing range of the agent to the desired distance between two adjacent agents. With the interaction topology induced by the hybrid distance, the proposed flocking algorithm can still be implemented in a distributed manner. We prove that the proposed flocking algorithm can steer the multi-agent system to a stable flocking motion, provided the initial interaction topology of multi-agent systems is connected and the hysteresis in link addition is smaller than a derived upper bound. The correctness and effectiveness of the proposed algorithm are verified by extensive numerical simulations, where the flocking algorithms based on the disk and Delaunay graph are compared.

Multi-Agent System-Based Microgrid Operation Strategy for Demand Response

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Hee-Jun Cha

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The microgrid and demand response (DR are important technologies for future power grids. Among the variety of microgrid operations, the multi-agent system (MAS has attracted considerable attention. In a microgrid with MAS, the agents installed on the microgrid components operate optimally by communicating with each other. This paper proposes an operation algorithm for the individual agents of a test microgrid that consists of a battery energy storage system (BESS and an intelligent load. A microgrid central controller to manage the microgrid can exchange information with each agent. The BESS agent performs scheduling for maximum benefit in response to the electricity price and BESS state of charge (SOC through a fuzzy system. The intelligent load agent assumes that the industrial load performs scheduling for maximum benefit by calculating the hourly production cost. The agent operation algorithm includes a scheduling algorithm using day-ahead pricing in the DR program and a real-time operation algorithm for emergency situations using emergency demand response (EDR. The proposed algorithm and operation strategy were implemented both by a hardware-in-the-loop simulation test using OPAL-RT and an actual hardware test by connecting a new distribution simulator.

A Multi-Agent Approach to the Simulation of Robotized Manufacturing Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Foit, K.; Gwiazda, A.; Banaś, W.

2016-08-01

The recent years of eventful industry development, brought many competing products, addressed to the same market segment. The shortening of a development cycle became a necessity if the company would like to be competitive. Because of switching to the Intelligent Manufacturing model the industry search for new scheduling algorithms, while the traditional ones do not meet the current requirements. The agent-based approach has been considered by many researchers as an important way of evolution of modern manufacturing systems. Due to the properties of the multi-agent systems, this methodology is very helpful during creation of the model of production system, allowing depicting both processing and informational part. The complexity of such approach makes the analysis impossible without the computer assistance. Computer simulation still uses a mathematical model to recreate a real situation, but nowadays the 2D or 3D virtual environments or even virtual reality have been used for realistic illustration of the considered systems. This paper will focus on robotized manufacturing system and will present the one of possible approaches to the simulation of such systems. The selection of multi-agent approach is motivated by the flexibility of this solution that offers the modularity, robustness and autonomy.

Realization on the interactive remote video conference system based on multi-Agent

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zheng Yan

2016-01-01

Full Text Available To make people at different places participate in the same conference, speak and discuss freely, the interactive remote video conferencing system is designed and realized based on multi-Agent collaboration. FEC (forward error correction and tree P2P technology are firstly used to build a live conference structure to transfer audio and video data; then the branch conference port can participate to speak and discuss through the application of becoming a interactive focus; the introduction of multi-Agent collaboration technology improve the system robustness. The experiments showed that, under normal network conditions, the system can support 350 branch conference node simultaneously to make live broadcasting. The audio and video quality is smooth. It can carry out large-scale remote video conference.

MA-IS: Design of Information System in a Multi-Agents Environment

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Roberto Paiano

2009-08-01

Full Text Available The complexity of the information systems has recently had a remarkable increase, mostly thanks to the enormous impact that it has had in the multi-agent system (MAS area; hence the need to integrate two systems and obtain an IS that takes advantage of the potentialities of the MAS. To this purpose, a methodology to analyze and design a multi-agent system is needed. In order to define such a methodology, which should take into account all the aspects of the MAS, first we need to establish not only a conceptual model of the system but also a communication level model. In this paper we propose the use of DDS framework for the communication level and the use of the BWW ontology for representation and design of the domain knowledge base. The idea of the above-mentioned methodology was conceived in the SISTDE project, which uses the ontology for the description of the domain, so as to provide the agents with a knowledge base that concurs to define their behaviour according to external events. In addition to this, the experience we have matured in the IS modelling using the BWW ontology is a key-point of our approach.

Product Distribution Theory for Control of Multi-Agent Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Chia Fan; Wolpert, David H.

2004-01-01

Product Distribution (PD) theory is a new framework for controlling Multi-Agent Systems (MAS's). First we review one motivation of PD theory, as the information-theoretic extension of conventional full-rationality game theory to the case of bounded rational agents. In this extension the equilibrium of the game is the optimizer of a Lagrangian of the (probability distribution of) the joint stare of the agents. Accordingly we can consider a team game in which the shared utility is a performance measure of the behavior of the MAS. For such a scenario the game is at equilibrium - the Lagrangian is optimized - when the joint distribution of the agents optimizes the system's expected performance. One common way to find that equilibrium is to have each agent run a reinforcement learning algorithm. Here we investigate the alternative of exploiting PD theory to run gradient descent on the Lagrangian. We present computer experiments validating some of the predictions of PD theory for how best to do that gradient descent. We also demonstrate how PD theory can improve performance even when we are not allowed to rerun the MAS from different initial conditions, a requirement implicit in some previous work.

Optimal Wonderful Life Utility Functions in Multi-Agent Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Wolpert, David H.; Tumer, Kagan; Swanson, Keith (Technical Monitor)

2000-01-01

The mathematics of Collective Intelligence (COINs) is concerned with the design of multi-agent systems so as to optimize an overall global utility function when those systems lack centralized communication and control. Typically in COINs each agent runs a distinct Reinforcement Learning (RL) algorithm, so that much of the design problem reduces to how best to initialize/update each agent's private utility function, as far as the ensuing value of the global utility is concerned. Traditional team game solutions to this problem assign to each agent the global utility as its private utility function. In previous work we used the COIN framework to derive the alternative Wonderful Life Utility (WLU), and experimentally established that having the agents use it induces global utility performance up to orders of magnitude superior to that induced by use of the team game utility. The WLU has a free parameter (the clamping parameter) which we simply set to zero in that previous work. Here we derive the optimal value of the clamping parameter, and demonstrate experimentally that using that optimal value can result in significantly improved performance over that of clamping to zero, over and above the improvement beyond traditional approaches.

Automation of multi-agent control for complex dynamic systems in heterogeneous computational network

Science.gov (United States)

Oparin, Gennady; Feoktistov, Alexander; Bogdanova, Vera; Sidorov, Ivan

2017-01-01

The rapid progress of high-performance computing entails new challenges related to solving large scientific problems for various subject domains in a heterogeneous distributed computing environment (e.g., a network, Grid system, or Cloud infrastructure). The specialists in the field of parallel and distributed computing give the special attention to a scalability of applications for problem solving. An effective management of the scalable application in the heterogeneous distributed computing environment is still a non-trivial issue. Control systems that operate in networks, especially relate to this issue. We propose a new approach to the multi-agent management for the scalable applications in the heterogeneous computational network. The fundamentals of our approach are the integrated use of conceptual programming, simulation modeling, network monitoring, multi-agent management, and service-oriented programming. We developed a special framework for an automation of the problem solving. Advantages of the proposed approach are demonstrated on the parametric synthesis example of the static linear regulator for complex dynamic systems. Benefits of the scalable application for solving this problem include automation of the multi-agent control for the systems in a parallel mode with various degrees of its detailed elaboration.

A MULTI-AGENT SYSTEM FOR FOREST TRANSPORT ACTIVITY PLANNING

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Carlos Alberto Araújo Júnior

2017-09-01

Full Text Available This study aims to propose and implement a conceptual model of an intelligent system in a georeferenced environment to determine the design of forest transport fleets. For this, we used a multi-agent systems based tool, which is the subject of studies of distributed artificial intelligence. The proposed model considers the use of plantation mapping (stands and forest roads, as well as information about the different vehicle transport capacities. The system was designed to adapt itself to changes that occur during the forest transport operation process, such as the modification of demanded volume or the inclusion of route restrictions used by the vehicles. For its development, we used the Java programming language associated with the LPSolve library for the optimization calculation, the JADE platform to develop agents, and the ArcGis Runtime to determine the optimal transport routes. Five agents were modelled: the transporter, controller, router, loader and unloader agents. The model is able to determine the amount of trucks among the different vehicles available that meet the demand and availability of routes, with a focus on minimizing the total costs of timber transport. The system can also rearrange itself after the transportation routes change during the process.

Biomorphic Multi-Agent Architecture for Persistent Computing

Science.gov (United States)

Lodding, Kenneth N.; Brewster, Paul

2009-01-01

A multi-agent software/hardware architecture, inspired by the multicellular nature of living organisms, has been proposed as the basis of design of a robust, reliable, persistent computing system. Just as a multicellular organism can adapt to changing environmental conditions and can survive despite the failure of individual cells, a multi-agent computing system, as envisioned, could adapt to changing hardware, software, and environmental conditions. In particular, the computing system could continue to function (perhaps at a reduced but still reasonable level of performance) if one or more component( s) of the system were to fail. One of the defining characteristics of a multicellular organism is unity of purpose. In biology, the purpose is survival of the organism. The purpose of the proposed multi-agent architecture is to provide a persistent computing environment in harsh conditions in which repair is difficult or impossible. A multi-agent, organism-like computing system would be a single entity built from agents or cells. Each agent or cell would be a discrete hardware processing unit that would include a data processor with local memory, an internal clock, and a suite of communication equipment capable of both local line-of-sight communications and global broadcast communications. Some cells, denoted specialist cells, could contain such additional hardware as sensors and emitters. Each cell would be independent in the sense that there would be no global clock, no global (shared) memory, no pre-assigned cell identifiers, no pre-defined network topology, and no centralized brain or control structure. Like each cell in a living organism, each agent or cell of the computing system would contain a full description of the system encoded as genes, but in this case, the genes would be components of a software genome.

Consensus of discrete-time multi-agent systems with adversaries and time delays

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Yiming; He, Xiongxiong; Liu, Shuai; Xie, Lihua

2014-05-01

This paper studies the resilient asymptotic consensus problem for discrete-time multi-agent systems in the presence of adversaries and transmission delays. The network is assumed to have ? loyal agents and ? adversarial agents, and each loyal agent in the network has no knowledge of the network topology other than an upper bound on the number of adversarial agents in its neighborhood. For the considered networked system, only locally delayed information is available for each loyal agent, and also the information flow is directed and a control protocol using only local information is designed to guarantee the realization of consensus with respect to communication graph, which satisfies a featured network robustness. Numerical examples are finally given to demonstrate the effectiveness of theoretical results.

Indistinguishability Operators Applied to Task Allocation Problems in Multi-Agent Systems

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José Guerrero

2017-09-01

Full Text Available In this paper we show an application of indistinguishability operators to model response functions. Such functions are used in the mathematical modeling of the task allocation problem in multi-agent systems when the stimulus, perceived by the agent, to perform a task is assessed by means of the response threshold model. In particular, we propose this kind of operators to represent a response function when the stimulus only depends on the distance between the agent and a determined task, since we prove that two celebrated response functions used in the literature can be reproduced by appropriate indistinguishability operators when the stimulus only depends on the distance to each task that must be carried out. Despite the fact there is currently no systematic method to generate response functions, this paper provides, for the first time, a theoretical foundation to generate them and study their properties. To validate the theoretical results, the aforementioned indistinguishability operators have been used to simulate, with MATLAB, the allocation of a set of tasks in a multi-robot system with fuzzy Markov chains.

Design and simulation of material-integrated distributed sensor processing with a code-based agent platform and mobile multi-agent systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Bosse, Stefan

2015-02-16

Multi-agent systems (MAS) can be used for decentralized and self-organizing data processing in a distributed system, like a resource-constrained sensor network, enabling distributed information extraction, for example, based on pattern recognition and self-organization, by decomposing complex tasks in simpler cooperative agents. Reliable MAS-based data processing approaches can aid the material-integration of structural-monitoring applications, with agent processing platforms scaled to the microchip level. The agent behavior, based on a dynamic activity-transition graph (ATG) model, is implemented with program code storing the control and the data state of an agent, which is novel. The program code can be modified by the agent itself using code morphing techniques and is capable of migrating in the network between nodes. The program code is a self-contained unit (a container) and embeds the agent data, the initialization instructions and the ATG behavior implementation. The microchip agent processing platform used for the execution of the agent code is a standalone multi-core stack machine with a zero-operand instruction format, leading to a small-sized agent program code, low system complexity and high system performance. The agent processing is token-queue-based, similar to Petri-nets. The agent platform can be implemented in software, too, offering compatibility at the operational and code level, supporting agent processing in strong heterogeneous networks. In this work, the agent platform embedded in a large-scale distributed sensor network is simulated at the architectural level by using agent-based simulation techniques.

Design and Simulation of Material-Integrated Distributed Sensor Processing with a Code-Based Agent Platform and Mobile Multi-Agent Systems

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Stefan Bosse

2015-02-01

Full Text Available Multi-agent systems (MAS can be used for decentralized and self-organizing data processing in a distributed system, like a resource-constrained sensor network, enabling distributed information extraction, for example, based on pattern recognition and self-organization, by decomposing complex tasks in simpler cooperative agents. Reliable MAS-based data processing approaches can aid the material-integration of structural-monitoring applications, with agent processing platforms scaled to the microchip level. The agent behavior, based on a dynamic activity-transition graph (ATG model, is implemented with program code storing the control and the data state of an agent, which is novel. The program code can be modified by the agent itself using code morphing techniques and is capable of migrating in the network between nodes. The program code is a self-contained unit (a container and embeds the agent data, the initialization instructions and the ATG behavior implementation. The microchip agent processing platform used for the execution of the agent code is a standalone multi-core stack machine with a zero-operand instruction format, leading to a small-sized agent program code, low system complexity and high system performance. The agent processing is token-queue-based, similar to Petri-nets. The agent platform can be implemented in software, too, offering compatibility at the operational and code level, supporting agent processing in strong heterogeneous networks. In this work, the agent platform embedded in a large-scale distributed sensor network is simulated at the architectural level by using agent-based simulation techniques.

Multi-Agent Framework for Virtual Learning Spaces.

Science.gov (United States)

Sheremetov, Leonid; Nunez, Gustavo

1999-01-01

Discussion of computer-supported collaborative learning, distributed artificial intelligence, and intelligent tutoring systems focuses on the concept of agents, and describes a virtual learning environment that has a multi-agent system. Describes a model of interactions in collaborative learning and discusses agents for Web-based virtual…

Adaptive Synchronization for Heterogeneous Multi-Agent Systems with Switching Topologies

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Muhammad Ridho Rosa

2018-02-01

Full Text Available This work provides a multi-agent extension of output-feedback model reference adaptive control (MRAC, designed to synchronize a network of heterogeneous uncertain agents. The implementation of this scheme is based on multi-agent matching conditions. The practical advantage of the proposed MRAC is the possibility of handling the case of the unknown dynamics of the agents only by using the output and the control input of its neighbors. In addition, it is reasonable to consider the case when the communication topology is time-varying. In this work, the time-varying communication leads to a switching control structure that depends on the number of the predecessor of the agents. By using the switching control structure to handle the time-varying topologies, we show that synchronization can be achieved. The multi-agent adaptive switching controller is first analyzed, and numerical simulations based on formation control of simplifier quadcopter dynamics are provided.

Multi-agent simulation of competitive electricity markets: Autonomous systems cooperation for European market modeling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Santos, Gabriel; Pinto, Tiago; Morais, Hugo; Sousa, Tiago M.; Pereira, Ivo F.; Fernandes, Ricardo; Praça, Isabel; Vale, Zita

2015-01-01

Highlights: • Definition of an ontology allowing the communication between multi-agents systems. • Social welfare evaluation in different electricity markets. • Demonstration of the use of the proposed ontology between two multi-agents systems. • Strategic biding in electricity markets. • European electricity markets comparison. - Abstract: The electricity market restructuring, and its worldwide evolution into regional and even continental scales, along with the increasing necessity for an adequate integration of renewable energy sources, is resulting in a rising complexity in power systems operation. Several power system simulators have been developed in recent years with the purpose of helping operators, regulators, and involved players to understand and deal with this complex and constantly changing environment. The main contribution of this paper is given by the integration of several electricity market and power system models, respecting to the reality of different countries. This integration is done through the development of an upper ontology which integrates the essential concepts necessary to interpret all the available information. The continuous development of Multi-Agent System for Competitive Electricity Markets platform provides the means for the exemplification of the usefulness of this ontology. A case study using the proposed multi-agent platform is presented, considering a scenario based on real data that simulates the European Electricity Market environment, and comparing its performance using different market mechanisms. The main goal is to demonstrate the advantages that the integration of various market models and simulation platforms have for the study of the electricity markets’ evolution

A multi-agent system architecture for sensor networks.

Science.gov (United States)

Fuentes-Fernández, Rubén; Guijarro, María; Pajares, Gonzalo

2009-01-01

The design of the control systems for sensor networks presents important challenges. Besides the traditional problems about how to process the sensor data to obtain the target information, engineers need to consider additional aspects such as the heterogeneity and high number of sensors, and the flexibility of these networks regarding topologies and the sensors in them. Although there are partial approaches for resolving these issues, their integration relies on ad hoc solutions requiring important development efforts. In order to provide an effective approach for this integration, this paper proposes an architecture based on the multi-agent system paradigm with a clear separation of concerns. The architecture considers sensors as devices used by an upper layer of manager agents. These agents are able to communicate and negotiate services to achieve the required functionality. Activities are organized according to roles related with the different aspects to integrate, mainly sensor management, data processing, communication and adaptation to changes in the available devices and their capabilities. This organization largely isolates and decouples the data management from the changing network, while encouraging reuse of solutions. The use of the architecture is facilitated by a specific modelling language developed through metamodelling. A case study concerning a generic distributed system for fire fighting illustrates the approach and the comparison with related work.

Improvement in the distribution of services in multi-agent systems with SCODA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jesús Ángel ROMÁN GALLEGO

2016-06-01

Full Text Available The distribution of services on multi-agent systems allows it to reduce to the agents their computational load. The functionality of the system does not reside in the agents themselves, however it is ubiquitously distributed so that allows you to perform tasks in parallel avoiding an additional computational cost to the elements in the system. The distribution of services that offers SCODA (Distributed and Specialized Agent Communities allows an intelligent management of these services provided by agents of the system and the parallel execution of threads that allow to respond to requests asynchronously, which implies an improvement in the performance of the system at both the computational level as the level of quality of service in the control of these services. The comparison carried out in the case of study that is presented in this paper demonstrates the existing improvement in the distribution of services on systems based on SCODA.

An Embedded Multi-Agent Systems Based Industrial Wireless Sensor Network.

Science.gov (United States)

Taboun, Mohammed S; Brennan, Robert W

2017-09-14

With the emergence of cyber-physical systems, there has been a growing interest in network-connected devices. One of the key requirements of a cyber-physical device is the ability to sense its environment. Wireless sensor networks are a widely-accepted solution for this requirement. In this study, an embedded multi-agent systems-managed wireless sensor network is presented. A novel architecture is proposed, along with a novel wireless sensor network architecture. Active and passive wireless sensor node types are defined, along with their communication protocols, and two application-specific examples are presented. A series of three experiments is conducted to evaluate the performance of the agent-embedded wireless sensor network.

Integrated control of lateral and vertical vehicle dynamics based on multi-agent system

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Chen; Chen, Long; Yun, Chaochun; Jiang, Haobin; Chen, Yuexia

2014-03-01

The existing research of the integrated chassis control mainly focuses on the different evaluation indexes and control strategy. Among the different evaluation indexes, the comprehensive properties are usually not considered based on the non-linear superposition principle. But, the control strategy has some shortages on tyre model with side-slip angle, road adhesion coefficient, vertical load and velocity. In this paper, based on belief, desire and intention(BDI)-agent model framework, the TYRE agent, electric power steering(EPS) agent and active suspension system(ASS) agent are proposed. In the system(SYS) agent, the coordination mechanism is employed to manage interdependences and conflicts among other agents, so as to improve the flexibility, adaptability, and robustness of the global control system. Due to the existence of the simulation demand of dynamic performance, the vehicle multi-body dynamics model is established by SIMPACK. And then the co-simulation analysis is conducted to evaluate the proposed multi-agent system(MAS) controller. The simulation results demonstrate that the MAS has good effect on the performance of EPS and ASS. Meantime, the better road feeling for the driver is provided considering the multiple and complex driving traffic. Finally, the MAS rapid control prototyping is built to conduct the real vehicle test. The test results are consistent to the simulation results, which verifies the correctness of simulation. The proposed research ensures the driving safety, enhances the handling stability, and improves the ride comfort.

A reusable multi-agent architecture for active intelligent websites

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Jonker, C.M.; Lam, R.A.; Treur, J.

In this paper a reusable multi-agent architecture for intelligent Websites is presented and illustrated for an electronic department store. The architecture has been designed and implemented using the compositional design method for multi-agent systems DESIRE. The agents within this architecture are

Implementing a Multi-Agent System in Python with an Auction-Based Agreement Approach

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ettienne, Mikko Berggren; Vester, Steen; Villadsen, Jørgen

2012-01-01

We describe the solution used by the Python-DTU team in the Multi-Agent Programming Contest 2011, where the scenario was called Agents on Mars. We present our auction-based agreement algorithm and discuss our chosen strategy and our choice of technology used for implementing the system. Finally, we...

Research on monitoring system of water resources in Shiyang River Basin based on Multi-agent

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, T. H.; Yin, Z.; Song, Y. Z.

2012-11-01

The Shiyang River Basin is the most populous, economy relatively develop, the highest degree of development and utilization of water resources, water conflicts the most prominent, ecological environment problems of the worst hit areas in Hexi inland river basin in Gansu province. the contradiction between people and water is aggravated constantly in the basin. This text combines multi-Agent technology with monitoring system of water resource, the establishment of a management center, telemetry Agent Federation, as well as the communication network between the composition of the Shiyang River Basin water resources monitoring system. By taking advantage of multi-agent system intelligence and communications coordination to improve the timeliness of the basin water resources monitoring.

Research on monitoring system of water resources in Shiyang River Basin based on Multi-agent

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhao, T h; Yin, Z; Song, Y Z

2012-01-01

The Shiyang River Basin is the most populous, economy relatively develop, the highest degree of development and utilization of water resources, water conflicts the most prominent, ecological environment problems of the worst hit areas in Hexi inland river basin in Gansu province. the contradiction between people and water is aggravated constantly in the basin. This text combines multi-Agent technology with monitoring system of water resource, the establishment of a management center, telemetry Agent Federation, as well as the communication network between the composition of the Shiyang River Basin water resources monitoring system. By taking advantage of multi-agent system intelligence and communications coordination to improve the timeliness of the basin water resources monitoring.

Analysis of Bullying in Cooperative Multi-agent Systems’ Communications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Celia Gutiérrez

2013-12-01

Full Text Available Cooperative Multi-agent Systems frameworks do not include modules to test communications yet. The proposed framework incorporates robust analysis tools using IDKAnalysis2.0 to evaluate bullying effect in communications. The present work is based on ICARO-T. This platform follows the Adaptive Multi-agent Systems paradigm. Experimentation with ICARO-T includes two deployments: the equitative and the authoritative. Results confirm the usefulness of the analysis tools when exporting to Cooperative Multi-agent Systems that use different configurations. Besides, ICARO-T is provided with new functionality by a set of tools for communication analysis.

Multi-agent Cooperation in a Planning Framework

NARCIS (Netherlands)

De Weerdt, M.M.; Bos, A.; Tonino, J.F.M.; Witteveen, C.

2000-01-01

The promise of multi-agent systems is that multiple agents can solve problems more efficiently than single agents can. In this paper we propose a method to implement cooperation between agents in the planning phase, in order to achive more cost-effective solutions than without cooperation. Two

A novel model and behavior analysis for a swarm of multi-agent systems with finite velocity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Liang-Shun; Wu Zhi-Hai

2014-01-01

Inspired by the fact that in most existing swarm models of multi-agent systems the velocity of an agent can be infinite, which is not in accordance with the real applications, we propose a novel swarm model of multi-agent systems where the velocity of an agent is finite. The Lyapunov function method and LaSalle's invariance principle are employed to show that by using the proposed model all of the agents eventually enter into a bounded region around the swarm center and finally tend to a stationary state. Numerical simulations are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the theoretical results. (interdisciplinary physics and related areas of science and technology)

Robot Control Using UML and Multi-agent System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ales Pavliska

2003-02-01

Full Text Available Increased industrialization and new markets have led to an accumulation of used technical consumer goods, which results in greater exploitation of raw materials, energy and landfill sites. In order to reduce the use of natural resources conserve precious energy and limit the increase in waste volume. The application of disassembly techniques is the first step towards this prevention of waste. These techniques form a reliable and clean approach: "noble" or high-graded recycling. This paper presents a multi agent system for disassembly process, which is implemented in a computer-aided application for supervising of the disassembling system: the Interactive Intelligent Interface for Disassembling System. Unified modeling language diagrams are used for an internal and external definition of the disassembling system.

Multi-Agent Modeling in Managing Six Sigma Projects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

K. Y. Chau

2009-10-01

Full Text Available In this paper, a multi-agent model is proposed for considering the human resources factor in decision making in relation to the six sigma project. The proposed multi-agent system is expected to increase the acccuracy of project prioritization and to stabilize the human resources service level. A simulation of the proposed multiagent model is conducted. The results show that a multi-agent model which takes into consideration human resources when making decisions about project selection and project team formation is important in enabling efficient and effective project management. The multi-agent modeling approach provides an alternative approach for improving communication and the autonomy of six sigma projects in business organizations.

Performance Evaluation of Bidding-Based Multi-Agent Scheduling Algorithms for Manufacturing Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Antonio Gordillo

2014-10-01

Full Text Available Artificial Intelligence techniques have being applied to many problems in manufacturing systems in recent years. In the specific field of manufacturing scheduling many studies have been published trying to cope with the complexity of the manufacturing environment. One of the most utilized approaches is (multi agent-based scheduling. Nevertheless, despite the large list of studies reported in this field, there is no resource or scientific study on the performance measure of this type of approach under very common and critical execution situations. This paper focuses on multi-agent systems (MAS based algorithms for task allocation, particularly in manufacturing applications. The goal is to provide a mechanism to measure the performance of agent-based scheduling approaches for manufacturing systems under key critical situations such as: dynamic environment, rescheduling, and priority change. With this mechanism it will be possible to simulate critical situations and to stress the system in order to measure the performance of a given agent-based scheduling method. The proposed mechanism is a pioneering approach for performance evaluation of bidding-based MAS approaches for manufacturing scheduling. The proposed method and evaluation methodology can be used to run tests in different manufacturing floors since it is independent of the workshop configuration. Moreover, the evaluation results presented in this paper show the key factors and scenarios that most affect the market-like MAS approaches for manufacturing scheduling.

Delay-Induced Consensus and Quasi-Consensus in Multi-Agent Dynamical Systems

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Yu, Wenwu; Chen, Guanrong; Cao, Ming; Ren, Wei

2013-01-01

This paper studies consensus and quasi-consensus in multi-agent dynamical systems. A linear consensus protocol in the second-order dynamics is designed where both the current and delayed position information is utilized. Time delay, in a common perspective, can induce periodic oscillations or even

An Embedded Multi-Agent Systems Based Industrial Wireless Sensor Network

Science.gov (United States)

Brennan, Robert W.

2017-01-01

With the emergence of cyber-physical systems, there has been a growing interest in network-connected devices. One of the key requirements of a cyber-physical device is the ability to sense its environment. Wireless sensor networks are a widely-accepted solution for this requirement. In this study, an embedded multi-agent systems-managed wireless sensor network is presented. A novel architecture is proposed, along with a novel wireless sensor network architecture. Active and passive wireless sensor node types are defined, along with their communication protocols, and two application-specific examples are presented. A series of three experiments is conducted to evaluate the performance of the agent-embedded wireless sensor network. PMID:28906452

Multi-agent approach for power system in a smart grid protection context

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Abedini, Reza; Pinto, Tiago; Morais, Hugo

2013-01-01

electricity markets and in the other hand with increasing penetration of Distributed Generation (DG) because of environment issues and diminishing in fossil fuel reserves and its price growth, made microgrid more attractive. Micro grids are considers as partial of SmartGrid system to accommodate DGs as well......With increasing penetration of electricity application in society and the need of majority of appliance to electricity, high level of reliability becomes more essential; in one hand with deregulation of electricity market in production, transmission and distribution and emerge of competitive...... proposes a new approach for protection in a Microgrid environment as a part of SmartGrid: Multi-agent system to Protections Coordination (MAS-ProteC) which integrated in MASGriP (Multi-Agent Smart Grid Platform), providing protection services within network operation in SmartGrid in electricity market...

Exploring complex dynamics in multi agent-based intelligent systems: Theoretical and experimental approaches using the Multi Agent-based Behavioral Economic Landscape (MABEL) model

Science.gov (United States)

Alexandridis, Konstantinos T.

This dissertation adopts a holistic and detailed approach to modeling spatially explicit agent-based artificial intelligent systems, using the Multi Agent-based Behavioral Economic Landscape (MABEL) model. The research questions that addresses stem from the need to understand and analyze the real-world patterns and dynamics of land use change from a coupled human-environmental systems perspective. Describes the systemic, mathematical, statistical, socio-economic and spatial dynamics of the MABEL modeling framework, and provides a wide array of cross-disciplinary modeling applications within the research, decision-making and policy domains. Establishes the symbolic properties of the MABEL model as a Markov decision process, analyzes the decision-theoretic utility and optimization attributes of agents towards comprising statistically and spatially optimal policies and actions, and explores the probabilogic character of the agents' decision-making and inference mechanisms via the use of Bayesian belief and decision networks. Develops and describes a Monte Carlo methodology for experimental replications of agent's decisions regarding complex spatial parcel acquisition and learning. Recognizes the gap on spatially-explicit accuracy assessment techniques for complex spatial models, and proposes an ensemble of statistical tools designed to address this problem. Advanced information assessment techniques such as the Receiver-Operator Characteristic curve, the impurity entropy and Gini functions, and the Bayesian classification functions are proposed. The theoretical foundation for modular Bayesian inference in spatially-explicit multi-agent artificial intelligent systems, and the ensembles of cognitive and scenario assessment modular tools build for the MABEL model are provided. Emphasizes the modularity and robustness as valuable qualitative modeling attributes, and examines the role of robust intelligent modeling as a tool for improving policy-decisions related to land

A Multi-Agent System Architecture for Sensor Networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

María Guijarro

2009-12-01

Full Text Available The design of the control systems for sensor networks presents important challenges. Besides the traditional problems about how to process the sensor data to obtain the target information, engineers need to consider additional aspects such as the heterogeneity and high number of sensors, and the flexibility of these networks regarding topologies and the sensors in them. Although there are partial approaches for resolving these issues, their integration relies on ad hoc solutions requiring important development efforts. In order to provide an effective approach for this integration, this paper proposes an architecture based on the multi-agent system paradigm with a clear separation of concerns. The architecture considers sensors as devices used by an upper layer of manager agents. These agents are able to communicate and negotiate services to achieve the required functionality. Activities are organized according to roles related with the different aspects to integrate, mainly sensor management, data processing, communication and adaptation to changes in the available devices and their capabilities. This organization largely isolates and decouples the data management from the changing network, while encouraging reuse of solutions. The use of the architecture is facilitated by a specific modelling language developed through metamodelling. A case study concerning a generic distributed system for fire fighting illustrates the approach and the comparison with related work.

Finite-time consensus of second-order leader-following multi-agent systems without velocity measurements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, Yanjiao; Yang, Ying

2013-01-01

This Letter investigates the finite-time consensus problems of second-order multi-agent systems in the presence of one and multiple leaders under a directed graph. Specifically, we propose two bounded control laws, which are independent of velocity information, to deal with the finite-time consensus tracking problem with one leader and the finite-time containment control problem with multiple leaders, respectively. With the aid of homogeneous theory, some sufficient conditions are established for the achievement of the finite-time tracking control problem of second-order multi-agent systems. Numerical examples are finally provided to illustrate the theoretical results.

A Distributed Multi-agent Control System for Power Consumption in Buildings

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kosek, Anna Magdalena; Gehrke, Oliver

2012-01-01

This paper presents a distributed controller for adjusting the electrical consumption of a residential building in response to an external power setpoint in Watts. The controller is based on a multi-agent system and has been implemented in JCSP. It is modularly built, capable of self-configuratio...

Distributed event-triggered consensus tracking of second-order multi-agent systems with a virtual leader

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cao Jie; Wu Zhi-Hai; Peng Li

2016-01-01

This paper investigates the consensus tracking problems of second-order multi-agent systems with a virtual leader via event-triggered control. A novel distributed event-triggered transmission scheme is proposed, which is intermittently examined at constant sampling instants. Only partial neighbor information and local measurements are required for event detection. Then the corresponding event-triggered consensus tracking protocol is presented to guarantee second-order multi-agent systems to achieve consensus tracking. Numerical simulations are given to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed strategy. (paper)

Multi-Agent Information Classification Using Dynamic Acquaintance Lists.

Science.gov (United States)

Mukhopadhyay, Snehasis; Peng, Shengquan; Raje, Rajeev; Palakal, Mathew; Mostafa, Javed

2003-01-01

Discussion of automated information services focuses on information classification and collaborative agents, i.e. intelligent computer programs. Highlights include multi-agent systems; distributed artificial intelligence; thesauri; document representation and classification; agent modeling; acquaintances, or remote agents discovered through…

Iterative learning control for multi-agent systems coordination

CERN Document Server

Yang, Shiping; Li, Xuefang; Shen, Dong

2016-01-01

A timely guide using iterative learning control (ILC) as a solution for multi-agent systems (MAS) challenges, this book showcases recent advances and industrially relevant applications. Readers are first given a comprehensive overview of the intersection between ILC and MAS, then introduced to a range of topics that include both basic and advanced theoretical discussions, rigorous mathematics, engineering practice, and both linear and nonlinear systems. Through systematic discussion of network theory and intelligent control, the authors explore future research possibilities, develop new tools, and provide numerous applications such as power grids, communication and sensor networks, intelligent transportation systems, and formation control. Readers will gain a roadmap of the latest advances in the fields and can use their newfound knowledge to design their own algorithms.

Multi-agent cooperative systems applied to precision applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McKay, M.D.; Anderson, M.O.; Gunderson, R.W.; Flann, N.; Abbott, B.

1998-01-01

Regulatory agencies are imposing limits and constraints to protect the operator and/or the environment. While generally necessary, these controls also tend to increase cost and decrease efficiency and productivity. Intelligent computer systems can be made to perform these hazardous tasks with greater efficiency and precision without danger to the operators. The Idaho national Engineering and Environmental Laboratory and the Center for Self-Organizing and Intelligent Systems at Utah State University have developed a series of autonomous all-terrain multi-agent systems capable of performing automated tasks within hazardous environments. This paper discusses the development and application of cooperative small-scale and large-scale robots for use in various activities associated with radiologically contaminated areas, prescription farming, and unexploded ordinances

A QUANTITATIVE FRAMEWORK FOR EARLY PREDICTION OF COOPERATION IN MULTI-AGENT SYSTEMS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. Ajitha

2013-07-01

Full Text Available A Multi-Agent System (MAS is a system composed of multiple interacting intelligent agents. MAS can be used to solve problems that are difficult or impossible for an individual agent to solve. The different characteristics of MAS help in solving highly complex distributed problems. One of the important characteristics of MAS is its cooperative nature. This character helps different agents to interact with each other by exchanging messages. One of the major challenges in MAS is quantifying the cooperation between agents. This paper presents a framework for the quantification of cooperation between agents in MAS. We propose a methodology which helps to quantify the cooperation in the early stages of software development using a UML sequence diagram and a mathematical model. The proposed techniques are illustrated with the help of a case study. The numerical results we got were quite satisfactory.

Adaptive, Distributed Control of Constrained Multi-Agent Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Bieniawski, Stefan; Wolpert, David H.

2004-01-01

Product Distribution (PO) theory was recently developed as a broad framework for analyzing and optimizing distributed systems. Here we demonstrate its use for adaptive distributed control of Multi-Agent Systems (MASS), i.e., for distributed stochastic optimization using MAS s. First we review one motivation of PD theory, as the information-theoretic extension of conventional full-rationality game theory to the case of bounded rational agents. In this extension the equilibrium of the game is the optimizer of a Lagrangian of the (Probability dist&&on on the joint state of the agents. When the game in question is a team game with constraints, that equilibrium optimizes the expected value of the team game utility, subject to those constraints. One common way to find that equilibrium is to have each agent run a Reinforcement Learning (E) algorithm. PD theory reveals this to be a particular type of search algorithm for minimizing the Lagrangian. Typically that algorithm i s quite inefficient. A more principled alternative is to use a variant of Newton's method to minimize the Lagrangian. Here we compare this alternative to RL-based search in three sets of computer experiments. These are the N Queen s problem and bin-packing problem from the optimization literature, and the Bar problem from the distributed RL literature. Our results confirm that the PD-theory-based approach outperforms the RL-based scheme in all three domains.

Stochastic bounded consensus of second-order multi-agent systems in noisy environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ren Hong-Wei; Deng Fei-Qi

2017-01-01

This paper investigates the stochastic bounded consensus of leader-following second-order multi-agent systems in a noisy environment. It is assumed that each agent received the information of its neighbors corrupted by noises and time delays. Based on the graph theory, stochastic tools, and the Lyapunov function method, we derive the sufficient conditions under which the systems would reach stochastic bounded consensus in mean square with the protocol we designed. Finally, a numerical simulation is illustrated to check the effectiveness of the proposed algorithms. (paper)

On the use of multi-agent systems for the monitoring of industrial systems

Science.gov (United States)

Rezki, Nafissa; Kazar, Okba; Mouss, Leila Hayet; Kahloul, Laid; Rezki, Djamil

2016-03-01

The objective of the current paper is to present an intelligent system for complex process monitoring, based on artificial intelligence technologies. This system aims to realize with success all the complex process monitoring tasks that are: detection, diagnosis, identification and reconfiguration. For this purpose, the development of a multi-agent system that combines multiple intelligences such as: multivariate control charts, neural networks, Bayesian networks and expert systems has became a necessity. The proposed system is evaluated in the monitoring of the complex process Tennessee Eastman process.

Consensus for linear multi-agent system with intermittent information transmissions using the time-scale theory

Science.gov (United States)

Taousser, Fatima; Defoort, Michael; Djemai, Mohamed

2016-01-01

This paper investigates the consensus problem for linear multi-agent system with fixed communication topology in the presence of intermittent communication using the time-scale theory. Since each agent can only obtain relative local information intermittently, the proposed consensus algorithm is based on a discontinuous local interaction rule. The interaction among agents happens at a disjoint set of continuous-time intervals. The closed-loop multi-agent system can be represented using mixed linear continuous-time and linear discrete-time models due to intermittent information transmissions. The time-scale theory provides a powerful tool to combine continuous-time and discrete-time cases and study the consensus protocol under a unified framework. Using this theory, some conditions are derived to achieve exponential consensus under intermittent information transmissions. Simulations are performed to validate the theoretical results.

Multi-agent control system with information fusion based comfort model for smart buildings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Zhu; Wang, Lingfeng; Dounis, Anastasios I.; Yang, Rui

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► Proposed a model to manage indoor energy and comfort for smart buildings. ► Developed a control system to maximize comfort with minimum energy consumption. ► Information fusion with ordered weighted averaging aggregation is used. ► Multi-agent technology and heuristic intelligent optimization are deployed in developing the control system. -- Abstract: From the perspective of system control, a smart and green building is a large-scale dynamic system with high complexity and a huge amount of information. Proper combination of the available information and effective control of the overall building system turns out to be a big challenge. In this study, we proposed a building indoor energy and comfort management model based on information fusion using ordered weighted averaging (OWA) aggregation. A multi-agent control system with heuristic intelligent optimization is developed to achieve a high level of comfort with the minimum power consumption. Case studies and simulation results are presented and discussed in this paper.

Towards a multi-agent system for visualising simulated behaviour within the built environment

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dijkstra, J.; Timmermans, H.J.P.; Vries, de B.; Timmermans, H.J.P.; Vries, de B.

2000-01-01

This paper describes the outline of a multi-agent system approach for visualising simulated user behaviour within a building. This system can be used to support the assessment of design performance. Visualisation is of critical importance in improving the readability of design representations.

Multi-agent search for source localization in a turbulent medium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hajieghrary, Hadi; Hsieh, M. Ani; Schwartz, Ira B.

2016-01-01

We extend the gradient-less search strategy referred to as “infotaxis” to a distributed multi-agent system. “Infotaxis” is a search strategy that uses sporadic sensor measurements to determine the source location of materials dispersed in a turbulent medium. In this work, we leverage the spatio-temporal sensing capabilities of a mobile sensing agents to optimize the time spent finding and localizing the position of the source using a multi-agent collaborative search strategy. Our results suggest that the proposed multi-agent collaborative search strategy leverages the team's ability to obtain simultaneous measurements at different locations to speed up the search process. We present a multi-agent collaborative “infotaxis” strategy that uses the relative entropy of the system to synthesize a suitable search strategy for the team. The result is a collaborative information theoretic search strategy that results in control actions that maximize the information gained by the team, and improves estimates of the source position. - Highlights: • We extend the gradient-less infotaxis search strategy to a distributed multi-agent system. • Leveraging the spatio-temporal sensing capabilities of a team of mobile sensing agents speeds up the search process. • The resulting information theoretic search strategy maximizes the information gained and improves the estimate of the source position.

Emerging medical informatics with case-based reasoning for aiding clinical decision in multi-agent system.

Science.gov (United States)

Shen, Ying; Colloc, Joël; Jacquet-Andrieu, Armelle; Lei, Kai

2015-08-01

This research aims to depict the methodological steps and tools about the combined operation of case-based reasoning (CBR) and multi-agent system (MAS) to expose the ontological application in the field of clinical decision support. The multi-agent architecture works for the consideration of the whole cycle of clinical decision-making adaptable to many medical aspects such as the diagnosis, prognosis, treatment, therapeutic monitoring of gastric cancer. In the multi-agent architecture, the ontological agent type employs the domain knowledge to ease the extraction of similar clinical cases and provide treatment suggestions to patients and physicians. Ontological agent is used for the extension of domain hierarchy and the interpretation of input requests. Case-based reasoning memorizes and restores experience data for solving similar problems, with the help of matching approach and defined interfaces of ontologies. A typical case is developed to illustrate the implementation of the knowledge acquisition and restitution of medical experts. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Novel platform for ocean survey and autonomous sampling using multi-agent system

OpenAIRE

Taher, Tawfiq; Weymouth, G.D.; Varghese, Tony

2013-01-01

In-situ surveying and sampling of ocean environments provides critical data for laboratory work and oceanographic research. However, sampling a time-varying ocean field is often time and resource limited-meaning that samples often miss the features of interest. This paper presents a modular autonomous multi-agent robotic system which has been developed to accommodate a variety of research activities. This paper demonstrates the complementary capabilities of the agents by simultaneously survey...

Multi-agent based distributed control architecture for microgrid energy management and optimization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Basir Khan, M. Reyasudin; Jidin, Razali; Pasupuleti, Jagadeesh

2016-01-01

Highlights: • A new multi-agent based distributed control architecture for energy management. • Multi-agent coordination based on non-cooperative game theory. • A microgrid model comprised of renewable energy generation systems. • Performance comparison of distributed with conventional centralized control. - Abstract: Most energy management systems are based on a centralized controller that is difficult to satisfy criteria such as fault tolerance and adaptability. Therefore, a new multi-agent based distributed energy management system architecture is proposed in this paper. The distributed generation system is composed of several distributed energy resources and a group of loads. A multi-agent system based decentralized control architecture was developed in order to provide control for the complex energy management of the distributed generation system. Then, non-cooperative game theory was used for the multi-agent coordination in the system. The distributed generation system was assessed by simulation under renewable resource fluctuations, seasonal load demand and grid disturbances. The simulation results show that the implementation of the new energy management system proved to provide more robust and high performance controls than conventional centralized energy management systems.

A Multi-Agent Architecture for an Intelligent Website in Insurance

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Jonker, C.M.; Lam, R.A.; Treur, J.

1999-01-01

In this paper a multi-agent architecture for intelligent Websites is presented and applied in insurance. The architecture has been designed and implemented using the compositional development method for multi-agent systems DESIRE. The agents within this architecture are based on a generic broker

Quadratic stabilisability of multi-agent systems under switching topologies

Science.gov (United States)

Guan, Yongqiang; Ji, Zhijian; Zhang, Lin; Wang, Long

2014-12-01

This paper addresses the stabilisability of multi-agent systems (MASs) under switching topologies. Necessary and/or sufficient conditions are presented in terms of graph topology. These conditions explicitly reveal how the intrinsic dynamics of the agents, the communication topology and the external control input affect stabilisability jointly. With the appropriate selection of some agents to which the external inputs are applied and the suitable design of neighbour-interaction rules via a switching topology, an MAS is proved to be stabilisable even if so is not for each of uncertain subsystem. In addition, a method is proposed to constructively design a switching rule for MASs with norm-bounded time-varying uncertainties. The switching rules designed via this method do not rely on uncertainties, and the switched MAS is quadratically stabilisable via decentralised external self-feedback for all uncertainties. With respect to applications of the stabilisability results, the formation control and the cooperative tracking control are addressed. Numerical simulations are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed results.

Multi-agent systems: effective approach for cancer care information management.

Science.gov (United States)

Mohammadzadeh, Niloofar; Safdari, Reza; Rahimi, Azin

2013-01-01

Physicians, in order to study the causes of cancer, detect cancer earlier, prevent or determine the effectiveness of treatment, and specify the reasons for the treatment ineffectiveness, need to access accurate, comprehensive, and timely cancer data. The cancer care environment has become more complex because of the need for coordination and communication among health care professionals with different skills in a variety of roles and the existence of large amounts of data with various formats. The goals of health care systems in such a complex environment are correct health data management, providing appropriate information needs of users to enhance the integrity and quality of health care, timely access to accurate information and reducing medical errors. These roles in new systems with use of agents efficiently perform well. Because of the potential capability of agent systems to solve complex and dynamic health problems, health care system, in order to gain full advantage of E- health, steps must be taken to make use of this technology. Multi-agent systems have effective roles in health service quality improvement especially in telemedicine, emergency situations and management of chronic diseases such as cancer. In the design and implementation of agent based systems, planning items such as information confidentiality and privacy, architecture, communication standards, ethical and legal aspects, identification opportunities and barriers should be considered. It should be noted that usage of agent systems only with a technical view is associated with many problems such as lack of user acceptance. The aim of this commentary is to survey applications, opportunities and barriers of this new artificial intelligence tool for cancer care information as an approach to improve cancer care management.

Multi-Agent Software Engineering

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mohamed, A.H.

2014-01-01

This paper proposed an alarm-monitoring system for people based on multi-agent using maps. The system monitors the users physical context using their mobile phone. The agents on the mobile phones are responsible for collecting, processing and sending data to the server. They can determine the parameters of their environment by sensors. The data are processed and sent to the server. On the other side, a set of agents on server can store this data and check the preconditions of the restrictions associated with the user, in order to trigger the appropriate alarms. These alarms are sent not only to the user who is alarmed to avoid the appeared restriction, but also to his supervisor. The proposed system is a general purpose alarm system that can be used in different critical application areas. It has been applied for monitoring the workers of radiation sites. However, these workers can do their activity tasks in the radiation environments safely

Tree Based Decision Strategies and Auctions in Computational Multi-Agent Systems

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Šlapák, M.; Neruda, Roman

2017-01-01

Roč. 38, č. 4 (2017), s. 335-342 ISSN 0257-4306 Institutional support: RVO:67985807 Keywords : auction systems * decision making * genetic programming * multi-agent system * task distribution Subject RIV: IN - Informatics, Computer Science OBOR OECD: Computer sciences, information science, bioinformathics (hardware development to be 2.2, social aspect to be 5.8) http://rev-inv-ope.univ-paris1.fr/fileadmin/rev-inv-ope/files/38417/38417-04.pdf

A multi-agent conversational system with heterogeneous data sources access

KAUST Repository

Eisman, Eduardo M.; Navarro, Marí a; Castro, Juan Luis

2016-01-01

In many of the problems that can be found nowadays, information is scattered across different heterogeneous data sources. Most of the natural language interfaces just focus on a very specific part of the problem (e.g. an interface to a relational database, or an interface to an ontology). However, from the point of view of users, it does not matter where the information is stored, they just want to get the knowledge in an integrated, transparent, efficient, effective, and pleasant way. To solve this problem, this article proposes a generic multi-agent conversational architecture that follows the divide and conquer philosophy and considers two different types of agents. Expert agents are specialized in accessing different knowledge sources, and decision agents coordinate them to provide a coherent final answer to the user. This architecture has been used to design and implement SmartSeller, a specific system which includes a Virtual Assistant to answer general questions and a Bookseller to query a book database. A deep analysis regarding other relevant systems has demonstrated that our proposal provides several improvements at some key features presented along the paper.

A multi-agent conversational system with heterogeneous data sources access

KAUST Repository

Eisman, Eduardo M.

2016-01-28

In many of the problems that can be found nowadays, information is scattered across different heterogeneous data sources. Most of the natural language interfaces just focus on a very specific part of the problem (e.g. an interface to a relational database, or an interface to an ontology). However, from the point of view of users, it does not matter where the information is stored, they just want to get the knowledge in an integrated, transparent, efficient, effective, and pleasant way. To solve this problem, this article proposes a generic multi-agent conversational architecture that follows the divide and conquer philosophy and considers two different types of agents. Expert agents are specialized in accessing different knowledge sources, and decision agents coordinate them to provide a coherent final answer to the user. This architecture has been used to design and implement SmartSeller, a specific system which includes a Virtual Assistant to answer general questions and a Bookseller to query a book database. A deep analysis regarding other relevant systems has demonstrated that our proposal provides several improvements at some key features presented along the paper.

Multi-agent: a technique to implement geo-visualization of networked virtual reality

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Zhiyong; Li, Wenjing; Meng, Lingkui

2007-06-01

Networked Virtual Reality (NVR) is a system based on net connected and spatial information shared, whose demands cannot be fully meet by the existing architectures and application patterns of VR to some extent. In this paper, we propose a new architecture of NVR based on Multi-Agent framework. which includes the detailed definition of various agents and their functions and full description of the collaboration mechanism, Through the prototype system test with DEM Data and 3D Models Data, the advantages of Multi-Agent based Networked Virtual Reality System in terms of the data loading time, user response time and scene construction time etc. are verified. First, we introduce the characters of Networked Virtual Realty and the characters of Multi-Agent technique in Section 1. Then we give the architecture design of Networked Virtual Realty based on Multi-Agent in Section 2.The Section 2 content includes the rule of task division, the multi-agent architecture design to implement Networked Virtual Realty and the function of agents. Section 3 shows the prototype implementation according to the design. Finally, Section 4 discusses the benefits of using Multi-Agent to implement geovisualization of Networked Virtual Realty.

TRUST MODEL FOR INFORMATION SECURITY OF MULTI-AGENT ROBOTIC SYSTEMS WITH A DECENTRALIZED MANAGEMENT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

I. A. Zikratov

2014-03-01

Full Text Available The paper deals with the issues on protection of multi-agent robotic systems against attacks by robots-saboteurs. The operation analysis of such systems with decentralized control is carried out. Concept of harmful information impact (attack from a robot-saboteur to the multi-agent robotic system is given. The class of attacks is considered using interception of messages, formation and transfer of misinformation to group of robots, and also carrying out other actions with vulnerabilities of multiagent algorithms without obviously identified signs of invasion of robots-saboteurs. The model of information security is developed, in which robots-agents work out trust levels to each other analyzing the events occurring in the system. The idea of trust model consists in the analysis of transferred information by each robot and the executed actions of other members in a group, comparison of chosen decision on iteration step k with objective function of the group. Distinctive feature of the trust model in comparison with the closest analogue - Buddy Security Model in which the exchange between the agents security tokens is done — is involvement of the time factor during which agents have to "prove" by their actions the usefulness in achievement of a common goal to members of the group. Variants of this model realization and ways of an assessment of trust levels for agents in view of the security policy accepted in the group are proposed.

Review of the Main Security Problems with Multi-Agent Systems used in E-commerce Applications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alfonso GONZÁLEZ BRIONES

2016-12-01

Full Text Available The ability to connect to the Internet from a wide variety of devices such as smart phones, IoT devices and desktops at anytime and anywhere, produces a large number of e-commerce transactions, such as purchases of clothes, ticket entrances for performances, or banking operations. The increasing number of these transactions has also created an increase in the number of threats and attacks by third parties to access user data banks. It is important to control the access procedure to user data so that the number of threats does not continue to grow. To do so, it is necessary to prevent unauthorized access, theft and fraud in electronic commerce, which is required to ensure the safety of these transactions. Many e-commerce platforms are developed through multi-agent-systems because they include certain advantages to control the product, resource management, task distribution, etc. However, there are a number of threats that can jeopardize the safety of the agents that make up the system. These issues must be taken into account in the development of these multi-agent systems. However, existing methods of development do not cover in depth the issue of security. It is necessary to present and classify the potential security flaws of multi-agent systems. Therefore, the present research presents a review of the main vulnerabilities that occur in multi-agent systems responsible for managing e-commerce applications, as well as the proposed solutions to the major security problems on these platform systems. The main conclusions provided by this research is the need to optimize security measures and enhance the different security solutions applied in e-commerce applications in order to prevent identity theft, access to private data, access control, etc. It is therefore essential to continue to develop the security methods employed in applications such as e-commerce as different types of attacks and threats continue to evolve.

A Distributed Framework for Real Time Path Planning in Practical Multi-agent Systems

KAUST Repository

Abdelkader, Mohamed; Jaleel, Hassan; Shamma, Jeff S.

2017-01-01

We present a framework for distributed, energy efficient, and real time implementable algorithms for path planning in multi-agent systems. The proposed framework is presented in the context of a motivating example of capture the flag which

Digital Watermark Tracking using Intelligent Multi-Agents System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nagaraj V. DHARWADKAR

2010-01-01

Full Text Available E-commerce has become a huge business and adriving factor in the development of the Internet. Onlineshopping services are well established. Due to the evolution of2G and 3G mobile networks, soon online shopping services arecomplemented by their wireless counterparts. Furthermore, inthe recent years online delivery of digital media, such as MP3audio or video or image is very popular and will become anincreasingly important part of E-commerce. The advantage ofinternet is sharing the valuable digital data which lead to misuseof digital data. To resolve the problem of misuse of digital dataon Internet we need to have strong Digital rights monitoringsystem. Digital Rights Management (DRM is fairly youngdiscipline, while some of its underlying technologies have beenknown from many years. The use of DRM for managing andprotecting intellectual property rights is a comparatively newfield. In this paper we propose a model for online digital imagelibrary copyright protection based on watermark trackingSystem.In our proposed model the tracking of watermarks onremote host nodes is done using active mobile agents. The multiagentsystem architecture is used in watermark tracking whichsupports the coordination of several component tasks acrossdistributed and flexible networks of information sources.Whereas a centralized system is susceptible to system-widefailures and processing bottlenecks, multi-agent systems aremore reliable, especially given the likelihood of individualcomponent failures.

A Demand-Driven Approach for a Multi-Agent System in Supply Chain Management

Science.gov (United States)

Kovalchuk, Yevgeniya; Fasli, Maria

This paper presents the architecture of a multi-agent decision support system for Supply Chain Management (SCM) which has been designed to compete in the TAC SCM game. The behaviour of the system is demand-driven and the agents plan, predict, and react dynamically to changes in the market. The main strength of the system lies in the ability of the Demand agent to predict customer winning bid prices - the highest prices the agent can offer customers and still obtain their orders. This paper investigates the effect of the ability to predict customer order prices on the overall performance of the system. Four strategies are proposed and compared for predicting such prices. The experimental results reveal which strategies are better and show that there is a correlation between the accuracy of the models' predictions and the overall system performance: the more accurate the prediction of customer order prices, the higher the profit.

Distributed MPC based consensus for single-integrator multi-agent systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Cheng, Zhaomeng; Fan, Ming-Can; Zhang, Hai-Tao

2015-09-01

This paper addresses model predictive control schemes for consensus in multi-agent systems (MASs) with discrete-time single-integrator dynamics under switching directed interaction graphs. The control horizon is extended to be greater than one which endows the closed-loop system with extra degree of freedom. We derive sufficient conditions on the sampling period and the interaction graph to achieve consensus by using the property of infinite products of stochastic matrices. Consensus can be achieved asymptotically if the sampling period is selected such that the interaction graph among agents has a directed spanning tree jointly. Significantly, if the interaction graph always has a spanning tree, one can select an arbitrary large sampling period to guarantee consensus. Finally, several simulations are conducted to illustrate the effectiveness of the theoretical results. Copyright © 2015 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Adaptive hierarchical multi-agent organizations

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ghijsen, M.; Jansweijer, W.N.H.; Wielinga, B.J.; Babuška, R.; Groen, F.C.A.

2010-01-01

In this chapter, we discuss the design of adaptive hierarchical organizations for multi-agent systems (MAS). Hierarchical organizations have a number of advantages such as their ability to handle complex problems and their scalability to large organizations. By introducing adaptivity in the

Normative multi-agent programs and their logics

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dastani, M.; Grossi, D.; Meyer, J.-J.C.; Tinnemeier, N.

2009-01-01

Multi-agent systems are viewed as consisting of individual agents whose behaviors are regulated by an organization artefact. This paper presents a simplified version of a programming language that is designed to implement norm-based artefacts. Such artefacts are specified in terms of norms being

A Novel Secondary Control for Microgrid Based on Synergetic Control of Multi-Agent System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhiwen Yu

2016-03-01

Full Text Available In power systems, the secondary control is a very useful way to restore the system frequency and voltage to the rated value. This paper tries to propose a secondary frequency and voltage control of islanded microgrids based on the distributed synergetic control of multi-agent systems. In the proposed control, since each distributed generation only requires its own information and that of the neighbors, the secondary control is fully distributed. The system is more reliable because the central controller and complex communication network are reduced in the distributed structure. Based on multi-agent systems, the dynamic model is established, and distributed synergetic control algorithms are given to design the secondary control of the islanded microgrid. Meanwhile, the system has globally asymptotic stability under the proposed control, which is proved by the direct Lyapunov method. Simulation results about a test microgrid are given to verify the effectiveness of the proposed control.

Distributed-observer-based cooperative control for synchronization of linear discrete-time multi-agent systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Liang, Hongjing; Zhang, Huaguang; Wang, Zhanshan

2015-11-01

This paper considers output synchronization of discrete-time multi-agent systems with directed communication topologies. The directed communication graph contains a spanning tree and the exosystem as its root. Distributed observer-based consensus protocols are proposed, based on the relative outputs of neighboring agents. A multi-step algorithm is presented to construct the observer-based protocols. In light of the discrete-time algebraic Riccati equation and internal model principle, synchronization problem is completed. At last, numerical simulation is provided to verify the effectiveness of the theoretical results. Copyright © 2015 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

STFTP: Secure TFTP Protocol for Embedded Multi-Agent Systems Communication

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

ZAGAR, D.

2013-05-01

Full Text Available Today's embedded systems have evolved into multipurpose devices moving towards an embedded multi-agent system (MAS infrastructure. With the involvement of MAS in embedded systems, one remaining issues is establishing communication between agents in low computational power and low memory embedded systems without present Embedded Operating System (EOS. One solution is the extension of an outdated Trivial File Transfer Protocol (TFTP. The main advantage of using TFTP in embedded systems is the easy implementation. However, the problem at hand is the overall lack of security mechanisms in TFTP. This paper proposes an extension to the existing TFTP in a form of added security mechanisms: STFTP. The authentication is proposed using Digest Access Authentication process whereas the data encryption can be performed by various cryptographic algorithms. The proposal is experimentally tested using two embedded systems based on micro-controller architecture. Communication is analyzed for authentication, data rate and transfer time versus various data encryption ciphers and files sizes. STFTP results in an expected drop in performance, which is in the range of similar encryption algorithms. The system could be improved by using embedded systems of higher computational power or by the use of hardware encryption modules.

An analysis of multi-agent diagnosis

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Roos, Nico; Ten Teije, Annette; Bos, André; Witteveen, Cees; Castelfranchi, C.; Johnson, W.L.

2002-01-01

This paper analyzes the use of a Multi-Agent System for Model-Based Diagnosis. In a large dynamical system, it is often infeasible or even impossible to maintain a model of the whole system. Instead, several incomplete models of the system have to be used to establish a diagnosis and to detect

Modeling, Simulation, and Characterization of Distributed Multi-agent Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Reed F. Young

2012-04-01

Full Text Available A strategy is described that utilizes a novel application of a potential-force function that includes the tuning of coefficients to control mobile robots orchestrated as a distributed multiagent system. Control system parameters are manipulated methodically via simulation and hardware experimentation to gain a better understanding of their impact upon mission performance of the multi-agent system as applied to a predetermined task of area exploration and mapping. Also included are descriptions of experiment infrastructure components that afford convenient solutions to research challenges. These consist of a surrogate localization (position and orientation function utilizing a novel MATLAB executable (MEX function and a user datagram protocol (UDP-based communications protocol that facilitates communication among network-based control computers.

Designing of Roaming Protocol for Bluetooth Equipped Multi Agent Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Subhan, Fazli; Hasbullah, Halabi B.

Bluetooth is an established standard for low cost, low power, wireless personal area network. Currently, Bluetooth does not support any roaming protocol in which handoff occurs dynamically when a Bluetooth device is moving out of the piconet. If a device is losing its connection to the master device, no provision is made to transfer it to another master. Handoff is not possible in a piconet, as in order to stay within the network, a slave would have to keep the same master. So, by definition intra-handoff is not possible within a piconet. This research mainly focuses on Bluetooth technology and designing a roaming protocol for Bluetooth equipped multi agent systems. A mathematical model is derived for an agent. The idea behind the mathematical model is to know when to initiate the roaming process for an agent. A desired trajectory for the agent is calculated using its x and y coordinates system, and is simulated in SIMULINK. Various roaming techniques are also studied and discussed. The advantage of designing a roaming protocol is to ensure the Bluetooth enabled roaming devices can freely move inside the network coverage without losing its connection or break of service in case of changing the base stations.

A Distributed Framework for Real Time Path Planning in Practical Multi-agent Systems

KAUST Repository

Abdelkader, Mohamed

2017-10-19

We present a framework for distributed, energy efficient, and real time implementable algorithms for path planning in multi-agent systems. The proposed framework is presented in the context of a motivating example of capture the flag which is an adversarial game played between two teams of autonomous agents called defenders and attackers. We start with the centralized formulation of the problem as a linear program because of its computational efficiency. Then we present an approximation framework in which each agent solves a local version of the centralized linear program by communicating with its neighbors only. The premise in this work is that for practical multi-agent systems, real time implementability of distributed algorithms is more crucial then global optimality. Thus, instead of verifying the proposed framework by performing offline simulations in MATLAB, we run extensive simulations in a robotic simulator V-REP, which includes a detailed dynamic model of quadrotors. Moreover, to create a realistic scenario, we allow a human operator to control the attacker quadrotor through a joystick in a single attacker setup. These simulations authenticate that the proposed framework is real time implementable and results in a performance that is comparable with the global optimal solution under the considered scenarios.

Agent-based model with multi-level herding for complex financial systems

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Jun-Jie; Tan, Lei; Zheng, Bo

2015-02-01

In complex financial systems, the sector structure and volatility clustering are respectively important features of the spatial and temporal correlations. However, the microscopic generation mechanism of the sector structure is not yet understood. Especially, how to produce these two features in one model remains challenging. We introduce a novel interaction mechanism, i.e., the multi-level herding, in constructing an agent-based model to investigate the sector structure combined with volatility clustering. According to the previous market performance, agents trade in groups, and their herding behavior comprises the herding at stock, sector and market levels. Further, we propose methods to determine the key model parameters from historical market data, rather than from statistical fitting of the results. From the simulation, we obtain the sector structure and volatility clustering, as well as the eigenvalue distribution of the cross-correlation matrix, for the New York and Hong Kong stock exchanges. These properties are in agreement with the empirical ones. Our results quantitatively reveal that the multi-level herding is the microscopic generation mechanism of the sector structure, and provide new insight into the spatio-temporal interactions in financial systems at the microscopic level.

Finite-time consensus for leader-following multi-agent systems over switching network topologies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sun Feng-Lan; Zhu Wei

2013-01-01

Finite-time consensus problem of the leader-following multi-agent system under switching network topologies is studied in this paper. Based on the graph theory, matrix theory, homogeneity with dilation, and LaSalle's invariance principle, the control protocol of each agent using local information is designed, and the detailed analysis of the leader-following finite-time consensus is provided. Some examples and simulation results are given to illustrate the effectiveness of the obtained theoretical results

A practical approach for active camera coordination based on a fusion-driven multi-agent system

Science.gov (United States)

Bustamante, Alvaro Luis; Molina, José M.; Patricio, Miguel A.

2014-04-01

In this paper, we propose a multi-agent system architecture to manage spatially distributed active (or pan-tilt-zoom) cameras. Traditional video surveillance algorithms are of no use for active cameras, and we have to look at different approaches. Such multi-sensor surveillance systems have to be designed to solve two related problems: data fusion and coordinated sensor-task management. Generally, architectures proposed for the coordinated operation of multiple cameras are based on the centralisation of management decisions at the fusion centre. However, the existence of intelligent sensors capable of decision making brings with it the possibility of conceiving alternative decentralised architectures. This problem is approached by means of a MAS, integrating data fusion as an integral part of the architecture for distributed coordination purposes. This paper presents the MAS architecture and system agents.

Switching dynamics of multi-agent learning

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vrancx, P.; Tuyls, K.P.; Westra, R.

2008-01-01

This paper presents the dynamics of multi-agent reinforcement learning in multiple state problems. We extend previous work that formally modelled the relation between reinforcement learning agents and replicator dynamics in stateless multi-agent games. More precisely, in this work we use a

Energy Logic (EL): a novel fusion engine of multi-modality multi-agent data/information fusion for intelligent surveillance systems

Science.gov (United States)

Rababaah, Haroun; Shirkhodaie, Amir

2009-04-01

The rapidly advancing hardware technology, smart sensors and sensor networks are advancing environment sensing. One major potential of this technology is Large-Scale Surveillance Systems (LS3) especially for, homeland security, battlefield intelligence, facility guarding and other civilian applications. The efficient and effective deployment of LS3 requires addressing number of aspects impacting the scalability of such systems. The scalability factors are related to: computation and memory utilization efficiency, communication bandwidth utilization, network topology (e.g., centralized, ad-hoc, hierarchical or hybrid), network communication protocol and data routing schemes; and local and global data/information fusion scheme for situational awareness. Although, many models have been proposed to address one aspect or another of these issues but, few have addressed the need for a multi-modality multi-agent data/information fusion that has characteristics satisfying the requirements of current and future intelligent sensors and sensor networks. In this paper, we have presented a novel scalable fusion engine for multi-modality multi-agent information fusion for LS3. The new fusion engine is based on a concept we call: Energy Logic. Experimental results of this work as compared to a Fuzzy logic model strongly supported the validity of the new model and inspired future directions for different levels of fusion and different applications.

A nonlinear merging protocol for consensus in multi-agent systems on signed and weighted graphs

Science.gov (United States)

Feng, Shasha; Wang, Li; Li, Yijia; Sun, Shiwen; Xia, Chengyi

2018-01-01

In this paper, we investigate the multi-agent consensus for networks with undirected graphs which are not connected, especially for the signed graph in which some edge weights are positive and some edges have negative weights, and the negative-weight graph whose edge weights are negative. We propose a novel nonlinear merging consensus protocol to drive the states of all agents to converge to the same state zero which is not dependent upon the initial states of agents. If the undirected graph whose edge weights are positive is connected, then the states of all agents converge to the same state more quickly when compared to most other protocols. While the undirected graph whose edge weights might be positive or negative is unconnected, the states of all agents can still converge to the same state zero under the premise that the undirected graph can be divided into several connected subgraphs with more than one node. Furthermore, we also discuss the impact of parameter r presented in our protocol. Current results can further deepen the understanding of consensus processes for multi-agent systems.

Multi-agent based modeling for electric vehicle integration in a distribution network operation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hu, Junjie; Morais, Hugo; Lind, Morten

2016-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to present a multi-agent based modeling technology for simulating and operating a hierarchical energy management of a power distribution system with focus on EVs integration. The proposed multi-agent system consists of four types of agents: i) Distribution system...... operator (DSO) technical agent and ii) DSO market agents that both belong to the top layer of the hierarchy and their roles are to manage the distribution network by avoiding grid congestions and using congestion prices to coordinate the energy scheduled; iii) Electric vehicle virtual power plant agents...

Service orientation in holonic and multi-agent manufacturing

CERN Document Server

Thomas, André; Trentesaux, Damien

2015-01-01

This volume gathers the peer reviewed papers presented at the 4th edition of the International Workshop “Service Orientation in Holonic and Multi-agent Manufacturing – SOHOMA’14” organized and hosted on November 5-6, 2014 by the University of Lorraine, France in collaboration with the CIMR Research Centre of the University Politehnica of Bucharest and the TEMPO Laboratory of the University of Valenciennes and Hainaut-Cambrésis.   The book is structured in six parts, each one covering a specific research line which represents a trend in future manufacturing: (1) Holonic and Agent-based Industrial Automation Systems; (2) Service-oriented Management and Control of Manufacturing Systems; (3) Distributed Modelling for Safety and Security in Industrial Systems; (4) Complexity, Big Data and Virtualization in Computing-oriented Manufacturing; (5) Adaptive, Bio-inspired and Self-organizing Multi-Agent Systems for Manufacturing, and (6) Physical Internet Simulation, Modelling and Control.   There is a clear ...

Distributed leader-follower flocking control for multi-agent dynamical systems with time-varying velocities

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Yu, Wenwu; Chen, Guanrong; Cao, Ming

Using tools from algebraic graph theory and nonsmooth analysis in combination with ideas of collective potential functions, velocity consensus and navigation feedback, a distributed leader-follower flocking algorithm for multi-agent dynamical systems with time-varying velocities is developed where

Study for the design method of multi-agent diagnostic system to improve diagnostic performance for similar abnormality

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Minowa, Hirotsugu; Gofuku, Akio

2014-01-01

Accidents on industrial plants cause large loss on human, economic, social credibility. In recent, studies of diagnostic methods using techniques of machine learning such as support vector machine is expected to detect the occurrence of abnormality in a plant early and correctly. There were reported that these diagnostic machines has high accuracy to diagnose the operating state of industrial plant under mono abnormality occurrence. But the each diagnostic machine on the multi-agent diagnostic system may misdiagnose similar abnormalities as a same abnormality if abnormalities to diagnose increases. That causes that a single diagnostic machine may show higher diagnostic performance than one of multi-agent diagnostic system because decision-making considering with misdiagnosis is difficult. Therefore, we study the design method for multi-agent diagnostic system to diagnose similar abnormality correctly. This method aimed to realize automatic generation of diagnostic system where the generation process and location of diagnostic machines are optimized to diagnose correctly the similar abnormalities which are evaluated from the similarity of process signals by statistical method. This paper explains our design method and reports the result evaluated our method applied to the process data of the fast-breeder reactor Monju

A Multi-Agent Environment for Negotiation

Science.gov (United States)

Hindriks, Koen V.; Jonker, Catholijn M.; Tykhonov, Dmytro

In this chapter we introduce the System for Analysis of Multi-Issue Negotiation (SAMIN). SAMIN offers a negotiation environment that supports and facilitates the setup of various negotiation setups. The environment has been designed to analyse negotiation processes between human negotiators, between human and software agents, and between software agents. It offers a range of different agents, different domains, and other options useful to define a negotiation setup. The environment has been used to test and evaluate a range of negotiation strategies in various domains playing against other negotiating agents as well as humans. We discuss some of the results obtained by means of these experiments.

The elaboration of a manufacturing flow connectivity model, based on Multi Agent System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fahhama Lamyae

2017-01-01

The aim of this paper was to establish a model of the industrial flow connectivity; Afterward, we’ve detailed a network configuration model based on the multi-agents systems, to study the interactions between all the actors and give a more realistic vision onto manufacturing coordination in the supply chain.

Development of Semantic Web-Enabled BDI Multi-Agent Systems Using SEA_ML: An Electronic Bartering Case Study

OpenAIRE

Challenger, M.; Tezel, Baris Tekin; Alaca, Ömer Faruk; Tekinerdogan, B.; Kardas, Geylani

2018-01-01

In agent-oriented software engineering (AOSE), the application of model-driven development (MDD) and the use of domain-specific modeling languages (DSMLs) for Multi-Agent System (MAS) development are quite popular since the implementation of MAS is naturally complex, error-prone, and costly due to the autonomous and proactive properties of the agents. The internal agent behavior and the interaction within the agent organizations become even more complex and hard to implement when the requirem...

A Multi Agent Based Approach for Prehospital Emergency Management.

Science.gov (United States)

Safdari, Reza; Shoshtarian Malak, Jaleh; Mohammadzadeh, Niloofar; Danesh Shahraki, Azimeh

2017-07-01

To demonstrate an architecture to automate the prehospital emergency process to categorize the specialized care according to the situation at the right time for reducing the patient mortality and morbidity. Prehospital emergency process were analyzed using existing prehospital management systems, frameworks and the extracted process were modeled using sequence diagram in Rational Rose software. System main agents were identified and modeled via component diagram, considering the main system actors and by logically dividing business functionalities, finally the conceptual architecture for prehospital emergency management was proposed. The proposed architecture was simulated using Anylogic simulation software. Anylogic Agent Model, State Chart and Process Model were used to model the system. Multi agent systems (MAS) had a great success in distributed, complex and dynamic problem solving environments, and utilizing autonomous agents provides intelligent decision making capabilities.  The proposed architecture presents prehospital management operations. The main identified agents are: EMS Center, Ambulance, Traffic Station, Healthcare Provider, Patient, Consultation Center, National Medical Record System and quality of service monitoring agent. In a critical condition like prehospital emergency we are coping with sophisticated processes like ambulance navigation health care provider and service assignment, consultation, recalling patients past medical history through a centralized EHR system and monitoring healthcare quality in a real-time manner. The main advantage of our work has been the multi agent system utilization. Our Future work will include proposed architecture implementation and evaluation of its impact on patient quality care improvement.

Development of Semantic Web-Enabled BDI Multi-Agent Systems Using SEA_ML: An Electronic Bartering Case Study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Challenger, M.; Tezel, Baris Tekin; Alaca, Ömer Faruk; Tekinerdogan, B.; Kardas, Geylani

2018-01-01

In agent-oriented software engineering (AOSE), the application of model-driven development (MDD) and the use of domain-specific modeling languages (DSMLs) for Multi-Agent System (MAS) development are quite popular since the implementation of MAS is naturally complex, error-prone, and costly due to

A Resource Logic for Multi-Agent Plan Merging

NARCIS (Netherlands)

De Weerdt, M.M.; Bos, A.; Tonino, H.; Witteveen, C.

2003-01-01

In a multi-agent system, agents are carrying out certain tasks by executing plans. Consequently, the problem of finding a plan, given a certain goal, has been given a lot of attention in the literature. Instead of concentrating on this problem, the focus of this paper is on cooperation between

Planning of Autonomous Multi-agent Intersection

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Viksnin Ilya I.

2016-01-01

Full Text Available In this paper, we propose a traffic management system with agents acting on behalf autonomous vehicle at the crossroads. Alternatively to existing solutions based on usage of semiautonomous control systems with the control unit, proposed in this paper algorithm apply the principles of decentralized multi-agent control. Agents during their collaboration generate intersection plan and determinate the optimal order of road intersection for a given criterion based on the exchange of information about them and their environment. The paper contains optimization criteria for possible routes selection and experiments that perform in order to estimate the proposed model. Experiment results show that this model can significantly reduce traffic density compared to the traditional traffic management systems. Moreover, the proposed algorithm efficiency increases with road traffic density. Furthermore, the availability of control unit in the system significantly reduces the negative impact of possible failures and hacker attacks.

Proposed Methodology for Application of Human-like gradual Multi-Agent Q-Learning (HuMAQ) for Multi-robot Exploration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ray, Dip Narayan; Majumder, Somajyoti

2014-01-01

Several attempts have been made by the researchers around the world to develop a number of autonomous exploration techniques for robots. But it has been always an important issue for developing the algorithm for unstructured and unknown environments. Human-like gradual Multi-agent Q-leaming (HuMAQ) is a technique developed for autonomous robotic exploration in unknown (and even unimaginable) environments. It has been successfully implemented in multi-agent single robotic system. HuMAQ uses the concept of Subsumption architecture, a well-known Behaviour-based architecture for prioritizing the agents of the multi-agent system and executes only the most common action out of all the different actions recommended by different agents. Instead of using new state-action table (Q-table) each time, HuMAQ uses the immediate past table for efficient and faster exploration. The proof of learning has also been established both theoretically and practically. HuMAQ has the potential to be used in different and difficult situations as well as applications. The same architecture has been modified to use for multi-robot exploration in an environment. Apart from all other existing agents used in the single robotic system, agents for inter-robot communication and coordination/ co-operation with the other similar robots have been introduced in the present research. Current work uses a series of indigenously developed identical autonomous robotic systems, communicating with each other through ZigBee protocol

FATMAS: a methodology to design fault-tolerant multi-agent systems

OpenAIRE

Mellouli, Sehl

2005-01-01

Un système multi-agent (SMA) est un système dans lequel plusieurs agents opèrent et interagissent. Chaque agent a la responsabilité d’exécuter des tâches. Cependant, chaque agent, pour diverses raisons, peut rencontrer des problèmes pendant l’exécution de ses tâches ; ce qui peut induire un disfonctionnement du SMA. Cependant, le SMA doit être en mesure de détecter les sources de problèms (d’erreurs) afin de les contrôler et ainsi continuer son exécution correctement. Un tel SMA est appelé un...

The Data Extraction Using Distributed Crawler Inside Multi-Agent System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Karel Tomala

2013-01-01

Full Text Available The paper discusses the use of web crawler technology. We created an application based on standard web crawler. Our application is determined for data extraction. Primarily, the application was designed to extract data using keywords from a social network Twitter. First, we created a standard crawler, which went through a predefined list of URLs and gradually download page content of each of the URLs. Page content was then parsed and important text and metadata were stored in a database. Recently, the application was modified in to the form of the multi-agent system. The system was developed in the C# language, which is used to create web applications and sites etc. Obtained data was evaluated graphically. The system was created within Indect project at the VSB-Technical University of Ostrava.

Multi-Agent Framework in Visual Sensor Networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. M. Molina

2007-01-01

Full Text Available The recent interest in the surveillance of public, military, and commercial scenarios is increasing the need to develop and deploy intelligent and/or automated distributed visual surveillance systems. Many applications based on distributed resources use the so-called software agent technology. In this paper, a multi-agent framework is applied to coordinate videocamera-based surveillance. The ability to coordinate agents improves the global image and task distribution efficiency. In our proposal, a software agent is embedded in each camera and controls the capture parameters. Then coordination is based on the exchange of high-level messages among agents. Agents use an internal symbolic model to interpret the current situation from the messages from all other agents to improve global coordination.

A Secured Cognitive Agent based Multi-strategic Intelligent Search System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Neha Gulati

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Search Engine (SE is the most preferred information retrieval tool ubiquitously used. In spite of vast scale involvement of users in SE’s, their limited capabilities to understand the user/searcher context and emotions places high cognitive, perceptual and learning load on the user to maintain the search momentum. In this regard, the present work discusses a Cognitive Agent (CA based approach to support the user in Web-based search process. The work suggests a framework called Secured Cognitive Agent based Multi-strategic Intelligent Search System (CAbMsISS to assist the user in search process. It helps to reduce the contextual and emotional mismatch between the SE’s and user. After implementation of the proposed framework, performance analysis shows that CAbMsISS framework improves Query Retrieval Time (QRT and effectiveness for retrieving relevant results as compared to Present Search Engine (PSE. Supplementary to this, it also provides search suggestions when user accesses a resource previously tagged with negative emotions. Overall, the goal of the system is to enhance the search experience for keeping the user motivated. The framework provides suggestions through the search log that tracks the queries searched, resources accessed and emotions experienced during the search. The implemented framework also considers user security. Keywords: BDI model, Cognitive Agent, Emotion, Information retrieval, Intelligent search, Search Engine

AFECS. multi-agent framework for experiment control systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gyurjyan, V; Abbott, D; Heyes, G; Jastrzembski, E; Timmer, C; Wolin, E [Jefferson Lab, 12000 Jefferson Ave. MS-12B3, Newport News, VA 23606 (United States)], E-mail: gurjyan@jlab.org

2008-07-01

AFECS is a pure Java based software framework for designing and implementing distributed control systems. AFECS creates a control system environment as a collection of software agents behaving as finite state machines. These agents can represent real entities, such as hardware devices, software tasks, or control subsystems. A special control oriented ontology language (COOL), based on RDFS (Resource Definition Framework Schema) is provided for control system description as well as for agent communication. AFECS agents can be distributed over a variety of platforms. Agents communicate with their associated physical components using range of communication protocols, including tcl-DP, cMsg (publish-subscribe communication system developed at Jefferson Lab), SNMP (simple network management protocol), EPICS channel access protocol and JDBC.

AFECS. Multi-Agent Framework for Experiment Control Systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vardan Gyurjyan; David Abbott; William Heyes; Edward Jastrzembski; Carl Timmer; Elliott Wolin

2008-01-23

AFECS is a pure Java based software framework for designing and implementing distributed control systems. AFECS creates a control system environment as a collection of software agents behaving as finite state machines. These agents can represent real entities, such as hardware devices, software tasks, or control subsystems. A special control oriented ontology language (COOL), based on RDFS (Resource Definition Framework Schema) is provided for control system description as well as for agent communication. AFECS agents can be distributed over a variety of platforms. Agents communicate with their associated physical components using range of communication protocols, including tcl-DP, cMsg (publish-subscribe communication system developed at Jefferson Lab), SNMP (simple network management protocol), EPICS channel access protocol and JDBC.

AFECS. multi-agent framework for experiment control systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gyurjyan, V; Abbott, D; Heyes, G; Jastrzembski, E; Timmer, C; Wolin, E

2008-01-01

AFECS is a pure Java based software framework for designing and implementing distributed control systems. AFECS creates a control system environment as a collection of software agents behaving as finite state machines. These agents can represent real entities, such as hardware devices, software tasks, or control subsystems. A special control oriented ontology language (COOL), based on RDFS (Resource Definition Framework Schema) is provided for control system description as well as for agent communication. AFECS agents can be distributed over a variety of platforms. Agents communicate with their associated physical components using range of communication protocols, including tcl-DP, cMsg (publish-subscribe communication system developed at Jefferson Lab), SNMP (simple network management protocol), EPICS channel access protocol and JDBC

A Multi-Agent Framework for Coordination of Intelligent Assistive Technologies

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Valente, Pedro Ricardo da Nova; Hossain, S.; Groenbaek, B.

2010-01-01

Intelligent care for the future is the IntelliCare project's main priority. This paper describes the design of a generic multi-agent framework for coordination of intelligent assistive technologies. The paper overviews technologies and software systems suitable for context awareness...... and housekeeping tasks, especially for performing a multi-robot cleaning-task activity. It also describes conducted work in the design of a multi-agent platform for coordination of intelligent assistive technologies. Instead of using traditional robot odometry estimation methods, we have tested an independent...

An Automated Negotiation-based Framework via Multi-Agent System for the Construction Domain

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Moamin Mahmoud

2015-12-01

Full Text Available In this paper, we propose an automated multi-agent negotiation framework for decision making in the construction domain. It enables software agents to conduct negotiations and autonomously make decisions. The proposed framework consists of two types of components, internal and external. Internal components are integrated into the agent architecture while the external components are blended within the environment to facilitate the negotiation process. The internal components are negotiation algorithm, negotiation style, negotiation protocol, and solution generators. The external components are the negotiation base and the conflict resolution algorithm. We also discuss the decision making process flow in such system. There are three main processes in decision making for specific projects, which are propose solutions, negotiate solutions and handling conflict outcomes (conflict resolution. We finally present the proposed architecture that enables software agents to conduct automated negotiation in the construction domain.

Multi-agent cooperation rescue algorithm based on influence degree and state prediction

Science.gov (United States)

Zheng, Yanbin; Ma, Guangfu; Wang, Linlin; Xi, Pengxue

2018-04-01

Aiming at the multi-agent cooperative rescue in disaster, a multi-agent cooperative rescue algorithm based on impact degree and state prediction is proposed. Firstly, based on the influence of the information in the scene on the collaborative task, the influence degree function is used to filter the information. Secondly, using the selected information to predict the state of the system and Agent behavior. Finally, according to the result of the forecast, the cooperative behavior of Agent is guided and improved the efficiency of individual collaboration. The simulation results show that this algorithm can effectively solve the cooperative rescue problem of multi-agent and ensure the efficient completion of the task.

Design of a multi-agent hydroeconomic model to simulate a complex human-water system: Early insights from the Jordan Water Project

Science.gov (United States)

Yoon, J.; Klassert, C. J. A.; Lachaut, T.; Selby, P. D.; Knox, S.; Gorelick, S.; Rajsekhar, D.; Tilmant, A.; Avisse, N.; Harou, J. J.; Gawel, E.; Klauer, B.; Mustafa, D.; Talozi, S.; Sigel, K.

2015-12-01

Our work focuses on development of a multi-agent, hydroeconomic model for purposes of water policy evaluation in Jordan. The model adopts a modular approach, integrating biophysical modules that simulate natural and engineered phenomena with human modules that represent behavior at multiple levels of decision making. The hydrologic modules are developed using spatially-distributed groundwater and surface water models, which are translated into compact simulators for efficient integration into the multi-agent model. For the groundwater model, we adopt a response matrix method approach in which a 3-dimensional MODFLOW model of a complex regional groundwater system is converted into a linear simulator of groundwater response by pre-processing drawdown results from several hundred numerical simulation runs. Surface water models for each major surface water basin in the country are developed in SWAT and similarly translated into simple rainfall-runoff functions for integration with the multi-agent model. The approach balances physically-based, spatially-explicit representation of hydrologic systems with the efficiency required for integration into a complex multi-agent model that is computationally amenable to robust scenario analysis. For the multi-agent model, we explicitly represent human agency at multiple levels of decision making, with agents representing riparian, management, supplier, and water user groups. The agents' decision making models incorporate both rule-based heuristics as well as economic optimization. The model is programmed in Python using Pynsim, a generalizable, open-source object-oriented code framework for modeling network-based water resource systems. The Jordan model is one of the first applications of Pynsim to a real-world water management case study. Preliminary results from a tanker market scenario run through year 2050 are presented in which several salient features of the water system are investigated: competition between urban and

Autonomous parsing of behavior in a multi-agent setting

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vanderelst, D.; Barakova, E.I.; Rutkowski, L.; Tadeusiewicz, R.

2008-01-01

Imitation learning is a promising route to instruct robotic multi-agent systems. However, imitating agents should be able to decide autonomously what behavior, observed in others, is interesting to copy. Here we investigate whether a simple recurrent network (Elman Net) can be used to extract

Controllability of multi-agent systems with periodically switching topologies and switching leaders

Science.gov (United States)

Tian, Lingling; Zhao, Bin; Wang, Long

2018-05-01

This paper considers controllability of multi-agent systems with periodically switching topologies and switching leaders. The concept of m-periodic controllability is proposed, and a criterion for m-periodic controllability is established. The effect of the duration of subsystems on controllability is analysed by utilising a property of analytic functions. In addition, the influence of switching periods on controllability is investigated, and an algorithm is proposed to search for the fewest periods to ensure controllability. A necessary condition for m-periodic controllability is obtained from the perspective of eigenvectors of the subsystems' Laplacian matrices. For a system with switching leaders, it is proved that switching-leader controllability is equivalent to multiple-leader controllability. Furthermore, both the switching order and the tenure of agents being leaders have no effect on the controllability. Some examples are provided to illustrate the theoretical results.

Network Management using Multi-Agents System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nestor DUQUE

2013-07-01

Full Text Available This paper aims to present a multiagent system for network management. The models developed for the proposed system defines certain intelligent agents interact to achieve the objectives and requirements of the multiagent organization.These agents have the property of being adaptive, acquire knowledge and skills to make decisions according to the actual state of the network that is represented in the information base, MIB, SNMP devices. The ideal state of the network policy is defined by the end user entered, which contain the value that should have performance variables and other parameters such as the frequency with which these variables should be monitored.. An agent based architecture increase the integration, adaptability, cooperation, autonomy and the efficient operation in heterogeneous environment in the network supervision. 

Network Management using Multi-Agents System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gustavo ISAZA

2012-12-01

Full Text Available This paper aims to present a multiagent system for network management. The models developed for the proposed system defines certain intelligent agents interact to achieve the objectives and requirements of the multiagent organization.These agents have the property of being adaptive, acquire knowledge and skills to make decisions according to the actual state of the network that is represented in the information base, MIB, SNMP devices. The ideal state of the network policy is defined by the end user entered, which contain the value that should have performance variables and other parameters such as the frequency with which these variables should be monitored.. An agent based architecture increase the integration, adaptability, cooperation, autonomy and the efficient operation in heterogeneous environment in the network supervision. 

Multi-agent platform for development of educational games for children with autism

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Alers, S.H.M.; Barakova, E.I.

2009-01-01

Multi-agent system of autonomous interactive blocks that can display its active state through color and light intensity has been developed. Depending on the individual rules, these autonomous blocks could express emergent behaviors which are a basis for various educational games. The multi-agent

A problem of optimal control and observation for distributed homogeneous multi-agent system

Science.gov (United States)

Kruglikov, Sergey V.

2017-12-01

The paper considers the implementation of a algorithm for controlling a distributed complex of several mobile multi-robots. The concept of a unified information space of the controlling system is applied. The presented information and mathematical models of participants and obstacles, as real agents, and goals and scenarios, as virtual agents, create the base forming the algorithmic and software background for computer decision support system. The controlling scheme assumes the indirect management of the robotic team on the basis of optimal control and observation problem predicting intellectual behavior in a dynamic, hostile environment. A basic content problem is a compound cargo transportation by a group of participants in the case of a distributed control scheme in the terrain with multiple obstacles.

Distributed cooperative H∞ optimal tracking control of MIMO nonlinear multi-agent systems in strict-feedback form via adaptive dynamic programming

Science.gov (United States)

Luy, N. T.

2018-04-01

The design of distributed cooperative H∞ optimal controllers for multi-agent systems is a major challenge when the agents' models are uncertain multi-input and multi-output nonlinear systems in strict-feedback form in the presence of external disturbances. In this paper, first, the distributed cooperative H∞ optimal tracking problem is transformed into controlling the cooperative tracking error dynamics in affine form. Second, control schemes and online algorithms are proposed via adaptive dynamic programming (ADP) and the theory of zero-sum differential graphical games. The schemes use only one neural network (NN) for each agent instead of three from ADP to reduce computational complexity as well as avoid choosing initial NN weights for stabilising controllers. It is shown that despite not using knowledge of cooperative internal dynamics, the proposed algorithms not only approximate values to Nash equilibrium but also guarantee all signals, such as the NN weight approximation errors and the cooperative tracking errors in the closed-loop system, to be uniformly ultimately bounded. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed method is shown by simulation results of an application to wheeled mobile multi-robot systems.

Service orientation in holonic and multi agent manufacturing and robotics

CERN Document Server

Thomas, Andre; Trentesaux, Damien

2013-01-01

The book covers four research domains representing a trend for modern manufacturing control: Holonic and Multi-agent technologies for industrial systems; Intelligent Product and Product-driven Automation; Service Orientation of Enterprise’s strategic and technical processes; and Distributed Intelligent Automation Systems. These evolution lines have in common concepts related to service orientation derived from the Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) paradigm.     The service-oriented multi-agent systems approach discussed in the book is characterized by the use of a set of distributed autonomous and cooperative agents, embedded in smart components that use the SOA principles, being oriented by offer and request of services, in order to fulfil production systems and value chain goals.   A new integrated vision combining emergent technologies is offered, to create control structures with distributed intelligence supporting the vertical and horizontal enterprise integration and running in truly distributed ...

Cooperative heuristic multi-agent planning

NARCIS (Netherlands)

De Weerdt, M.M.; Tonino, J.F.M.; Witteveen, C.

2001-01-01

In this paper we will use the framework to study cooperative heuristic multi-agent planning. During the construction of their plans, the agents use a heuristic function inspired by the FF planner (l3l). At any time in the process of planning the agents may exchange available resources, or they may

Formal Specification and Verification of Real-Time Multi-Agent Systems using Timed-Arc Petri Nets

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

QASIM, A.

2015-08-01

Full Text Available In this study we have formally specified and verified the actions of communicating real-time software agents (RTAgents. Software agents are expected to work autonomously and deal with unfamiliar situations astutely. Achieving cent percent test cases coverage for these agents has always been a problem due to limited resources. Also a high degree of dependability and predictability is expected from real-time software agents. In this research we have used Timed-Arc Petri Net's for formal specification and verification. Formal specification of e-agents has been done in the past using Linear Temporal Logic (LTL but we believe that Timed-Arc Petri Net's being more visually expressive provides a richer framework for such formalism. A case study of Stock Market System (SMS based on Real Time Multi Agent System framework (RTMAS using Timed-Arc Petri Net's is taken to illustrate the proposed modeling approach. The model was verified used AF, AG, EG, and EF fragments of Timed Computational Tree Logic (TCTL via translations to timed automata.

Nonlinear multi-analysis of agent-based financial market dynamics by epidemic system

Science.gov (United States)

Lu, Yunfan; Wang, Jun; Niu, Hongli

2015-10-01

Based on the epidemic dynamical system, we construct a new agent-based financial time series model. In order to check and testify its rationality, we compare the statistical properties of the time series model with the real stock market indices, Shanghai Stock Exchange Composite Index and Shenzhen Stock Exchange Component Index. For analyzing the statistical properties, we combine the multi-parameter analysis with the tail distribution analysis, the modified rescaled range analysis, and the multifractal detrended fluctuation analysis. For a better perspective, the three-dimensional diagrams are used to present the analysis results. The empirical research in this paper indicates that the long-range dependence property and the multifractal phenomenon exist in the real returns and the proposed model. Therefore, the new agent-based financial model can recurrence some important features of real stock markets.

Multi-agent Water Resources Management

Science.gov (United States)

Castelletti, A.; Giuliani, M.

2011-12-01

Increasing environmental awareness and emerging trends such as water trading, energy market, deregulation and democratization of water-related services are challenging integrated water resources planning and management worldwide. The traditional approach to water management design based on sector-by-sector optimization has to be reshaped to account for multiple interrelated decision-makers and many stakeholders with increasing decision power. Centralized management, though interesting from a conceptual point of view, is unfeasible in most of the modern social and institutional contexts, and often economically inefficient. Coordinated management, where different actors interact within a full open trust exchange paradigm under some institutional supervision is a promising alternative to the ideal centralized solution and the actual uncoordinated practices. This is a significant issue in most of the Southern Alps regulated lakes, where upstream hydropower reservoirs maximize their benefit independently form downstream users; it becomes even more relevant in the case of transboundary systems, where water management upstream affects water availability downstream (e.g. the River Zambesi flowing through Zambia, Zimbabwe and Mozambique or the Red River flowing from South-Western China through Northern Vietnam. In this study we apply Multi-Agent Systems (MAS) theory to design an optimal management in a decentralized way, considering a set of multiple autonomous agents acting in the same environment and taking into account the pay-off of individual water users, which are inherently distributed along the river and need to coordinate to jointly reach their objectives. In this way each real-world actor, representing the decision-making entity (e.g. the operator of a reservoir or a diversion dam) can be represented one-to-one by a computer agent, defined as a computer system that is situated in some environment and that is capable of autonomous action in this environment in

Multi-Agent Model of Trust in a Human Game

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bosse, T.; Jonker, C.M.; Meij, L. van der; Robu, V.; Treur, J.; Calisti, M.; Klusch, M.; Unland, R.

2005-01-01

This paper presents a System for Analysis of Multi-Issue Negotiation (SAMIN). The agents in this system conduct one-to-one negotiations, in which the values across multiple issues are negotiated on simultaneously. It is demonstrated how the system supports both automated negotiation (i.e., conducted

Coordination between Generation and Transmission Maintenance Scheduling by Means of Multi-agent Technique

Science.gov (United States)

Nagata, Takeshi; Tao, Yasuhiro; Utatani, Masahiro; Sasaki, Hiroshi; Fujita, Hideki

This paper proposes a multi-agent approach to maintenance scheduling in restructured power systems. The restructuring of electric power industry has resulted in market-based approaches for unbundling a multitude of service provided by self-interested entities such as power generating companies (GENCOs), transmission providers (TRANSCOs) and distribution companies (DISCOs). The Independent System Operator (ISO) is responsible for the security of the system operation. The schedule submitted to ISO by GENCOs and TRANSCOs should satisfy security and reliability constraints. The proposed method consists of several GENCO Agents (GAGs), TARNSCO Agents (TAGs) and a ISO Agent(IAG). The IAG’s role in maintenance scheduling is limited to ensuring that the submitted schedules do not cause transmission congestion or endanger the system reliability. From the simulation results, it can be seen the proposed multi-agent approach could coordinate between generation and transmission maintenance schedules.

Distributed reconfigurable control strategies for switching topology networked multi-agent systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Gallehdari, Z; Meskin, N; Khorasani, K

2017-11-01

In this paper, distributed control reconfiguration strategies for directed switching topology networked multi-agent systems are developed and investigated. The proposed control strategies are invoked when the agents are subject to actuator faults and while the available fault detection and isolation (FDI) modules provide inaccurate and unreliable information on the estimation of faults severities. Our proposed strategies will ensure that the agents reach a consensus while an upper bound on the team performance index is ensured and satisfied. Three types of actuator faults are considered, namely: the loss of effectiveness fault, the outage fault, and the stuck fault. By utilizing quadratic and convex hull (composite) Lyapunov functions, two cooperative and distributed recovery strategies are designed and provided to select the gains of the proposed control laws such that the team objectives are guaranteed. Our proposed reconfigurable control laws are applied to a team of autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) under directed switching topologies and subject to simultaneous actuator faults. Simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed distributed reconfiguration control laws in compensating for the effects of sudden actuator faults and subject to fault diagnosis module uncertainties and unreliabilities. Copyright © 2017 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Development of Multi-Agent System of State Estimation of Electric Power Systems Using Event Models

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

L. V. Massel

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The work objective is to offer a methodological approach to the development of multiagent systems (MAS in the energy sector. The agent approach is declared as an integral part of the Smart Grid concept (intelligent energy systems, but so far there is really neither methodological development and nor implementation in this area. The problem to estimate the states of electric power systems (EPS is one of the most important in the energy sector. Decentralization of calculations, when estimating the EPS states, allows reducing the host control center load and the amount of data transferred through the network.To achieve this aim were used the theory and methods for estimating the EPS state, artificial intelligence techniques, methods of object design and programming, multi-agent technologies, and algebraic Joiner-net network.The work analyses existing agent-based solutions, reveals their weaknesses, and proposes author's approach to MAS development in the energy sector, which includes 5 steps: 1 description of the future system, 2 construction and description of the agent-based scenarios, 3 MAS architecture development 4 MAS engineering design 5 MAS implementation.A novelty of the proposed approach lies in introduction of the agent interaction scenarios and application of Joiner-networks for scripting of scenarios. Agent-based scenarios allow nonprogrammers-experts to change the programme algorithm. A Joiner-network of the scenario consists of the functioning processes of agents (nodes, and the events that trigger or end the process. Output event of one process can be the input event for another.The operation algorithm of the EPS estimation system is developed. The first step is to provide decomposition of a nodalization diagram into the areas corresponding to the levels of node voltages. Then diagrams resulting from decomposition are distributed between the agents of EPS estimation and calculated in parallel. At the next stage, all diagrams are

Effective ODE Zones in a Multi- Agent System

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hjorth, Poul G.

Simulations which contain a large number of agents with rules for agent-agent interactions may grow to a level of complexity where it is cumbersome to extract useful information, difficult to split or agregate parts, and taxing on computational resources. We present here an example where a coarse...... graining of the system, and replacement of individual interactions with ODEs describing dynamical interactions between ‘effective zones’, leads to a fast and useful simplified model of the original complex system....

Optimized Sensor Network and Multi-Agent Decision Support for Smart Traffic Light Management.

Science.gov (United States)

Cruz-Piris, Luis; Rivera, Diego; Fernandez, Susel; Marsa-Maestre, Ivan

2018-02-02

One of the biggest challenges in modern societies is to solve vehicular traffic problems. Sensor networks in traffic environments have contributed to improving the decision-making process of Intelligent Transportation Systems. However, one of the limiting factors for the effectiveness of these systems is in the deployment of sensors to provide accurate information about the traffic. Our proposal is using the centrality measurement of a graph as a base to locate the best locations for sensor installation in a traffic network. After integrating these sensors in a simulation scenario, we define a Multi-Agent Systems composed of three types of agents: traffic light management agents, traffic jam detection agents, and agents that control the traffic lights at an intersection. The ultimate goal of these Multi-Agent Systems is to improve the trip duration for vehicles in the network. To validate our solution, we have developed the needed elements for modelling the sensors and agents in the simulation environment. We have carried out experiments using the Simulation of Urban MObility (SUMO) traffic simulator and the Travel and Activity PAtterns Simulation (TAPAS) Cologne traffic scenario. The obtained results show that our proposal allows to reduce the sensor network while still obtaining relevant information to have a global view of the environment. Finally, regarding the Multi-Agent Systems, we have carried out experiments that show that our proposal is able to improve other existing solutions such as conventional traffic light management systems (static or dynamic) in terms of reduction of vehicle trip duration and reduction of the message exchange overhead in the sensor network.

Intelligent control and maintenance of management integrated system based on multi-agents for coal preparation plant

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Meng, F.; Wang, Y. [China University of Mining and technology, Xuzhou (China). School of Information and Electrical Engineering

2006-06-15

This paper discusses the progress of computer integrated processing (CIPS) of coal preparation and then presents an intelligence controlled production process, device-maintenance and production-management system of coal preparation based on multi-agents (IICMMS-CP). The construction of the IICMMS-CP, the distributed network control system based on live intelligence control stations and the strategy of implementing a distributed intelligence control system are studied in order to overcome the disadvantages brought about by the wide use of the PLC system by coal preparation plants. The software frame, based on a Multi-Agent Intelligence Control and Maintenance Management integrated system, is studied and the implementation methods of IICMMS-CP are discussed. The characteristics of distributed architecture, cooperation and parallel computing meet the needs of integrated control of coal preparation plants with large-scale spatial production distribution, densely-related processes and complex systems. Its application further improves the reliability and precision of process control, accuracy of fault identification and intelligence of production adjustment, establishes a technical basis for system integration and flexible production. The main function of the system has been tested in a coal preparation plant to good effect in stabilizing product quality, improving efficiency and reducing consumption. 17 refs., 4 figs.

MULTI AGENT-BASED ENVIRONMENTAL LANDSCAPE (MABEL) - AN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE SIMULATION MODEL: SOME EARLY ASSESSMENTS

OpenAIRE

Alexandridis, Konstantinos T.; Pijanowski, Bryan C.

2002-01-01

The Multi Agent-Based Environmental Landscape model (MABEL) introduces a Distributed Artificial Intelligence (DAI) systemic methodology, to simulate land use and transformation changes over time and space. Computational agents represent abstract relations among geographic, environmental, human and socio-economic variables, with respect to land transformation pattern changes. A multi-agent environment is developed providing task-nonspecific problem-solving abilities, flexibility on achieving g...

TRUST AND REPUTATION MODEL DESIGN FOR OBJECTS OF MULTI-AGENT ROBOTICS SYSTEMS WITH DECENTRALIZED CONTROL

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

I. A. Zikratov

2014-03-01

Full Text Available The problem of mechanisms design for protection of multi-agent robotics systems from attacks of robots-saboteurs is considered. Functioning analysis of these systems with decentralized control is carried out. The type of the so-called soft attacks using interception of messages, misinformation formation and transmission to group of robots which are also realizing other actions without identified signs of invasion of robots-saboteurs. Analysis of existing information security models of the system based on the trust level computation, calculated in the process of agents’ interaction is carried out. Information security model is offered in which robots-agents produce the trust levels to each other on the basis of situation analysis emerging on a certain step of iterative algorithm with usage of onboard sensor devices. On the basis of calculated trust levels, recognition of “saboteur” objects in the group of legitimate robots-agents is done. For measure of likeness (adjacency increase for objects from the same category (“saboteur” or “legitimate agent”, calculation algorithm for agents reputation is offered as a measure of public opinion about qualities of this or that agent-subject. Implementation alternatives of the algorithms for detection of saboteurs on the example of the basic algorithm for distribution of purposes in the group of robots are considered.

Cooperative epistemic multi-agent planning for implicit coordination

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Engesser, Thorsten; Bolander, Thomas; Mattmüller, Robert

2017-01-01

framework to include perspective shifts, allowing us to define new notions of sequential and conditional planning with implicit coordination. With these, it is possible to solve planning tasks with joint goals in a decentralized manner without the agents having to negotiate about and commit to a joint...... policy at plan time. First we define the central planning notions and sketch the implementation of a planning system built on those notions. Afterwards we provide some case studies in order to evaluate the planner empirically and to show that the concept is useful for multi-agent systems in practice....

MARS, a Multi-Agent System for Assessing Rowers’ Coordination via Motion-Based Stigmergy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mario G. C. A. Cimino

2013-09-01

Full Text Available A crucial aspect in rowing is having a synchronized, highly-efficient stroke. This is very difficult to obtain, due to the many interacting factors that each rower of the crew must perceive. Having a system that monitors and represents the crew coordination would be of great help to the coach during training sessions. In the literature, some methods already employ wireless sensors for capturing motion patterns that affect rowing performance. A challenging problem is to support the coach’s decisions at his same level of knowledge, using a limited number of sensors and avoiding the complexity of the biomechanical analysis of human movements. In this paper, we present a multi-agent information-processing system for on-water measuring of both the overall crew asynchrony and the individual rower asynchrony towards the crew. More specifically, in the system, the first level of processing is managed by marking agents, which release marks in a sensing space, according to the rowers’ motion. The accumulation of marks enables a stigmergic cooperation mechanism, generating collective marks, i.e., short-term memory structures in the sensing space. At the second level of processing, information provided by marks is observed by similarity agents, which associate a similarity degree with respect to optimal marks. Finally, the third level is managed by granulation agents, which extract asynchrony indicators for different purposes. The effectiveness of the system has been experimented on real-world scenarios. The study includes the problem statement and its characterization in the literature, as well as the proposed solving approach and initial experimental setting.

A Trading Agent for a Multi-Issue Clearing House

Science.gov (United States)

Debenham, John

The potential size of the electronic business market offers great incentives to trading agents that can bargain, bid in auctions and trade in exchanges. Much of business negotiation is multi-issue. A generic 'information-based' agent is proposed for multi-issue negotiation. Successful negotiation depends on shrewd strategies driven by the right information. This agent has machinery to value information and to manage its integrity. A multi-issue, many-to-many clearing house, and an agent to trade in it, are proposed.

Optimized Sensor Network and Multi-Agent Decision Support for Smart Traffic Light Management

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Luis Cruz-Piris

2018-02-01

Full Text Available One of the biggest challenges in modern societies is to solve vehicular traffic problems. Sensor networks in traffic environments have contributed to improving the decision-making process of Intelligent Transportation Systems. However, one of the limiting factors for the effectiveness of these systems is in the deployment of sensors to provide accurate information about the traffic. Our proposal is using the centrality measurement of a graph as a base to locate the best locations for sensor installation in a traffic network. After integrating these sensors in a simulation scenario, we define a Multi-Agent Systems composed of three types of agents: traffic light management agents, traffic jam detection agents, and agents that control the traffic lights at an intersection. The ultimate goal of these Multi-Agent Systems is to improve the trip duration for vehicles in the network. To validate our solution, we have developed the needed elements for modelling the sensors and agents in the simulation environment. We have carried out experiments using the Simulation of Urban MObility (SUMO traffic simulator and the Travel and Activity PAtterns Simulation (TAPAS Cologne traffic scenario. The obtained results show that our proposal allows to reduce the sensor network while still obtaining relevant information to have a global view of the environment. Finally, regarding the Multi-Agent Systems, we have carried out experiments that show that our proposal is able to improve other existing solutions such as conventional traffic light management systems (static or dynamic in terms of reduction of vehicle trip duration and reduction of the message exchange overhead in the sensor network.

Cooperative Epistemic Multi-Agent Planning With Implicit Coordination

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Engesser, Thorsten; Bolander, Thomas; Mattmüller, Robert

2015-01-01

, meaning coordination is only allowed implicitly by means of the available epistemic actions. While this approach can be fruitfully applied to model reasoning in some simple social situations, we also provide some benchmark applications to show that the concept is useful for multi-agent systems in practice....

Privacy-aware mobile agent: Protecting privacy in open systems by modelling social behaviour of software agents

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Meyer, A.P.

2004-01-01

In distributed problem solving with multi-agent systems it is assumed that collective behaviour emerges from interaction among rational agents. The dissemination of mobile agents will lead to open systems. Emergent behaviour in open systems must fulfil common goals based on goals of individual

Leader-following exponential consensus of fractional order nonlinear multi-agents system with hybrid time-varying delay: A heterogeneous impulsive method

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Fei; Yang, Yongqing

2017-09-01

In this paper, we study the leader-following exponential consensus of multi-agent system. Each agent in the system is described by nonlinear fractional order differential equation. Both the internal delay and coupling delay are taken into consideration. The heterogeneous impulsive control is used for ensuring the consensus of all agents. Based on Lyapunov function method and matrix analysis, some sufficient conditions for exponential consensus are obtained. Finally, some illustrative examples are given to show the effectiveness of the obtained results.

A hybrid Multi Agent System architecture for distributed supervision of chronic patients in the eHealth setting

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Blanson Henkemans, O.A.; Bonacina, S.; Cappiello, N.; Mast, C.A.P.G. van der; Neerincx, M.A.; Pinciroli, F.

2007-01-01

eHealth, the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in the health sector, enhances today's health care environment. In particular, the use of Multi Agent System (MAS) technology, an aspect of ICT, can further contribute to the improvement of health care. Exceptional integration of

8th International Symposium on Intelligent Distributed Computing & Workshop on Cyber Security and Resilience of Large-Scale Systems & 6th International Workshop on Multi-Agent Systems Technology and Semantics

CERN Document Server

Braubach, Lars; Venticinque, Salvatore; Badica, Costin

2015-01-01

This book represents the combined peer-reviewed proceedings of the Eight International Symposium on Intelligent Distributed Computing - IDC'2014, of the Workshop on Cyber Security and Resilience of Large-Scale Systems - WSRL-2014, and of the Sixth International Workshop on Multi-Agent Systems Technology and Semantics- MASTS-2014. All the events were held in Madrid, Spain, during September 3-5, 2014. The 47 contributions published in this book address several topics related to theory and applications of the intelligent distributed computing and multi-agent systems, including: agent-based data processing, ambient intelligence, collaborative systems, cryptography and security, distributed algorithms, grid and cloud computing, information extraction, knowledge management, big data and ontologies, social networks, swarm intelligence or videogames amongst others.

Robust adaptive fault-tolerant control for leader-follower flocking of uncertain multi-agent systems with actuator failure.

Science.gov (United States)

Yazdani, Sahar; Haeri, Mohammad

2017-11-01

In this work, we study the flocking problem of multi-agent systems with uncertain dynamics subject to actuator failure and external disturbances. By considering some standard assumptions, we propose a robust adaptive fault tolerant protocol for compensating of the actuator bias fault, the partial loss of actuator effectiveness fault, the model uncertainties, and external disturbances. Under the designed protocol, velocity convergence of agents to that of virtual leader is guaranteed while the connectivity preservation of network and collision avoidance among agents are ensured as well. Copyright © 2017 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Computation of the target state and feedback controls for time optimal consensus in multi-agent systems

Science.gov (United States)

Mulla, Ameer K.; Patil, Deepak U.; Chakraborty, Debraj

2018-02-01

N identical agents with bounded inputs aim to reach a common target state (consensus) in the minimum possible time. Algorithms for computing this time-optimal consensus point, the control law to be used by each agent and the time taken for the consensus to occur, are proposed. Two types of multi-agent systems are considered, namely (1) coupled single-integrator agents on a plane and, (2) double-integrator agents on a line. At the initial time instant, each agent is assumed to have access to the state information of all the other agents. An algorithm, using convexity of attainable sets and Helly's theorem, is proposed, to compute the final consensus target state and the minimum time to achieve this consensus. Further, parts of the computation are parallelised amongst the agents such that each agent has to perform computations of O(N2) run time complexity. Finally, local feedback time-optimal control laws are synthesised to drive each agent to the target point in minimum time. During this part of the operation, the controller for each agent uses measurements of only its own states and does not need to communicate with any neighbouring agents.

Research and application of multi-agent genetic algorithm in tower defense game

Science.gov (United States)

Jin, Shaohua

2018-04-01

In this paper, a new multi-agent genetic algorithm based on orthogonal experiment is proposed, which is based on multi-agent system, genetic algorithm and orthogonal experimental design. The design of neighborhood competition operator, orthogonal crossover operator, Son and self-learning operator. The new algorithm is applied to mobile tower defense game, according to the characteristics of the game, the establishment of mathematical models, and finally increases the value of the game's monster.

Real-time Distributed Economic Dispatch forDistributed Generation Based on Multi-Agent System

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Luo, Kui; Wu, Qiuwei; Nielsen, Arne Hejde

2015-01-01

The distributed economic dispatch for distributed generation is formulated as a optimization problem with equality and inequality constraints. An effective distributed approach based on multi-agent system is proposed for solving the economic dispatch problem in this paper. The proposed approach...... consists of two stages. In the first stage, an adjacency average allocation algorithm is proposed to ensure the generation-demand equality. In the second stage, a local replicator dynamics algorithm is applied to achieve nash equilibrium for the power dispatch game. The approach is implemented in a fully...

The concept of intermodal network development in Poland using multi-agent systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Leszek MINDUR

2011-01-01

Full Text Available The market share and the development of intermodal haulages, they are still at a very low level. It amounts in total goods transported by rail to 2,5% - 3%. The major reason for this situation is lack of coherent method for intermodal network designing. Such method should take into consideration strong relations between transport users, transport service providers, so the micro scale, as well as the regions where they are operating, so the meta scale.The aim of this paper is to present method which makes possible elimination of existing barriers in intermodal transport. The proposed method, for the sake of relations between actors involved in intermodal transport organisation, refers to multi-agent system concept. This system assumes coordinated actions in favour of concrete problem solution with support of cooperating agents, that is, in described paper, actors connected with intermodal transport.Paper presents results of the research project N509 398536, called: „Intermodal logistics network in Poland – concept of model solutions and implementation aspects” carried out by the Institute of Logistics and Warehousing under scientific leadership of professor Leszek Mindur.

6th Workshop on Service Orientation in Holonic and Multi-Agent Manufacturing

CERN Document Server

Trentesaux, Damien; Thomas, André; Leitão, Paulo; Oliveira, José

2017-01-01

The book offers an integrated vision on Cloud and HPC, Big Data, Analytics and virtualization in computing-oriented manufacturing, combining information and communication technologies, service-oriented control of holonic architectures as well as enterprise integration solutions based on SOA principles. It is structured in eight parts, each one grouping research and trends in digital manufacturing and service oriented manufacturing control: Cloud and Cyber-Physical Systems for Smart Manufacturing, Reconfigurable and Self-organized Multi-Agent Systems for Industry and Service, Sustainability Issues in Intelligent Manufacturing Systems, Holonic and Multi-agent System Design for Industry and Service, Should Intelligent Manufacturing Systems be Dependable and Safe?, Service-oriented Management and Control of Manufacturing Systems, Engineering and Human Integration in Flexible and Reconfigurable Industrial Systems,Virtualization and Simulation in Computing-oriented Industry and Service.

Design of a Multi Agent Architecture for Robot Soccer. A Case Study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Poel, Mannes; Seesink, R.A.; Schoute, Albert L.; Dierssen, W.; Kooij, N.

A Multi Agent System (MAS) for the FIRA Mirosot League is presented. This MAS allows a general number of players and is used in the 5 against 5 and 7 against 7 competition. In the MAS there is coach agent and n (the number of robots in the team) player agents. There is a one to one correspondence

TACtic- A Multi Behavioral Agent for Trading Agent Competition

Science.gov (United States)

Khosravi, Hassan; Shiri, Mohammad E.; Khosravi, Hamid; Iranmanesh, Ehsan; Davoodi, Alireza

Software agents are increasingly being used to represent humans in online auctions. Such agents have the advantages of being able to systematically monitor a wide variety of auctions and then make rapid decisions about what bids to place in what auctions. They can do this continuously and repetitively without losing concentration. To provide a means of evaluating and comparing (benchmarking) research methods in this area the trading agent competition (TAC) was established. This paper describes the design, of TACtic. Our agent uses multi behavioral techniques at the heart of its decision making to make bidding decisions in the face of uncertainty, to make predictions about the likely outcomes of auctions, and to alter the agent's bidding strategy in response to the prevailing market conditions.

Multi-issue Agent Negotiation Based on Fairness

Science.gov (United States)

Zuo, Baohe; Zheng, Sue; Wu, Hong

Agent-based e-commerce service has become a hotspot now. How to make the agent negotiation process quickly and high-efficiently is the main research direction of this area. In the multi-issue model, MAUT(Multi-attribute Utility Theory) or its derived theory usually consider little about the fairness of both negotiators. This work presents a general model of agent negotiation which considered the satisfaction of both negotiators via autonomous learning. The model can evaluate offers from the opponent agent based on the satisfaction degree, learn online to get the opponent's knowledge from interactive instances of history and negotiation of this time, make concessions dynamically based on fair object. Through building the optimal negotiation model, the bilateral negotiation achieved a higher efficiency and fairer deal.

A Multi-Agent Framework Manages a Representative Sensor Web

Science.gov (United States)

Suri, D.; Schmidt, D.; Biswas, G.; Kinnebrew, J.; Otte, W.; Shankaran, N.

2008-12-01

NASA's vision of a Sensor Web (which includes a distributed global observation system) consists of a large number of elements, such as remote spacecraft hosting multiple instruments, in situ terrestrial and oceanic sensor networks, and airborne assets. Researchers and developers of a Sensor web face a number of challenges that arise from (1) the inherent heterogeneous and geographical distributed nature of the Sensor web; (2) the myriad mission goals and objectives that must be satisfied by the Sensor web, ranging from an improved understanding of earth science, weather forecasting, and disaster management to an alleviation of societal problems; and (3) the need to support myriad operational modes, such as long and short-term monitoring and targeted observations. Resolving these challenges requires some form of autonomy - typically embodied in software. Agent technology has emerged both as a salient purveyor of entities that exhibit autonomous behavior and also as a paradigm for constructing complex software systems with a large number of interacting heterogeneous components. This paper describes our experiences integrating the Multi-agent Architecture for Coordinated Responsive Observations (MACRO) into the SouthEast Alaska MOnitoring Network for Science, Telecommunications, Education, and Research (SEAMONSTER). MACRO provides agents at (1) the mission level, where agents interact with users to define science goals and then translate these goals into a set of prioritized tasks that have to be executed to achieve these goals, and (2) the resource level, where agents translate tasks into activities related to data collection, data analysis, and data communication. As a representative small-scale sensor web situated in multiple locations on the Juneau Icefield, SEAMONSTER affords an unparalleled opportunity to develop, mature, and showcase MACRO's multi-level agent capabilities. MACRO is developed by the Lockheed Martin Space System Company's Advanced Technology

Smart: sistemas multi-agente robótico

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

JOVANI ALBERTO JIMÉNEZ BUILES

2008-01-01

Full Text Available El siguiente artículo busca dar una visión global de los Sistemas Multi-Agentes Robóticos (MARS mediante una explicación de las áreas relacionadas con el tema para luego presentar el Sistema Multi-Agente Robótico (SMART. SMART es un enjambre inteligente conformado por un robot nodriza y tres robot tipo baliza (guías que navegan de manera colaborativa un escenario estructurado.

Towards a multi-agent system for regulated information exchange in crime investigations

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dijkstra, Pieter; Prakken, H.; Vey Mestdagh, C.N.J. de

2005-01-01

This paper outlines a multi-agent architecture for regulated information exchange of crime investigation data between police forces. Interactions between police officers about information exchange are analysed as negotiation dialogues with embedded persuasion dialogues. An architecture is then

MAINS: MULTI-AGENT INTELLIGENT SERVICE ARCHITECTURE FOR CLOUD COMPUTING

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

T. Joshva Devadas

2014-04-01

Full Text Available Computing has been transformed to a model having commoditized services. These services are modeled similar to the utility services water and electricity. The Internet has been stunningly successful over the course of past three decades in supporting multitude of distributed applications and a wide variety of network technologies. However, its popularity has become the biggest impediment to its further growth with the handheld devices mobile and laptops. Agents are intelligent software system that works on behalf of others. Agents are incorporated in many innovative applications in order to improve the performance of the system. Agent uses its possessed knowledge to react with the system and helps to improve the performance. Agents are introduced in the cloud computing is to minimize the response time when similar request is raised from an end user in the globe. In this paper, we have introduced a Multi Agent Intelligent system (MAINS prior to cloud service models and it was tested using sample dataset. Performance of the MAINS layer was analyzed in three aspects and the outcome of the analysis proves that MAINS Layer provides a flexible model to create cloud applications and deploying them in variety of applications.

Cooperative learning neural network output feedback control of uncertain nonlinear multi-agent systems under directed topologies

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, W.; Wang, D.; Peng, Z. H.

2017-09-01

Without assuming that the communication topologies among the neural network (NN) weights are to be undirected and the states of each agent are measurable, the cooperative learning NN output feedback control is addressed for uncertain nonlinear multi-agent systems with identical structures in strict-feedback form. By establishing directed communication topologies among NN weights to share their learned knowledge, NNs with cooperative learning laws are employed to identify the uncertainties. By designing NN-based κ-filter observers to estimate the unmeasurable states, a new cooperative learning output feedback control scheme is proposed to guarantee that the system outputs can track nonidentical reference signals with bounded tracking errors. A simulation example is given to demonstrate the effectiveness of the theoretical results.

Multi-agents Based Modelling for Distribution Network Operation with Electric Vehicle Integration

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hu, Junjie; Morais, Hugo; Zong, Yi

2014-01-01

Electric vehicles (EV) can become integral part of a smart grid because instead of just consuming power they are capable of providing valuable services to power systems. To integrate EVs smoothly into the power systems, a multi-agents system (MAS) with hierarchical organization structure...... and its role is to manage the distribution network safely by avoiding grid congestions and using congestion prices to coordinate the energy schedule of VPPs. VPP agents belong to the middle level and their roles are to manage the charge periods of the EVs. EV agents sit in the bottom level...

Distributed robust adaptive control of high order nonlinear multi agent systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Hashemi, Mahnaz; Shahgholian, Ghazanfar

2018-03-01

In this paper, a robust adaptive neural network based controller is presented for multi agent high order nonlinear systems with unknown nonlinear functions, unknown control gains and unknown actuator failures. At first, Neural Network (NN) is used to approximate the nonlinear uncertainty terms derived from the controller design procedure for the followers. Then, a novel distributed robust adaptive controller is developed by combining the backstepping method and the Dynamic Surface Control (DSC) approach. The proposed controllers are distributed in the sense that the designed controller for each follower agent only requires relative state information between itself and its neighbors. By using the Young's inequality, only few parameters need to be tuned regardless of NN nodes number. Accordingly, the problems of dimensionality curse and explosion of complexity are counteracted, simultaneously. New adaptive laws are designed by choosing the appropriate Lyapunov-Krasovskii functionals. The proposed approach proves the boundedness of all the closed-loop signals in addition to the convergence of the distributed tracking errors to a small neighborhood of the origin. Simulation results indicate that the proposed controller is effective and robust. Copyright © 2018 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Combining a Multi-Agent System and Communication Middleware for Smart Home Control: A Universal Control Platform Architecture.

Science.gov (United States)

Zheng, Song; Zhang, Qi; Zheng, Rong; Huang, Bi-Qin; Song, Yi-Lin; Chen, Xin-Chu

2017-09-16

In recent years, the smart home field has gained wide attention for its broad application prospects. However, families using smart home systems must usually adopt various heterogeneous smart devices, including sensors and devices, which makes it more difficult to manage and control their home system. How to design a unified control platform to deal with the collaborative control problem of heterogeneous smart devices is one of the greatest challenges in the current smart home field. The main contribution of this paper is to propose a universal smart home control platform architecture (IAPhome) based on a multi-agent system and communication middleware, which shows significant adaptability and advantages in many aspects, including heterogeneous devices connectivity, collaborative control, human-computer interaction and user self-management. The communication middleware is an important foundation to design and implement this architecture which makes it possible to integrate heterogeneous smart devices in a flexible way. A concrete method of applying the multi-agent software technique to solve the integrated control problem of the smart home system is also presented. The proposed platform architecture has been tested in a real smart home environment, and the results indicate that the effectiveness of our approach for solving the collaborative control problem of different smart devices.

Combining a Multi-Agent System and Communication Middleware for Smart Home Control: A Universal Control Platform Architecture

Science.gov (United States)

Zheng, Song; Zhang, Qi; Zheng, Rong; Huang, Bi-Qin; Song, Yi-Lin; Chen, Xin-Chu

2017-01-01

In recent years, the smart home field has gained wide attention for its broad application prospects. However, families using smart home systems must usually adopt various heterogeneous smart devices, including sensors and devices, which makes it more difficult to manage and control their home system. How to design a unified control platform to deal with the collaborative control problem of heterogeneous smart devices is one of the greatest challenges in the current smart home field. The main contribution of this paper is to propose a universal smart home control platform architecture (IAPhome) based on a multi-agent system and communication middleware, which shows significant adaptability and advantages in many aspects, including heterogeneous devices connectivity, collaborative control, human-computer interaction and user self-management. The communication middleware is an important foundation to design and implement this architecture which makes it possible to integrate heterogeneous smart devices in a flexible way. A concrete method of applying the multi-agent software technique to solve the integrated control problem of the smart home system is also presented. The proposed platform architecture has been tested in a real smart home environment, and the results indicate that the effectiveness of our approach for solving the collaborative control problem of different smart devices. PMID:28926957

Combining a Multi-Agent System and Communication Middleware for Smart Home Control: A Universal Control Platform Architecture

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Song Zheng

2017-09-01

Full Text Available In recent years, the smart home field has gained wide attention for its broad application prospects. However, families using smart home systems must usually adopt various heterogeneous smart devices, including sensors and devices, which makes it more difficult to manage and control their home system. How to design a unified control platform to deal with the collaborative control problem of heterogeneous smart devices is one of the greatest challenges in the current smart home field. The main contribution of this paper is to propose a universal smart home control platform architecture (IAPhome based on a multi-agent system and communication middleware, which shows significant adaptability and advantages in many aspects, including heterogeneous devices connectivity, collaborative control, human-computer interaction and user self-management. The communication middleware is an important foundation to design and implement this architecture which makes it possible to integrate heterogeneous smart devices in a flexible way. A concrete method of applying the multi-agent software technique to solve the integrated control problem of the smart home system is also presented. The proposed platform architecture has been tested in a real smart home environment, and the results indicate that the effectiveness of our approach for solving the collaborative control problem of different smart devices.

Stationary average consensus protocol for a class of heterogeneous high-order multi-agent systems with application for aircraft

Science.gov (United States)

Rezaei, Mohammad Hadi; Menhaj, Mohammad Bagher

2018-01-01

This paper investigates the stationary average consensus problem for a class of heterogeneous-order multi-agent systems. The goal is to bring the positions of agents to the average of their initial positions while letting the other states converge to zero. To this end, three different consensus protocols are proposed. First, based on the auxiliary variables information among the agents under switching directed networks and state-feedback control, a protocol is proposed whereby all the agents achieve stationary average consensus. In the second and third protocols, by resorting to only measurements of relative positions of neighbouring agents under fixed balanced directed networks, two control frameworks are presented with two strategies based on state-feedback and output-feedback control. Finally, simulation results are given to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed protocols.

Adaptive fuzzy wavelet network control of second order multi-agent systems with unknown nonlinear dynamics.

Science.gov (United States)

Taheri, Mehdi; Sheikholeslam, Farid; Najafi, Majddedin; Zekri, Maryam

2017-07-01

In this paper, consensus problem is considered for second order multi-agent systems with unknown nonlinear dynamics under undirected graphs. A novel distributed control strategy is suggested for leaderless systems based on adaptive fuzzy wavelet networks. Adaptive fuzzy wavelet networks are employed to compensate for the effect of unknown nonlinear dynamics. Moreover, the proposed method is developed for leader following systems and leader following systems with state time delays. Lyapunov functions are applied to prove uniformly ultimately bounded stability of closed loop systems and to obtain adaptive laws. Three simulation examples are presented to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed control algorithms. Copyright © 2017 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Assurance in Agent-Based Systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gilliom, Laura R.; Goldsmith, Steven Y.

1999-05-10

Our vision of the future of information systems is one that includes engineered collectives of software agents which are situated in an environment over years and which increasingly improve the performance of the overall system of which they are a part. At a minimum, the movement of agent and multi-agent technology into National Security applications, including their use in information assurance, is apparent today. The use of deliberative, autonomous agents in high-consequence/high-security applications will require a commensurate level of protection and confidence in the predictability of system-level behavior. At Sandia National Laboratories, we have defined and are addressing a research agenda that integrates the surety (safety, security, and reliability) into agent-based systems at a deep level. Surety is addressed at multiple levels: The integrity of individual agents must be protected by addressing potential failure modes and vulnerabilities to malevolent threats. Providing for the surety of the collective requires attention to communications surety issues and mechanisms for identifying and working with trusted collaborators. At the highest level, using agent-based collectives within a large-scale distributed system requires the development of principled design methods to deliver the desired emergent performance or surety characteristics. This position paper will outline the research directions underway at Sandia, will discuss relevant work being performed elsewhere, and will report progress to date toward assurance in agent-based systems.

Assurance in Agent-Based Systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gilliom, Laura R.; Goldsmith, Steven Y.

1999-01-01

Our vision of the future of information systems is one that includes engineered collectives of software agents which are situated in an environment over years and which increasingly improve the performance of the overall system of which they are a part. At a minimum, the movement of agent and multi-agent technology into National Security applications, including their use in information assurance, is apparent today. The use of deliberative, autonomous agents in high-consequence/high-security applications will require a commensurate level of protection and confidence in the predictability of system-level behavior. At Sandia National Laboratories, we have defined and are addressing a research agenda that integrates the surety (safety, security, and reliability) into agent-based systems at a deep level. Surety is addressed at multiple levels: The integrity of individual agents must be protected by addressing potential failure modes and vulnerabilities to malevolent threats. Providing for the surety of the collective requires attention to communications surety issues and mechanisms for identifying and working with trusted collaborators. At the highest level, using agent-based collectives within a large-scale distributed system requires the development of principled design methods to deliver the desired emergent performance or surety characteristics. This position paper will outline the research directions underway at Sandia, will discuss relevant work being performed elsewhere, and will report progress to date toward assurance in agent-based systems

Debugging and Event Tracing for Multi-Agent Systems, Phase I

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — Large-scale agent systems have become key tools in modeling and simulation tools such as NASA's Airspace Concept Evaluation System (ACES), an agent-based simulation...

Debugging and Event Tracing for Multi-Agent Systems, Phase II

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — Large-scale agent systems have become a key part of in modeling and simulation tools such as NASA's Airspace Concept Evaluation System (ACES), an agent-based...

Stochastic bounded consensus tracking of leader-follower multi-agent systems with measurement noises based on sampled data with general sampling delay

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wu Zhi-Hai; Peng Li; Xie Lin-Bo; Wen Ji-Wei

2013-01-01

In this paper we provide a unified framework for consensus tracking of leader-follower multi-agent systems with measurement noises based on sampled data with a general sampling delay. First, a stochastic bounded consensus tracking protocol based on sampled data with a general sampling delay is presented by employing the delay decomposition technique. Then, necessary and sufficient conditions are derived for guaranteeing leader-follower multi-agent systems with measurement noises and a time-varying reference state to achieve mean square bounded consensus tracking. The obtained results cover no sampling delay, a small sampling delay and a large sampling delay as three special cases. Last, simulations are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the theoretical results. (interdisciplinary physics and related areas of science and technology)

Density Control of Multi-Agent Systems with Safety Constraints: A Markov Chain Approach

Science.gov (United States)

Demirer, Nazli

The control of systems with autonomous mobile agents has been a point of interest recently, with many applications like surveillance, coverage, searching over an area with probabilistic target locations or exploring an area. In all of these applications, the main goal of the swarm is to distribute itself over an operational space to achieve mission objectives specified by the density of swarm. This research focuses on the problem of controlling the distribution of multi-agent systems considering a hierarchical control structure where the whole swarm coordination is achieved at the high-level and individual vehicle/agent control is managed at the low-level. High-level coordination algorithms uses macroscopic models that describes the collective behavior of the whole swarm and specify the agent motion commands, whose execution will lead to the desired swarm behavior. The low-level control laws execute the motion to follow these commands at the agent level. The main objective of this research is to develop high-level decision control policies and algorithms to achieve physically realizable commanding of the agents by imposing mission constraints on the distribution. We also make some connections with decentralized low-level motion control. This dissertation proposes a Markov chain based method to control the density distribution of the whole system where the implementation can be achieved in a decentralized manner with no communication between agents since establishing communication with large number of agents is highly challenging. The ultimate goal is to guide the overall density distribution of the system to a prescribed steady-state desired distribution while satisfying desired transition and safety constraints. Here, the desired distribution is determined based on the mission requirements, for example in the application of area search, the desired distribution should match closely with the probabilistic target locations. The proposed method is applicable for both

A Game Theory Approach to Multi-Agent Decentralized Energy Management of Autonomous Polygeneration Microgrids

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Christos-Spyridon Karavas

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Energy management systems are essential and indispensable for the secure and optimal operation of autonomous polygeneration microgrids which include distributed energy technologies and multiple electrical loads. In this paper, a multi-agent decentralized energy management system was designed. In particular, the devices of the microgrid under study were controlled as interactive agents. The energy management problem was formulated here through the application of game theory, in order to model the set of strategies between two players/agents, as a non-cooperative power control game or a cooperative one, according to the level of the energy produced by the renewable energy sources and the energy stored in the battery bank, for the purpose of accomplishing optimal energy management and control of the microgrid operation. The Nash equilibrium was used to compromise the possible diverging goals of the agents by maximizing their preferences. The proposed energy management system was then compared with a multi-agent decentralized energy management system where all the agents were assumed to be cooperative and employed agent coordination through Fuzzy Cognitive Maps. The results obtained from this comparison, demonstrate that the application of game theory based control, in autonomous polygeneration microgrids, can ensure operational and financial benefits over known energy management approaches incorporating distributed intelligence.

An Agent-based Extensible Climate Control System for Sustainable Greenhouse Production

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sørensen, Jan Corfixen; Jørgensen, Bo Nørregaard; Klein, Mark

2011-01-01

The slow adoption pace of new control strategies for sustainable greenhouse climate control by industrial growers is mainly due to the complexity of identifying and resolving potentially conflicting climate control requirements. In this paper, we present a multi-agent-based climate control system....... Negotiation is done using a novel multi-issue negotiation protocol that uses a generic algorithm to find an optimized solution within the search space. The Multi-Agent control system has been empirically evaluated in an ornamental floriculture research facility in Denmark. The evaluation showed...... that it is realistic to implement the climate control requirements as individual agents, thereby opening greenhouse climate control systems for integration of independently produced control strategies....

Multi-agent simulation of competitive electricity markets: Autonomous systems cooperation for European market modeling

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Santos, Gabriel; Pinto, Tiago; Morais, Hugo

2015-01-01

The electricity market restructuring, and its worldwide evolution into regional and even continental scales, along with the increasing necessity for an adequate integration of renewable energy sources, is resulting in a rising complexity in power systems operation. Several power system simulators...... have been developed in recent years with the purpose of helping operators, regulators, and involved players to understand and deal with this complex and constantly changing environment. The main contribution of this paper is given by the integration of several electricity market and power system models......, respecting to the reality of different countries. This integration is done through the development of an upper ontology which integrates the essential concepts necessary to interpret all the available information. The continuous development of Multi-Agent System for Competitive Electricity Markets platform...

MATT: Multi Agents Testing Tool Based Nets within Nets

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sara Kerraoui

2016-12-01

As part of this effort, we propose a model based testing approach for multi agent systems based on such a model called Reference net, where a tool, which aims to providing a uniform and automated approach is developed. The feasibility and the advantage of the proposed approach are shown through a short case study.

Concurrent Learning of Control in Multi agent Sequential Decision Tasks

Science.gov (United States)

2018-04-17

Concurrent Learning of Control in Multi-agent Sequential Decision Tasks The overall objective of this project was to develop multi-agent reinforcement... learning (MARL) approaches for intelligent agents to autonomously learn distributed control policies in decentral- ized partially observable... learning of policies in Dec-POMDPs, established performance bounds, evaluated these algorithms both theoretically and empirically, The views

Adaptive Load Balancing of Parallel Applications with Multi-Agent Reinforcement Learning on Heterogeneous Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Johan Parent

2004-01-01

Full Text Available We report on the improvements that can be achieved by applying machine learning techniques, in particular reinforcement learning, for the dynamic load balancing of parallel applications. The applications being considered in this paper are coarse grain data intensive applications. Such applications put high pressure on the interconnect of the hardware. Synchronization and load balancing in complex, heterogeneous networks need fast, flexible, adaptive load balancing algorithms. Viewing a parallel application as a one-state coordination game in the framework of multi-agent reinforcement learning, and by using a recently introduced multi-agent exploration technique, we are able to improve upon the classic job farming approach. The improvements are achieved with limited computation and communication overhead.

Strategic farsighted learning in competitive multi-agent games

NARCIS (Netherlands)

t Hoen, P.J.; Bohté, S.M.; Poutré, la J.A.; Brewka, G.; Coradeschi, S.; Perini, A.

2006-01-01

We describe a generalized Q-learning type algorithm for reinforcement learning in competitive multi-agent games. We make the observation that in a competitive setting with adaptive agents an agent's actions will (likely) result in changes in the opponents policies. In addition to accounting for the

A multi-agent system for coordinating international shipping

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Goldsmith, S.Y.; Phillips, L.R.; Spires, S.V.

1998-05-01

Moving commercial cargo across the US-Mexico border is currently a complex, paper-based, error-prone process that incurs expensive inspections and delays at several ports of entry in the Southwestern US. Improved information handling will dramatically reduce border dwell time, variation in delivery time, and inventories, and will give better control of the shipment process. The Border Trade Facilitation System (BTFS) is an agent-based collaborative work environment that assists geographically distributed commercial and government users with transshipment of goods across the US-Mexico border. Software agents mediate the creation, validation and secure sharing of shipment information and regulatory documentation over the Internet, using the World Wide Web to interface with human actors. Agents are organized into Agencies. Each agency represents a commercial or government agency. Agents perform four specific functions on behalf of their user organizations: (1) agents with domain knowledge elicit commercial and regulatory information from human specialists through forms presented via web browsers; (2) agents mediate information from forms with diverse otologies, copying invariant data from one form to another thereby eliminating the need for duplicate data entry; (3) cohorts of distributed agents coordinate the work flow among the various information providers and they monitor overall progress of the documentation and the location of the shipment to ensure that all regulatory requirements are met prior to arrival at the border; (4) agents provide status information to human actors and attempt to influence them when problems are predicted.

Novel probabilistic and distributed algorithms for guidance, control, and nonlinear estimation of large-scale multi-agent systems

Science.gov (United States)

Bandyopadhyay, Saptarshi

Multi-agent systems are widely used for constructing a desired formation shape, exploring an area, surveillance, coverage, and other cooperative tasks. This dissertation introduces novel algorithms in the three main areas of shape formation, distributed estimation, and attitude control of large-scale multi-agent systems. In the first part of this dissertation, we address the problem of shape formation for thousands to millions of agents. Here, we present two novel algorithms for guiding a large-scale swarm of robotic systems into a desired formation shape in a distributed and scalable manner. These probabilistic swarm guidance algorithms adopt an Eulerian framework, where the physical space is partitioned into bins and the swarm's density distribution over each bin is controlled using tunable Markov chains. In the first algorithm - Probabilistic Swarm Guidance using Inhomogeneous Markov Chains (PSG-IMC) - each agent determines its bin transition probabilities using a time-inhomogeneous Markov chain that is constructed in real-time using feedback from the current swarm distribution. This PSG-IMC algorithm minimizes the expected cost of the transitions required to achieve and maintain the desired formation shape, even when agents are added to or removed from the swarm. The algorithm scales well with a large number of agents and complex formation shapes, and can also be adapted for area exploration applications. In the second algorithm - Probabilistic Swarm Guidance using Optimal Transport (PSG-OT) - each agent determines its bin transition probabilities by solving an optimal transport problem, which is recast as a linear program. In the presence of perfect feedback of the current swarm distribution, this algorithm minimizes the given cost function, guarantees faster convergence, reduces the number of transitions for achieving the desired formation, and is robust to disturbances or damages to the formation. We demonstrate the effectiveness of these two proposed swarm

A Multi-context BDI Recommender System: from Theory to Simulation

OpenAIRE

Ben Othmane , Amel; Tettamanzi , Andrea G. B.; Villata , Serena; Le Thanh , Nhan

2016-01-01

International audience; In this paper, a simulation of a multi-agent recommender system is presented and developed in the NetLogo platform. The specification of this recommender system is based on the well known Belief-Desire-Intention agent architecture applied to multi-context systems, extended with contexts foradditional reasoning abilities, especially social ones. The main goal of this simulation study is, besides illustrating the usefulness and feasibility of our agent-based recommender ...

Multi-Agent Pathfinding with n Agents on Graphs with n Vertices

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Förster, Klaus-Tycho; Groner, Linus; Hoefler, Torsten

2017-01-01

We investigate the multi-agent pathfinding (MAPF) problem with $n$ agents on graphs with $n$ vertices: Each agent has a unique start and goal vertex, with the objective of moving all agents in parallel movements to their goal s.t.~each vertex and each edge may only be used by one agent at a time....... We give a combinatorial classification of all graphs where this problem is solvable in general, including cases where the solvability depends on the initial agent placement. Furthermore, we present an algorithm solving the MAPF problem in our setting, requiring O(n²) rounds, or O(n³) moves...... of individual agents. Complementing these results, we show that there are graphs where Omega(n²) rounds and Omega(n³) moves are required for any algorithm....

Ontological Model-Based Transparent Access To Information In A Medical Multi-Agent System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Felicia GÎZĂ-BELCIUG

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Getting the full electronic medical record of a patient is an important step in providing a quality medical service. But the degree of heterogeneity of data from health unit informational systems is very high, because each unit can have a different model for storing patients’ medical data. In order to achieve the interoperability and integration of data from various medical units that store partial patient medical information, this paper proposes a multi-agent systems and ontology based approach. Therefore, we present an ontological model for describing the particular structure of the data integration process. The system is to be used for centralizing the information from a patient’s partial medical records. The main advantage of the proposed model is the low ratio between the complexity of the model and the amount of information that can be retrieved in order to generate the complete medical history of a patient.

Realization of consensus of multi-agent systems with stochastically mixed interactions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sun, Yongzheng, E-mail: yzsung@gmail.com; Li, Wang [School of Science, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou 221008 (China); Zhao, Donghua [School of Mathematical Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433 (China)

2016-07-15

In this paper, we propose a new consensus model in which the interactions among agents stochastically switch between attraction and repulsion. Such a positive-and-negative mechanism is described by the white-noise-based coupling. Analytic criteria for the consensus and non-consensus in terms of the eigenvalues of the noise intensity matrix are derived, which provide a better understanding of the constructive roles of random interactions. Specifically, we discover a positive role of noise coupling that noise can accelerate the emergence of consensus. We find that the converging speed of the multi-agent network depends on the square of the second smallest eigenvalue of its graph Laplacian. The influence of network topologies on the consensus time is also investigated.

Control Prosody using Multi-Agent System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kenji MATSUI

2014-03-01

Full Text Available Persons who have undergone a laryngectomy have a few options to partially restore speech but no completely satisfactory device. Even though the use of an electrolarynx (EL is the easiest way for a patient to produce speech, it does not produce a natural tone and appearance is far from normal. Because of that and the fact that none of them are hands-free, the feasibility of using a motion sensor to replace a conventional EL user interface has been explored. A mobile device motion sensor with multi-agent platform has been used to investigate on/off and pitch frequency control capability. A very small battery operated ARM-based control unit has also been developed to evaluate the motion sensor based user-interface. This control unit is placed on the wrist and the vibration device against the throat using support bandage. Two different conversion methods were used for the forearm tilt angle to pitch frequency conversion: linear mapping method and F0 template-based method A perceptual evaluation has been performed with two well-trained normal speakers and ten subjects. The results of the evaluation study showed that both methods are able to produce better speech quality in terms of the naturalness.

Simulating the conversion of rural settlements to town land based on multi-agent systems and cellular automata.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Yaolin; Kong, Xuesong; Liu, Yanfang; Chen, Yiyun

2013-01-01

Rapid urbanization in China has triggered the conversion of land from rural to urban use, particularly the conversion of rural settlements to town land. This conversion is the result of the joint effects of the geographic environment and agents involving the government, investors, and farmers. To understand the dynamic interaction dominated by agents and to predict the future landscape of town expansion, a small town land-planning model is proposed based on the integration of multi-agent systems (MAS) and cellular automata (CA). The MAS-CA model links the decision-making behaviors of agents with the neighbor effect of CA. The interaction rules are projected by analyzing the preference conflicts among agents. To better illustrate the effects of the geographic environment, neighborhood, and agent behavior, a comparative analysis between the CA and MAS-CA models in three different towns is presented, revealing interesting patterns in terms of quantity, spatial characteristics, and the coordinating process. The simulation of rural settlements conversion to town land through modeling agent decision and human-environment interaction is very useful for understanding the mechanisms of rural-urban land-use change in developing countries. This process can assist town planners in formulating appropriate development plans.

Multi-agent integrated password management (MIPM) application secured with encryption

Science.gov (United States)

Awang, Norkhushaini; Zukri, Nurul Hidayah Ahmad; Rashid, Nor Aimuni Md; Zulkifli, Zuhri Arafah; Nazri, Nor Afifah Mohd

2017-10-01

Users use weak passwords and reuse them on different websites and applications. Password managers are a solution to store login information for websites and help users log in automatically. This project developed a system that acts as an agent managing passwords. Multi-Agent Integrated Password Management (MIPM) is an application using encryption that provides users with secure storage of their login account information such as their username, emails and passwords. This project was developed on an Android platform with an encryption agent using Java Agent Development Environment (JADE). The purpose of the embedded agents is to act as a third-party software to ease the encryption process, and in the future, the developed encryption agents can form part of the security system. This application can be used by the computer and mobile users. Currently, users log into many applications causing them to use unique passwords to prevent password leaking. The crypto agent handles the encryption process using an Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) 128-bit encryption algorithm. As a whole, MIPM is developed on the Android application to provide a secure platform to store passwords and has high potential to be commercialised for public use.

Argumentation and Multi-Agent Decision Making

OpenAIRE

Parsons, S.; Jennings, N. R.

1998-01-01

This paper summarises our on-going work on mixed- initiative decision making which extends both classical decision theory and a symbolic theory of decision making based on argumentation to a multi-agent domain.

Content modification attacks on consensus seeking multi-agent system with double-integrator dynamics

Science.gov (United States)

Dong, Yimeng; Gupta, Nirupam; Chopra, Nikhil

2016-11-01

In this paper, vulnerability of a distributed consensus seeking multi-agent system (MAS) with double-integrator dynamics against edge-bound content modification cyber attacks is studied. In particular, we define a specific edge-bound content modification cyber attack called malignant content modification attack (MCoMA), which results in unbounded growth of an appropriately defined group disagreement vector. Properties of MCoMA are utilized to design detection and mitigation algorithms so as to impart resilience in the considered MAS against MCoMA. Additionally, the proposed detection mechanism is extended to detect the general edge-bound content modification attacks (not just MCoMA). Finally, the efficacies of the proposed results are illustrated through numerical simulations.

MULTI-AGENT APPROACH TO BUILDING AN INTELLIGENT VEHICLE MAINTENANCE AND REPAIR SYSTEM

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V. Pavlenko

2017-12-01

Full Text Available To ensure the reliability of the car, early detection and prevention of the occurrence and development of failures is required in order to reduce the costs of maintenance and repair. Multi-agent technologies make it possible to raise the level of technical reliability of cars and minimize the costs of performing repair and maintenance operations.

An Agent Architecture for Multi-Attribute Negotiation Using Incomplete Preference Information

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Jonker, C.M.; Robu, V.; Treur, J.

2007-01-01

A component-based generic agent architecture for multi-attribute (integrative) negotiation is introduced and its application is described in a prototype system for negotiation about cars, developed in cooperation with, among others, Dutch Telecom KPN. The approach can be characterized as cooperative

Multi-agent target tracking using particle filters enhanced with context data

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Claessens, R

2015-05-01

Full Text Available The proposed framework for Multi-Agent Target Tracking supports i) tracking of objects and ii) search and rescue based on the fusion of very heterogeneous data. The system is based on a novel approach to fusing sensory observations, intelligence...

Multi-Agent Based Microscopic Simulation Modeling for Urban Traffic Flow

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xianyan Kuang

2014-10-01

Full Text Available Traffic simulation plays an important role in the evaluation of traffic decisions. The movement of vehicles essentially is the operating process of drivers, in order to reproduce the urban traffic flow from the micro-aspect on computer, this paper establishes an urban traffic flow microscopic simulation system (UTFSim based on multi-agent. The system is seen as an intelligent virtual environment system (IVES, and the four-layer structure of it is built. The road agent, vehicle agent and signal agent are modeled. The concept of driving trajectory which is divided into LDT (Lane Driving Trajectory and VDDT (Vehicle Dynamic Driving Trajectory is introduced. The “Link-Node” road network model is improved. The driving behaviors including free driving, following driving, lane changing, slowing down, vehicle stop, etc. are analyzed. The results of the signal control experiments utilizing the UTFSim developed in the platform of Visual Studio. NET indicates that it plays a good performance and can be used in the evaluation of traffic management and control.

Design of a Two-level Adaptive Multi-Agent System for Malaria Vectors driven by an ontology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Etang Josiane

2007-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The understanding of heterogeneities in disease transmission dynamics as far as malaria vectors are concerned is a big challenge. Many studies while tackling this problem don't find exact models to explain the malaria vectors propagation. Methods To solve the problem we define an Adaptive Multi-Agent System (AMAS which has the property to be elastic and is a two-level system as well. This AMAS is a dynamic system where the two levels are linked by an Ontology which allows it to function as a reduced system and as an extended system. In a primary level, the AMAS comprises organization agents and in a secondary level, it is constituted of analysis agents. Its entry point, a User Interface Agent, can reproduce itself because it is given a minimum of background knowledge and it learns appropriate "behavior" from the user in the presence of ambiguous queries and from other agents of the AMAS in other situations. Results Some of the outputs of our system present a series of tables, diagrams showing some factors like Entomological parameters of malaria transmission, Percentages of malaria transmission per malaria vectors, Entomological inoculation rate. Many others parameters can be produced by the system depending on the inputted data. Conclusion Our approach is an intelligent one which differs from statistical approaches that are sometimes used in the field. This intelligent approach aligns itself with the distributed artificial intelligence. In terms of fight against malaria disease our system offers opportunities of reducing efforts of human resources who are not obliged to cover the entire territory while conducting surveys. Secondly the AMAS can determine the presence or the absence of malaria vectors even when specific data have not been collected in the geographical area. In the difference of a statistical technique, in our case the projection of the results in the field can sometimes appeared to be more general.

Multi-Agent Programming Contest 2013: The Teams and the Design of Their Systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ahlbrecht, Tobias; Bender-Saebelkampf, Christian; Brito, Maiquel

2013-01-01

Five teams participated in the Multi-Agent Programming Contest in 2013: All of them gained experience in 2012 already. In order to better understand which paradigms they used, which techniques they considered important and how much work they invested, the organisers of the contest compiled together...

Multi-Agent System Supporting Automated Large-Scale Photometric Computations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Adam Sȩdziwy

2016-02-01

Full Text Available The technologies related to green energy, smart cities and similar areas being dynamically developed in recent years, face frequently problems of a computational nature rather than a technological one. The example is the ability of accurately predicting the weather conditions for PV farms or wind turbines. Another group of issues is related to the complexity of the computations required to obtain an optimal setup of a solution being designed. In this article, we present the case representing the latter group of problems, namely designing large-scale power-saving lighting installations. The term “large-scale” refers to an entire city area, containing tens of thousands of luminaires. Although a simple power reduction for a single street, giving limited savings, is relatively easy, it becomes infeasible for tasks covering thousands of luminaires described by precise coordinates (instead of simplified layouts. To overcome this critical issue, we propose introducing a formal representation of a computing problem and applying a multi-agent system to perform design-related computations in parallel. The important measure introduced in the article indicating optimization progress is entropy. It also allows for terminating optimization when the solution is satisfying. The article contains the results of real-life calculations being made with the help of the presented approach.

Simulating the Conversion of Rural Settlements to Town Land Based on Multi-Agent Systems and Cellular Automata

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Yaolin; Kong, Xuesong; Liu, Yanfang; Chen, Yiyun

2013-01-01

Rapid urbanization in China has triggered the conversion of land from rural to urban use, particularly the conversion of rural settlements to town land. This conversion is the result of the joint effects of the geographic environment and agents involving the government, investors, and farmers. To understand the dynamic interaction dominated by agents and to predict the future landscape of town expansion, a small town land-planning model is proposed based on the integration of multi-agent systems (MAS) and cellular automata (CA). The MAS-CA model links the decision-making behaviors of agents with the neighbor effect of CA. The interaction rules are projected by analyzing the preference conflicts among agents. To better illustrate the effects of the geographic environment, neighborhood, and agent behavior, a comparative analysis between the CA and MAS-CA models in three different towns is presented, revealing interesting patterns in terms of quantity, spatial characteristics, and the coordinating process. The simulation of rural settlements conversion to town land through modeling agent decision and human-environment interaction is very useful for understanding the mechanisms of rural-urban land-use change in developing countries. This process can assist town planners in formulating appropriate development plans. PMID:24244472

Robust consensus algorithm for multi-agent systems with exogenous disturbances under convergence conditions

Science.gov (United States)

Jiang, Yulian; Liu, Jianchang; Tan, Shubin; Ming, Pingsong

2014-09-01

In this paper, a robust consensus algorithm is developed and sufficient conditions for convergence to consensus are proposed for a multi-agent system (MAS) with exogenous disturbances subject to partial information. By utilizing H∞ robust control, differential game theory and a design-based approach, the consensus problem of the MAS with exogenous bounded interference is resolved and the disturbances are restrained, simultaneously. Attention is focused on designing an H∞ robust controller (the robust consensus algorithm) based on minimisation of our proposed rational and individual cost functions according to goals of the MAS. Furthermore, sufficient conditions for convergence of the robust consensus algorithm are given. An example is employed to demonstrate that our results are effective and more capable to restrain exogenous disturbances than the existing literature.

Model of load balancing using reliable algorithm with multi-agent system

Science.gov (United States)

Afriansyah, M. F.; Somantri, M.; Riyadi, M. A.

2017-04-01

Massive technology development is linear with the growth of internet users which increase network traffic activity. It also increases load of the system. The usage of reliable algorithm and mobile agent in distributed load balancing is a viable solution to handle the load issue on a large-scale system. Mobile agent works to collect resource information and can migrate according to given task. We propose reliable load balancing algorithm using least time first byte (LFB) combined with information from the mobile agent. In system overview, the methodology consisted of defining identification system, specification requirements, network topology and design system infrastructure. The simulation method for simulated system was using 1800 request for 10 s from the user to the server and taking the data for analysis. Software simulation was based on Apache Jmeter by observing response time and reliability of each server and then compared it with existing method. Results of performed simulation show that the LFB method with mobile agent can perform load balancing with efficient systems to all backend server without bottleneck, low risk of server overload, and reliable.

A Multi-Agent-Based Intelligent Sensor and Actuator Network Design for Smart House and Home Automation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fei Hu

2013-08-01

Full Text Available The smart-house technology aims to increase home automation and security with reduced energy consumption. A smart house consists of various intelligent sensors and actuators operating on different platforms with conflicting objectives. This paper proposes a multi-agent system (MAS design framework to achieve smart house automation. The novelties of this work include the developments of (1 belief, desire and intention (BDI agent behavior models; (2 a regulation policy-based multi-agent collaboration mechanism; and (3 a set of metrics for MAS performance evaluation. Simulations of case studies are performed using the Java Agent Development Environment (JADE to demonstrate the advantages of the proposed method.

Multi-Agent Design and Implementation for an Online Peer Help System

Science.gov (United States)

Meng, Anbo

2014-01-01

With the rapid advance of e-learning, the online peer help is playing increasingly important role. This paper explores the application of MAS to an online peer help system (MAPS). In the design phase, the architecture of MAPS is proposed, which consists of a set of agents including the personal agent, the course agent, the diagnosis agent, the DF…

Multi-Agent Simulation of Allocating and Routing Ambulances Under Condition of Street Blockage after Natural Disaster

Science.gov (United States)

Azimi, S.; Delavar, M. R.; Rajabifard, A.

2017-09-01

In response to natural disasters, efficient planning for optimum allocation of the medical assistance to wounded as fast as possible and wayfinding of first responders immediately to minimize the risk of natural disasters are of prime importance. This paper aims to propose a multi-agent based modeling for optimum allocation of space to emergency centers according to the population, street network and number of ambulances in emergency centers by constraint network Voronoi diagrams, wayfinding of ambulances from emergency centers to the wounded locations and return based on the minimum ambulances travel time and path length implemented by NSGA and the use of smart city facilities to accelerate the rescue operation. Simulated annealing algorithm has been used for minimizing the difference between demands and supplies of the constrained network Voronoi diagrams. In the proposed multi-agent system, after delivering the location of the wounded and their symptoms, the constraint network Voronoi diagram for each emergency center is determined. This process was performed simultaneously for the multi-injuries in different Voronoi diagrams. In the proposed multi-agent system, the priority of the injuries for receiving medical assistance and facilities of the smart city for reporting the blocked streets was considered. Tehran Municipality District 5 was considered as the study area and during 3 minutes intervals, the volunteers reported the blocked street. The difference between the supply and the demand divided to the supply in each Voronoi diagram decreased to 0.1601. In the proposed multi-agent system, the response time of the ambulances is decreased about 36.7%.

Asymptotic bounded consensus tracking of double-integrator multi-agent systems with bounded-jerk target based on sampled-data without velocity measurements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wu Shuang-Shuang; Wu Zhi-Hai; Peng Li; Xie Lin-Bo

2017-01-01

This paper investigates asymptotic bounded consensus tracking (ABCT) of double-integrator multi-agent systems (MASs) with an asymptotically-unbounded-acceleration and bounded-jerk target (AUABJT) available to partial agents based on sampled-data without velocity measurements. A sampled-data consensus tracking protocol (CTP) without velocity measurements is proposed to guarantee that double-integrator MASs track an AUABJT available to only partial agents. The eigenvalue analysis method together with the augmented matrix method is used to obtain the necessary and sufficient conditions for ABCT. A numerical example is provided to illustrate the effectiveness of theoretical results. (paper)

A Novel Approach to Selecting Contractor in Agent-based Multi-sensor Battlefield Reconnaissance Simulation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiong Li

2012-11-01

Full Text Available This paper presents a novel approach towards showing how contractor in agent-based simulation for complex warfare system such as multi-sensor battlefield reconnaissance system can be selected in Contract Net Protocol (CNP with high efficiency. We first analyze agent and agent-based simulation framework, CNP and collaborators, and present agents interaction chain used to actualize CNP and establish agents trust network. We then obtain contractor's importance weight and dynamic trust by presenting fuzzy similarity-based algorithm and trust modifying algorithm, thus we propose contractor selecting approach based on maximum dynamic integrative trust. We validate the feasibility and capability of this approach by implementing simulation, analyzing compared results and checking the model.

Distributed Scheduling to Support a Call Centre: a Co-operative Multi-Agent Approach

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Brazier, F.M.; Jonker, C.M.; Jungen, F.J.; Treur, J.; Nwana, H.S.

1998-01-01

This paper describes a multi-agent system architecture to increase the value of 24 hour a day call centre service. This system supports call centres in making appointments with clients on the basis of knowledge of employees and their schedules. Relevant activities of employees are scheduled for

Field tests applying multi-agent technology for distributed control. Virtual power plants and wind energy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schaeffer, G.J.; Warmer, C.J.; Hommelberg, M.P.F.; Kamphuis, I.G.; Kok, J.K. [Energy in the Built Environment and Networks, Petten (Netherlands)

2007-01-15

Multi-agent technology is state of the art ICT. It is not yet widely applied in power control systems. However, it has a large potential for bottom-up, distributed control of a network with large-scale renewable energy sources (RES) and distributed energy resources (DER) in future power systems. At least two major European R and D projects (MicroGrids and CRISP) have investigated its potential. Both grid-related as well as market-related applications have been studied. This paper will focus on two field tests, performed in the Netherlands, applying multi-agent control by means of the PowerMatcher concept. The first field test focuses on the application of multi-agent technology in a commercial setting, i.e. by reducing the need for balancing power in the case of intermittent energy sources, such as wind energy. In this case the flexibility is used of demand and supply of industrial and residential consumers and producers. Imbalance reduction rates of over 40% have been achieved applying the PowerMatcher, and with a proper portfolio even larger rates are expected. In the second field test the multi-agent technology is used in the design and implementation of a virtual power plant (VPP). This VPP digitally connects a number of micro-CHP units, installed in residential dwellings, into a cluster that is controlled to reduce the local peak demand of the common low-voltage grid segment the micro-CHP units are connected to. In this way the VPP supports the local distribution system operator (DSO) to defer reinforcements in the grid infrastructure (substations and cables)

Field tests applying multi-agent technology for distributed control. Virtual power plants and wind energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schaeffer, G.J.; Warmer, C.J.; Hommelberg, M.P.F.; Kamphuis, I.G.; Kok, J.K.

2007-01-01

Multi-agent technology is state of the art ICT. It is not yet widely applied in power control systems. However, it has a large potential for bottom-up, distributed control of a network with large-scale renewable energy sources (RES) and distributed energy resources (DER) in future power systems. At least two major European R and D projects (MicroGrids and CRISP) have investigated its potential. Both grid-related as well as market-related applications have been studied. This paper will focus on two field tests, performed in the Netherlands, applying multi-agent control by means of the PowerMatcher concept. The first field test focuses on the application of multi-agent technology in a commercial setting, i.e. by reducing the need for balancing power in the case of intermittent energy sources, such as wind energy. In this case the flexibility is used of demand and supply of industrial and residential consumers and producers. Imbalance reduction rates of over 40% have been achieved applying the PowerMatcher, and with a proper portfolio even larger rates are expected. In the second field test the multi-agent technology is used in the design and implementation of a virtual power plant (VPP). This VPP digitally connects a number of micro-CHP units, installed in residential dwellings, into a cluster that is controlled to reduce the local peak demand of the common low-voltage grid segment the micro-CHP units are connected to. In this way the VPP supports the local distribution system operator (DSO) to defer reinforcements in the grid infrastructure (substations and cables)

From pattern formation to material computation multi-agent modelling of physarum polycephalum

CERN Document Server

Jones, Jeff

2015-01-01

This book addresses topics of mobile multi-agent systems, pattern formation, biological modelling, artificial life, unconventional computation, and robotics. The behaviour of a simple organism which is capable of remarkable biological and computational feats that seem to transcend its simple component parts is examined and modelled. In this book the following question is asked: How can something as simple as Physarum polycephalum - a giant amoeboid single-celled organism which does not possess any neural tissue, fixed skeleton or organised musculature - can approximate complex computational behaviour during its foraging, growth and adaptation of its amorphous body plan, and with such limited resources? To answer this question the same apparent limitations as faced by the organism are applied: using only simple components with local interactions. A synthesis approach is adopted and a mobile multi-agent system with very simple individual behaviours is employed. It is shown their interactions yield emergent beha...

A Software Framework for Remote Patient Monitoring by Using Multi-Agent Systems Support.

Science.gov (United States)

Fernandes, Chrystinne Oliveira; Lucena, Carlos José Pereira De

2017-03-27

Although there have been significant advances in network, hardware, and software technologies, the health care environment has not taken advantage of these developments to solve many of its inherent problems. Research activities in these 3 areas make it possible to apply advanced technologies to address many of these issues such as real-time monitoring of a large number of patients, particularly where a timely response is critical. The objective of this research was to design and develop innovative technological solutions to offer a more proactive and reliable medical care environment. The short-term and primary goal was to construct IoT4Health, a flexible software framework to generate a range of Internet of things (IoT) applications, containing components such as multi-agent systems that are designed to perform Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) activities autonomously. An investigation into its full potential to conduct such patient monitoring activities in a more proactive way is an expected future step. A framework methodology was selected to evaluate whether the RPM domain had the potential to generate customized applications that could achieve the stated goal of being responsive and flexible within the RPM domain. As a proof of concept of the software framework's flexibility, 3 applications were developed with different implementations for each framework hot spot to demonstrate potential. Agents4Health was selected to illustrate the instantiation process and IoT4Health's operation. To develop more concrete indicators of the responsiveness of the simulated care environment, an experiment was conducted while Agents4Health was operating, to measure the number of delays incurred in monitoring the tasks performed by agents. IoT4Health's construction can be highlighted as our contribution to the development of eHealth solutions. As a software framework, IoT4Health offers extensibility points for the generation of applications. Applications can extend the framework in

Foundations of organizational structure in multi-agent systems

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Grossi, D.; Royakkers, L.M.M.; Dignum, F.P.M.; Dastani, M.

2005-01-01

We analyze the notion of organizational structure in multiagent systems and explain the precise added value and the effects of such organizational structure on the involved agents. To pursue this aim, contributions from social and organization theory are considered which provide a solid theoretical

Contract Monitoring in Agent-Based Systems: Case Study

Science.gov (United States)

Hodík, Jiří; Vokřínek, Jiří; Jakob, Michal

Monitoring of fulfilment of obligations defined by electronic contracts in distributed domains is presented in this paper. A two-level model of contract-based systems and the types of observations needed for contract monitoring are introduced. The observations (inter-agent communication and agents’ actions) are collected and processed by the contract observation and analysis pipeline. The presented approach has been utilized in a multi-agent system for electronic contracting in a modular certification testing domain.

A multi-agent based distributed energy management scheme for smart grid applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Radhakrishnan, Bharat Menon; Srinivasan, Dipti

2016-01-01

A multi-agent system based distributed EMS (energy management system) is proposed in this paper to perform optimal energy allocation and management for grids comprising of renewables, storage and distributed generation. The reliable and efficient operation of smart grids is slackened due to the presence of intermittent renewables. As the load demand and renewables are uncertain throughout the day, an energy management system is essential to ensure grid stability and achieve reductions in operation costs and CO_2 emissions. The main objectives of the proposed algorithm is to maintain power balance in the system and to ensure long cycle life for storage units by controlling their SOC (state of charge). The proposed EMS scheme is tested and validated on a practical test system, which replicates a small-scale smart grid with a variety of distributed sources, storage devices, loads, power electronic converters, and SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) system. This system is also connected to the utility grid and the power exchange is controlled with the help of a battery system through a fuzzy based decision-making framework. The proposed algorithm is also extensively verified and tested using a series of sensitivity analyses and benchmarking with existing algorithms. - Highlights: • An agent-based decentralized algorithm is proposed to perform energy management. • The multi-agent system approach eliminates the possibility of single point failures. • Adaptive fuzzy systems make the decision making more reliable, flexible and robust. • The algorithm is extensively tested and validated using sensitivity and verification analyses.

Multi-agent Negotiation Mechanisms for Statistical Target Classification in Wireless Multimedia Sensor Networks

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Xue; Bi, Dao-wei; Ding, Liang; Wang, Sheng

2007-01-01

The recent availability of low cost and miniaturized hardware has allowed wireless sensor networks (WSNs) to retrieve audio and video data in real world applications, which has fostered the development of wireless multimedia sensor networks (WMSNs). Resource constraints and challenging multimedia data volume make development of efficient algorithms to perform in-network processing of multimedia contents imperative. This paper proposes solving problems in the domain of WMSNs from the perspective of multi-agent systems. The multi-agent framework enables flexible network configuration and efficient collaborative in-network processing. The focus is placed on target classification in WMSNs where audio information is retrieved by microphones. To deal with the uncertainties related to audio information retrieval, the statistical approaches of power spectral density estimates, principal component analysis and Gaussian process classification are employed. A multi-agent negotiation mechanism is specially developed to efficiently utilize limited resources and simultaneously enhance classification accuracy and reliability. The negotiation is composed of two phases, where an auction based approach is first exploited to allocate the classification task among the agents and then individual agent decisions are combined by the committee decision mechanism. Simulation experiments with real world data are conducted and the results show that the proposed statistical approaches and negotiation mechanism not only reduce memory and computation requirements in WMSNs but also significantly enhance classification accuracy and reliability. PMID:28903223

An Integrated System for Disabled People Developed with the Agent Platform PANGEA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carolina ZATO

2013-11-01

Full Text Available New trends in multi-agent systems call for self-adaptation and high dynamics, hence the new model of open MAS or virtual organization of agents. However, as existing agent platforms are not yet equipped to support this behavior, it is necessary to create new systems and mechanisms to facilitate the development of these new architectures. This article presents PANGEA, an agent platform to develop open multi-agent systems, specifically those including organizational aspects such as virtual agent organizations. The platform allows the integral management of organizations and offers tools to the end user. Additionally, it includes a communication protocol based on the IRC standard, which facilitates implementation and remains robust even with a large number of connections. The introduction of a CommunicationAgent and a Sniffer make it possible to offer Web Services for the distributed control of interaction. In order to test PANGEA, an integral system was developed to help the disabled, gathering a set of easily deployable and integrated services under a single architecture.

Deliberate Evolution in Multi-Agent Systems

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Brazier, F.M.; Jonker, C.M.; Treur, J.; Wijngaards, N.J.E.; Gabbay, D.

2001-01-01

Evolution in societies of agents is a challenging phenomenon, both from a fundamental perspective and from an applied perspective. In the literature often genetic programming approaches are used and relatively simple agents are considered, which have no deliberate influence on the direction of the

A multi-agent based intelligent configuration method for aircraft fleet maintenance personnel

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Feng Qiang

2014-04-01

Full Text Available A multi-agent based fleet maintenance personnel configuration method is proposed to solve the mission oriented aircraft fleet maintenance personnel configuration problem. The maintenance process of an aircraft fleet is analyzed first. In the process each aircraft contains multiple parts, and different parts are repaired by personnel with different majors and levels. The factors and their relationship involved in the process of maintenance are analyzed and discussed. Then the whole maintenance process is described as a 3-layer multi-agent system (MAS model. A communication and reasoning strategy among the agents is put forward. A fleet maintenance personnel configuration algorithm is proposed based on contract net protocol (CNP. Finally, a fleet of 10 aircraft is studied for verification purposes. A mission type with 3 waves of continuous dispatch is imaged. Compared with the traditional methods that can just provide configuration results, the proposed method can provide optimal maintenance strategies as well.

Multi-agent models of spatial cognition, learning and complex choice behavior in urban environments

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Arentze, Theo; Timmermans, Harry; Portugali, J.

2006-01-01

This chapter provides an overview of ongoing research projects in the DDSS research program at TUE related to multi-agents. Projects include (a) the use of multi-agent models and concepts of artificial intelligence to develop models of activity-travel behavior; (b) the use of a multi-agent model to

Multi-agent Negotiation Mechanisms for Statistical Target Classification in Wireless Multimedia Sensor Networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sheng Wang

2007-10-01

Full Text Available The recent availability of low cost and miniaturized hardware has allowedwireless sensor networks (WSNs to retrieve audio and video data in real worldapplications, which has fostered the development of wireless multimedia sensor networks(WMSNs. Resource constraints and challenging multimedia data volume makedevelopment of efficient algorithms to perform in-network processing of multimediacontents imperative. This paper proposes solving problems in the domain of WMSNs fromthe perspective of multi-agent systems. The multi-agent framework enables flexible networkconfiguration and efficient collaborative in-network processing. The focus is placed ontarget classification in WMSNs where audio information is retrieved by microphones. Todeal with the uncertainties related to audio information retrieval, the statistical approachesof power spectral density estimates, principal component analysis and Gaussian processclassification are employed. A multi-agent negotiation mechanism is specially developed toefficiently utilize limited resources and simultaneously enhance classification accuracy andreliability. The negotiation is composed of two phases, where an auction based approach isfirst exploited to allocate the classification task among the agents and then individual agentdecisions are combined by the committee decision mechanism. Simulation experiments withreal world data are conducted and the results show that the proposed statistical approachesand negotiation mechanism not only reduce memory and computation requi

Decentralized formation of random regular graphs for robust multi-agent networks

KAUST Repository

Yazicioglu, A. Yasin

2014-12-15

Multi-agent networks are often modeled via interaction graphs, where the nodes represent the agents and the edges denote direct interactions between the corresponding agents. Interaction graphs have significant impact on the robustness of networked systems. One family of robust graphs is the random regular graphs. In this paper, we present a locally applicable reconfiguration scheme to build random regular graphs through self-organization. For any connected initial graph, the proposed scheme maintains connectivity and the average degree while minimizing the degree differences and randomizing the links. As such, if the average degree of the initial graph is an integer, then connected regular graphs are realized uniformly at random as time goes to infinity.

Monitoring and analysis of vital signs of a patient through a multi-agent application system

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daniel HERNÁNDEZ DE LA IGLESIA

2016-06-01

Full Text Available In the medical environment, the clinical study of the most basic vital signs of a patient represents the simplest and most effective way to detect and monitor health problems. There are many diseases that can be diagnosed and controlled through regular monitoring of these medical data. The purpose of this study is to develop a monitoring and tracking system for the various vital signs of a patient. In particular, this work focuses on the design of a multi-agent architecture composed of virtual organizations with capabilities to integrate different medical sensors on an open, low-cost hardware platform. This system integrates hardware and software elements needed for the routine measurement of vital signs, performed by the patient or caregiver without having to go to a medical center.

Cloud-based multi-agent architecture for effective planning and scheduling of distributed manufacturing

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mishra, Nishikant; Singh, Akshit; Kumari, Sushma

2016-01-01

at distinct locations are being assembled in a plant to develop the final product. In this complex scenario, manufacturing firms have to be responsive enough to cope with the fluctuating demand of customers. To accomplish it, there is a need to develop an integrated, dynamic and autonomous system....... In this article, a self-reactive cloud-based multi-agent architecture for distributed manufacturing system is developed. The proposed architecture will assist manufacturing industry to establish real-time information exchange between the autonomous agents, clients, suppliers and manufacturing unit. The mechanism...

Adaptive Droop Control for Microgrids Based on the Synergetic Control of Multi-Agent Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhiwen Yu

2016-12-01

Full Text Available In this paper, a distributed synergetic control based on multi-agent systems is proposed to solve the problems of frequency and voltage errors, system stability and power sharing accuracy in the traditional droop control of microgrids. Starting with power flow equations, we build the secondary-order dynamic model of DG, which consists of three parts: (1 active power allocation; (2 active power-frequency; and (3 reactive power-voltage droop control. Considering time-delays in communication networks, a leaderless synergetic control algorithm is proposed to allocate the active power in inverse proportion to the droop coefficient, and the synergetic control with a virtual leader is proposed to control the system frequency and voltage to keep at the expected value. Besides, the direct Lyapunov method is introduced to verify the globally asymptotical stability. Moreover, the impacts of communication disturbance are also discussed from the aspects of control precision and system stability. Finally, based on a test microgrid, numerous cases are designed as illustration, and the simulation results validate the proposed method.

A Two-Stage Multi-Agent Based Assessment Approach to Enhance Students' Learning Motivation through Negotiated Skills Assessment

Science.gov (United States)

Chadli, Abdelhafid; Bendella, Fatima; Tranvouez, Erwan

2015-01-01

In this paper we present an Agent-based evaluation approach in a context of Multi-agent simulation learning systems. Our evaluation model is based on a two stage assessment approach: (1) a Distributed skill evaluation combining agents and fuzzy sets theory; and (2) a Negotiation based evaluation of students' performance during a training…

Agent-based Decentralization of Applications in Distributed Smart Grid Systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kienesberger, Georg; Xypolytou, Evangelia; Marchgraber, Jurgen

2015-01-01

systems (DMACS) and aims to give an overview on the different requirements and challenges on the way from current centralized control systems to DMACS. Therefore, different ICT scenarios and MAS topologies are employed to discuss the decentralization of three exemplary smart grid applications: voltage......Smart grid technology promises to prepare today’s power systems for the challenges of the future by extensive integration of information and communication technology (ICT). One key aspect is the control paradigm which will have to be shifted from completely centralized control systems to more...... dezentralized concepts in order to adapt to the distributed nature of smart grids. Multi-agent systems (MAS) are a very promising approach for designing distributed, decentralized systems, naturally also in the field of smart grids. This work introduces the notion of decentralized multi-agent-based control...

A Decentralized Multi-Agent-Based Approach for Low Voltage Microgrid Restoration

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ebrahim Rokrok

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Although a well-organized power system is less subject to blackouts, the existence of a proper restoration plan is nevertheless still essential. The goal of a restoration plan is to bring the power system back to its normal operating conditions in the shortest time after a blackout occurs and to minimize the impact of the blackout on society. This paper presents a decentralized multi-agent system (MAS-based restoration method for a low voltage (LV microgrid (MG. In the proposed method, the MG local controllers are assigned to the specific agents who interact with each other to achieve a common decision in the restoration procedure. The evaluation of the proposed decentralized technique using a benchmark low-voltage MG network demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposed restoration plan.

A stochastic multi-agent optimization model for energy infrastructure planning under uncertainty and competition.

Science.gov (United States)

2017-07-04

This paper presents a stochastic multi-agent optimization model that supports energy infrastruc- : ture planning under uncertainty. The interdependence between dierent decision entities in the : system is captured in an energy supply chain network, w...

An agent-based intelligent environmental monitoring system

OpenAIRE

Athanasiadis, Ioannis N; Mitkas, Pericles A

2004-01-01

Fairly rapid environmental changes call for continuous surveillance and on-line decision making. There are two main areas where IT technologies can be valuable. In this paper we present a multi-agent system for monitoring and assessing air-quality attributes, which uses data coming from a meteorological station. A community of software agents is assigned to monitor and validate measurements coming from several sensors, to assess air-quality, and, finally, to fire alarms to appropriate recipie...

A fault diagnosis and operation advising cooperative expert system based on multi-agent technology

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhao, W.; Bai, X.; Ding, J.; Fang, Z.; Li, Z. [China Electric Power Research Inst., Haidian District, Beijing (China)

2006-07-01

Power systems are becoming more and more complex. In addition, the amount of real-time alarm messages from the supervisory control and data acquisition, energy management systems and wide area measurement systems about switchgear and protection are also increasing to a point far beyond the operator's capacity to digest the information. Research and development of a fault diagnosis system is necessary for the timely identification of fault or malfunctioning devices and for realizing the automation functions of dynamic supervisory control system. The prevailing fault diagnosis approaches in power systems include the expert system, artificial neural network, and fault diagnosis based on optimal theory. This paper discussed the advantages and disadvantages of each of these approaches for diagnosing faults. The paper also proposed a new fault diagnosis and operational processing approach based on a cooperative expert system combined with a multi-agent architecture. For solving complex and correlative faults, the cooperative expert system can overcome the deficiency of a single expert system. It can be used not only for diagnosing complex faults in real time but also in providing timely operational advice. The proposed system has been used successfully in a district power grid in China's Shangdong province for a year. 9 refs., 4 figs.

Multi-Agent System for Decision Support in Enterprises

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dejan Lavbič

2009-12-01

Full Text Available Normal 0 21 false false false SL X-NONE X-NONE Business decisions must rely not only on organisation’s internal data but also on external data from competitors or relevant events. This information can be obtained from the Web but must be integrated with the data in an organisation’s Data Warehouse (DW. In this paper we discuss the agent-based integration approach using ontologies. To enable common understanding of a domain between people and application systems we introduce business rules approach towards ontology management. Because knowledge in organisation’s ontologies is acquired from business users without technical knowledge simple user interface based on ontology restrictions and predefined templates are used. After data from internal DW, Web and business rules are acquired; agent can deduce new knowledge and therefore facilitate decision making process. Tasks like information retrieval from competitors, creating and reviewing OLAP reports are autonomously performed by agents, while business users have control over their execution through knowledge base in ontology. The approach presented in the paper was verified on the case study from the domain of mobile communications with the emphasis on supply and demand of mobile phones and its accessories.

Agent based energy management systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wolter, Martin

2012-07-01

In liberalized, regulated energy markets, the different participants - namely producers and consumers of energy, transmission and distribution system operators as well as regulatory authorities - have partly divergent and partly convergent interests. Loads, power plants and grid operators try to maximize their own benefit in this highly complex environment accepting to act detrimentally to others. Although the relationship between the participants is mostly competitive, there are some fundamental shared interests, e.g. voltage stability, a constant system frequency or efficient energy production, transmission and distribution, which are endangered e.g. by increased injection of volatile sources in low and medium voltage grids, displacement of stabilizing bulk generation and the slowly progressing extension of the electric grid. There is a global consensus, that the resulting challenges can efficiently be faced using information and communication technologies to coordinate grid utilization and operation. The basic idea is to benefit from unused reserves by participating in deployment of system services e.g. reactive power supply to keep the voltage within certain bounds. The coordination can best be done by the grid operator. All activities of that kind are summarized under the umbrella term ''Smart Grid''. To simultaneously model the behavior and interests of different types of market participants and their convergent and divergent interests, multi-agent systems are used. They offer a perfectly fitting framework for this sort of game theory and can easily be adapted to all kinds of new challenges of electricity markets. In this work, multi-agent systems are used to either cooperatively or competitively solve problems in distribution and transmission systems. Therefore, conventional algorithms have to be modified to converge into multiple local optima using only small pieces of the entire system information. It is clearly stated, that personal

Construction of multi-agent mobile robots control system in the problem of persecution with using a modified reinforcement learning method based on neural networks

Science.gov (United States)

Patkin, M. L.; Rogachev, G. N.

2018-02-01

A method for constructing a multi-agent control system for mobile robots based on training with reinforcement using deep neural networks is considered. Synthesis of the management system is proposed to be carried out with reinforcement training and the modified Actor-Critic method, in which the Actor module is divided into Action Actor and Communication Actor in order to simultaneously manage mobile robots and communicate with partners. Communication is carried out by sending partners at each step a vector of real numbers that are added to the observation vector and affect the behaviour. Functions of Actors and Critic are approximated by deep neural networks. The Critics value function is trained by using the TD-error method and the Actor’s function by using DDPG. The Communication Actor’s neural network is trained through gradients received from partner agents. An environment in which a cooperative multi-agent interaction is present was developed, computer simulation of the application of this method in the control problem of two robots pursuing two goals was carried out.

Stochastic bounded consensus tracking of leader—follower multi-agent systems with measurement noises and sampled-data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wu Zhi-Hai; Peng Li; Xie Lin-Bo; Wen Ji-Wei

2012-01-01

This paper is concerned with the stochastic bounded consensus tracking problems of leader—follower multi-agent systems, where the control input of an agent can only use the information measured at the sampling instants from its neighbours or the virtual leader with a time-varying reference state, and the measurements are corrupted by random noises. The probability limit theory and the algebra graph theory are employed to derive the necessary and sufficient conditions guaranteeing the mean square bounded consensus tracking. It is shown that the maximum allowable upper boundary of the sampling period simultaneously depends on the constant feedback gains and the network topology. Furthermore, the effects of the sampling period on the tracking performance are analysed. It turns out that from the view point of the sampling period, there is a trade-off between the tracking speed and the static tracking error. Simulations are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the theoretical results. (interdisciplinary physics and related areas of science and technology)

Multi-agent sequential hypothesis testing

KAUST Repository

Kim, Kwang-Ki K.

2014-12-15

This paper considers multi-agent sequential hypothesis testing and presents a framework for strategic learning in sequential games with explicit consideration of both temporal and spatial coordination. The associated Bayes risk functions explicitly incorporate costs of taking private/public measurements, costs of time-difference and disagreement in actions of agents, and costs of false declaration/choices in the sequential hypothesis testing. The corresponding sequential decision processes have well-defined value functions with respect to (a) the belief states for the case of conditional independent private noisy measurements that are also assumed to be independent identically distributed over time, and (b) the information states for the case of correlated private noisy measurements. A sequential investment game of strategic coordination and delay is also discussed as an application of the proposed strategic learning rules.

Hybrid Multi-Agent Control in Microgrids: Framework, Models and Implementations Based on IEC 61850

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiaobo Dou

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Operation control is a vital and complex issue for microgrids. The objective of this paper is to explore the practical means of applying decentralized control by using a multi agent system in actual microgrids and devices. This paper presents a hierarchical control framework (HCF consisting of local reaction control (LRC level, local decision control (LDC level, horizontal cooperation control (HCC level and vertical cooperation control (VCC level to meet different control requirements of a microgrid. Then, a hybrid multi-agent control model (HAM is proposed to implement HCF, and the properties, functionalities and operating rules of HAM are described. Furthermore, the paper elaborates on the implementation of HAM based on the IEC 61850 Standard, and proposes some new implementation methods, such as extended information models of IEC 61850 with agent communication language and bidirectional interaction mechanism of generic object oriented substation event (GOOSE communication. A hardware design and software system are proposed and the results of simulation and laboratory tests verify the effectiveness of the proposed strategies, models and implementations.

Distributed Market-Based Algorithms for Multi-Agent Planning with Shared Resources

Science.gov (United States)

2013-02-01

1 Introduction 1 2 Distributed Market-Based Multi-Agent Planning 5 2.1 Problem Formulation...over the deterministic planner, on the “test set” of scenarios with changing economies. . . 50 xi xii Chapter 1 Introduction Multi-agent planning is...representation of the objective (4.2.1). For example, for the supply chain mangement problem, we assumed a sequence of Bernoulli coin flips, which seems

Multi-Agent Cooperative Target Search

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jinwen Hu

2014-05-01

Full Text Available This paper addresses a vision-based cooperative search for multiple mobile ground targets by a group of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs with limited sensing and communication capabilities. The airborne camera on each UAV has a limited field of view and its target discriminability varies as a function of altitude. First, by dividing the whole surveillance region into cells, a probability map can be formed for each UAV indicating the probability of target existence within each cell. Then, we propose a distributed probability map updating model which includes the fusion of measurement information, information sharing among neighboring agents, information decay and transmission due to environmental changes such as the target movement. Furthermore, we formulate the target search problem as a multi-agent cooperative coverage control problem by optimizing the collective coverage area and the detection performance. The proposed map updating model and the cooperative control scheme are distributed, i.e., assuming that each agent only communicates with its neighbors within its communication range. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed algorithms is illustrated by simulation.

SIMULATING AN EVOLUTIONARY MULTI-AGENT BASED MODEL OF THE STOCK MARKET

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Diana MARICA

2015-08-01

Full Text Available The paper focuses on artificial stock market simulations using a multi-agent model incorporating 2,000 heterogeneous agents interacting on the artificial market. The agents interaction is due to trading activity on the market through a call auction trading mechanism. The multi-agent model uses evolutionary techniques such as genetic programming in order to generate an adaptive and evolving population of agents. Each artificial agent is endowed with wealth and a genetic programming induced trading strategy. The trading strategy evolves and adapts to the new market conditions through a process called breeding, which implies that at each simulation step, new agents with better trading strategies are generated by the model, from recombining the best performing trading strategies and replacing the agents which have the worst performing trading strategies. The simulation model was build with the help of the simulation software Altreva Adaptive Modeler which offers a suitable platform for financial market simulations of evolutionary agent based models, the S&P500 composite index being used as a benchmark for the simulation results.

A New Multi-Agent Approach to Adaptive E-Education

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Jing; Cheng, Peng

Improving customer satisfaction degree is important in e-Education. This paper describes a new approach to adaptive e-Education taking into account the full spectrum of Web service techniques and activities. It presents a multi-agents architecture based on artificial psychology techniques, which makes the e-Education process both adaptable and dynamic, and hence up-to-date. Knowledge base techniques are used to support the e-Education process, and artificial psychology techniques to deal with user psychology, which makes the e-Education system more effective and satisfying.

PDL as a multi-agent strategy logic

NARCIS (Netherlands)

D.J.N. van Eijck (Jan); B.C. Schipper

2013-01-01

textabstractPropositional Dynamic Logic or PDL was invented as a logic for reasoning about regular programming constructs. We propose a new perspective on PDL as a multi-agent strategic logic (MASL). This logic for strategic reasoning has group strategies as first class citizens, and

Multi-agent machine learning a reinforcement approach

CERN Document Server

Schwartz, H M

2014-01-01

The book begins with a chapter on traditional methods of supervised learning, covering recursive least squares learning, mean square error methods, and stochastic approximation. Chapter 2 covers single agent reinforcement learning. Topics include learning value functions, Markov games, and TD learning with eligibility traces. Chapter 3 discusses two player games including two player matrix games with both pure and mixed strategies. Numerous algorithms and examples are presented. Chapter 4 covers learning in multi-player games, stochastic games, and Markov games, focusing on learning multi-pla

A decentralised multi-agent approach to enhance the stability of smart microgrids with renewable energy

Science.gov (United States)

Rahman, M. S.; Pota, H. R.; Mahmud, M. A.; Hossain, M. J.

2016-05-01

This paper presents the impact of large penetration of wind power on the transient stability through a dynamic evaluation of the critical clearing times (CCTs) by using intelligent agent-based approach. A decentralised multi-agent-based framework is developed, where agents represent a number of physical device models to form a complex infrastructure for computation and communication. They enable the dynamic flow of information and energy for the interaction between the physical processes and their activities. These agents dynamically adapt online measurements and use the CCT information for relay coordination to improve the transient stability of power systems. Simulations are carried out on a smart microgrid system for faults at increasing wind power penetration levels and the improvement in transient stability using the proposed agent-based framework is demonstrated.

Intercell scheduling: A negotiation approach using multi-agent coalitions

Science.gov (United States)

Tian, Yunna; Li, Dongni; Zheng, Dan; Jia, Yunde

2016-10-01

Intercell scheduling problems arise as a result of intercell transfers in cellular manufacturing systems. Flexible intercell routes are considered in this article, and a coalition-based scheduling (CBS) approach using distributed multi-agent negotiation is developed. Taking advantage of the extended vision of the coalition agents, the global optimization is improved and the communication cost is reduced. The objective of the addressed problem is to minimize mean tardiness. Computational results show that, compared with the widely used combinatorial rules, CBS provides better performance not only in minimizing the objective, i.e. mean tardiness, but also in minimizing auxiliary measures such as maximum completion time, mean flow time and the ratio of tardy parts. Moreover, CBS is better than the existing intercell scheduling approach for the same problem with respect to the solution quality and computational costs.

Service for fault tolerance in the Ad Hoc Networks based on Multi Agent Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ghalem Belalem

2011-02-01

Full Text Available The Ad hoc networks are distributed networks, self-organized and does not require infrastructure. In such network, mobile infrastructures are subject of disconnections. This situation may concern a voluntary or involuntary disconnection of nodes caused by the high mobility in the Ad hoc network. In these problems we are trying through this work to contribute to solving these problems in order to ensure continuous service by proposing our service for faults tolerance based on Multi Agent Systems (MAS, which predict a problem and decision making in relation to critical nodes. Our work contributes to study the prediction of voluntary and involuntary disconnections in the Ad hoc network; therefore we propose our service for faults tolerance that allows for effective distribution of information in the Network by selecting some objects of the network to be duplicates of information.

On Modeling Large-Scale Multi-Agent Systems with Parallel, Sequential and Genuinely Asynchronous Cellular Automata

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tosic, P.T.

2011-01-01

We study certain types of Cellular Automata (CA) viewed as an abstraction of large-scale Multi-Agent Systems (MAS). We argue that the classical CA model needs to be modified in several important respects, in order to become a relevant and sufficiently general model for the large-scale MAS, and so that thus generalized model can capture many important MAS properties at the level of agent ensembles and their long-term collective behavior patterns. We specifically focus on the issue of inter-agent communication in CA, and propose sequential cellular automata (SCA) as the first step, and genuinely Asynchronous Cellular Automata (ACA) as the ultimate deterministic CA-based abstract models for large-scale MAS made of simple reactive agents. We first formulate deterministic and nondeterministic versions of sequential CA, and then summarize some interesting configuration space properties (i.e., possible behaviors) of a restricted class of sequential CA. In particular, we compare and contrast those properties of sequential CA with the corresponding properties of the classical (that is, parallel and perfectly synchronous) CA with the same restricted class of update rules. We analytically demonstrate failure of the studied sequential CA models to simulate all possible behaviors of perfectly synchronous parallel CA, even for a very restricted class of non-linear totalistic node update rules. The lesson learned is that the interleaving semantics of concurrency, when applied to sequential CA, is not refined enough to adequately capture the perfect synchrony of parallel CA updates. Last but not least, we outline what would be an appropriate CA-like abstraction for large-scale distributed computing insofar as the inter-agent communication model is concerned, and in that context we propose genuinely asynchronous CA. (author)

A framework for service enterprise workflow simulation with multi-agents cooperation

Science.gov (United States)

Tan, Wenan; Xu, Wei; Yang, Fujun; Xu, Lida; Jiang, Chuanqun

2013-11-01

Process dynamic modelling for service business is the key technique for Service-Oriented information systems and service business management, and the workflow model of business processes is the core part of service systems. Service business workflow simulation is the prevalent approach to be used for analysis of service business process dynamically. Generic method for service business workflow simulation is based on the discrete event queuing theory, which is lack of flexibility and scalability. In this paper, we propose a service workflow-oriented framework for the process simulation of service businesses using multi-agent cooperation to address the above issues. Social rationality of agent is introduced into the proposed framework. Adopting rationality as one social factor for decision-making strategies, a flexible scheduling for activity instances has been implemented. A system prototype has been developed to validate the proposed simulation framework through a business case study.

A multi-agent decentralized energy management system based on distributed intelligence for the design and control of autonomous polygeneration microgrids

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Karavas, Christos-Spyridon; Kyriakarakos, George; Arvanitis, Konstantinos G.; Papadakis, George

2015-01-01

Highlights: • A decentralized energy management system based on multi agent systems theory. • A decentralized energy management system is technically feasible. • A decentralized approach utilizes the devices better than a centralized one. • A decentralized energy management system is economically competitive. - Abstract: The autonomous polygeneration microgrid topology has been developed in order to cover holistically needs in a remote area such as electrical energy, space heating and cooling, potable water through desalination and hydrogen as fuel for transportation. The existence of an advanced energy management system is essential for the operation of an autonomous polygeneration microgrid. So far, energy management systems based on a centralized management and control have been developed for the autonomous polygeneration microgrid topology based on computational intelligence approaches. A decentralized management and control energy management system can have important benefits, when taking into consideration the autonomous character of these microgrids. This paper presents the design and investigation of a decentralized energy management system for the autonomous polygeneration microgrid topology. The decentralized energy management system gives the possibility to control each unit of the microgrid independently. The most important advantage of using a decentralized architecture is that the managed microgrid has much higher chances of partial operation in cases when malfunctions occur at different parts of it, instead of a complete system breakdown. The designed system was based on a multi-agent system and employed Fuzzy Cognitive Maps for its implementation. It was then compared through a case study with an existing centralized energy management system. The technical performance of the decentralized solution performance is on par with the existing centralized one, presenting improvements in financial and operational terms for the implementation and

A Distributed Multi-Agent System for Collaborative Information Management and Learning

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, James R.; Wolfe, Shawn R.; Wragg, Stephen D.; Koga, Dennis (Technical Monitor)

2000-01-01

In this paper, we present DIAMS, a system of distributed, collaborative agents to help users access, manage, share and exchange information. A DIAMS personal agent helps its owner find information most relevant to current needs. It provides tools and utilities for users to manage their information repositories with dynamic organization and virtual views. Flexible hierarchical display is integrated with indexed query search-to support effective information access. Automatic indexing methods are employed to support user queries and communication between agents. Contents of a repository are kept in object-oriented storage to facilitate information sharing. Collaboration between users is aided by easy sharing utilities as well as automated information exchange. Matchmaker agents are designed to establish connections between users with similar interests and expertise. DIAMS agents provide needed services for users to share and learn information from one another on the World Wide Web.

FRIEND: a brain-monitoring agent for adaptive and assistive systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Morris, Alexis; Ulieru, Mihaela

2012-01-01

This paper presents an architectural design for adaptive-systems agents (FRIEND) that use brain state information to make more effective decisions on behalf of a user; measuring brain context versus situational demands. These systems could be useful for alerting users to cognitive workload levels or fatigue, and could attempt to compensate for higher cognitive activity by filtering noise information. In some cases such systems could also share control of devices, such as pulling over in an automated vehicle. These aim to assist people in everyday systems to perform tasks better and be more aware of internal states. Achieving a functioning system of this sort is a challenge, involving a unification of brain- computer-interfaces, human-computer-interaction, soft-computin deliberative multi-agent systems disciplines. Until recently, these were not able to be combined into a usable platform due largely to technological limitations (e.g., size, cost, and processing speed), insufficient research on extracting behavioral states from EEG signals, and lack of low-cost wireless sensing headsets. We aim to surpass these limitations and develop control architectures for making sense of brain state in applications by realizing an agent architecture for adaptive (human-aware) technology. In this paper we present an early, high-level design towards implementing a multi-purpose brain-monitoring agent system to improve user quality of life through the assistive applications of psycho-physiological monitoring, noise-filtering, and shared system control.

Learning from induced changes in opponent (re)actions in multi-agent games

NARCIS (Netherlands)

P.J. 't Hoen (Pieter Jan); S.M. Bohte (Sander); J.A. La Poutré (Han)

2005-01-01

textabstractMulti-agent learning is a growing area of research. An important topic is to formulate how an agent can learn a good policy in the face of adaptive, competitive opponents. Most research has focused on extensions of single agent learning techniques originally designed for agents in more

Combination of Multi-Agent Systems and Wireless Sensor Networks for the Monitoring of Cattle

Science.gov (United States)

Barriuso, Alberto L.; De Paz, Juan F.; Lozano, Álvaro

2018-01-01

Precision breeding techniques have been widely used to optimize expenses and increase livestock yields. Notwithstanding, the joint use of heterogeneous sensors and artificial intelligence techniques for the simultaneous analysis or detection of different problems that cattle may present has not been addressed. This study arises from the necessity to obtain a technological tool that faces this state of the art limitation. As novelty, this work presents a multi-agent architecture based on virtual organizations which allows to deploy a new embedded agent model in computationally limited autonomous sensors, making use of the Platform for Automatic coNstruction of orGanizations of intElligent Agents (PANGEA). To validate the proposed platform, different studies have been performed, where parameters specific to each animal are studied, such as physical activity, temperature, estrus cycle state and the moment in which the animal goes into labor. In addition, a set of applications that allow farmers to remotely monitor the livestock have been developed. PMID:29301310

Combination of Multi-Agent Systems and Wireless Sensor Networks for the Monitoring of Cattle.

Science.gov (United States)

Barriuso, Alberto L; Villarrubia González, Gabriel; De Paz, Juan F; Lozano, Álvaro; Bajo, Javier

2018-01-02

Precision breeding techniques have been widely used to optimize expenses and increase livestock yields. Notwithstanding, the joint use of heterogeneous sensors and artificial intelligence techniques for the simultaneous analysis or detection of different problems that cattle may present has not been addressed. This study arises from the necessity to obtain a technological tool that faces this state of the art limitation. As novelty, this work presents a multi-agent architecture based on virtual organizations which allows to deploy a new embedded agent model in computationally limited autonomous sensors, making use of the Platform for Automatic coNstruction of orGanizations of intElligent Agents (PANGEA). To validate the proposed platform, different studies have been performed, where parameters specific to each animal are studied, such as physical activity, temperature, estrus cycle state and the moment in which the animal goes into labor. In addition, a set of applications that allow farmers to remotely monitor the livestock have been developed.

Multi-Agent Rendezvousing with a Finite Set of Candidate Rendezvous Points

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Fang, J.; Morse, A. S.; Cao, M.

2008-01-01

The discrete multi-agent rendezvous problem we consider in this paper is concerned with a specified set of points in the plane, called “dwell-points,” and a set of mobile autonomous agents with limited sensing range. Each agent is initially positioned at some dwell-point, and is able to determine

A hybrid agent-based approach for modeling microbiological systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Guo, Zaiyi; Sloot, Peter M A; Tay, Joc Cing

2008-11-21

Models for systems biology commonly adopt Differential Equations or Agent-Based modeling approaches for simulating the processes as a whole. Models based on differential equations presuppose phenomenological intracellular behavioral mechanisms, while models based on Multi-Agent approach often use directly translated, and quantitatively less precise if-then logical rule constructs. We propose an extendible systems model based on a hybrid agent-based approach where biological cells are modeled as individuals (agents) while molecules are represented by quantities. This hybridization in entity representation entails a combined modeling strategy with agent-based behavioral rules and differential equations, thereby balancing the requirements of extendible model granularity with computational tractability. We demonstrate the efficacy of this approach with models of chemotaxis involving an assay of 10(3) cells and 1.2x10(6) molecules. The model produces cell migration patterns that are comparable to laboratory observations.

Learning Natural Selection in 4th Grade with Multi-Agent-Based Computational Models

Science.gov (United States)

Dickes, Amanda Catherine; Sengupta, Pratim

2013-01-01

In this paper, we investigate how elementary school students develop multi-level explanations of population dynamics in a simple predator-prey ecosystem, through scaffolded interactions with a multi-agent-based computational model (MABM). The term "agent" in an MABM indicates individual computational objects or actors (e.g., cars), and these…

Multi-agent simulation of purchasing activities in organizations

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ebben, Mark; de Boer, L.; Sitar-Pop, C.E.; Yucesan, E.; Chen, C.H.; Snowdon, J.L.; Charnes, J.M.

2002-01-01

In this paper we present a multi-agent simulation model to investigate purchasing activities in an organizational environment. The starting point is the observation that the majority of purchasing activities in organizations are usually performed without any involvement of the organization's

The Multi-Agent Transport Simulation MATSim

OpenAIRE

Horni Andreas; Nagel Kai; Axhausen Kay W.

2016-01-01

"The MATSim (Multi-Agent Transport Simulation) software project was started around 2006 with the goal of generating traffic and congestion patterns by following individual synthetic travelers through their daily or weekly activity programme. It has since then evolved from a collection of stand-alone C++ programs to an integrated Java-based framework which is publicly hosted, open-source available, automatically regression tested. It is currently used by about 40 groups throughout the world. T...

Distributed multi-agent scheme for reactive power management with renewable energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rahman, M.S.; Mahmud, M.A.; Pota, H.R.; Hossain, M.J.

2014-01-01

Highlights: • A distributed multi-agent scheme is proposed to enhance the dynamic voltage stability. • A control agent is designed where control actions are performed through PI controller. • Proposed scheme is compared with the conventional approach with DSTATCOM. • Proposed scheme adapts the capability of estimation and control under various operating conditions. - Abstract: This paper presents a new distributed multi-agent scheme for reactive power management in smart coordinated distribution networks with renewable energy sources (RESs) to enhance the dynamic voltage stability, which is mainly based on controlling distributed static synchronous compensators (DSTATCOMs). The proposed control scheme is incorporated in a multi-agent framework where the intelligent agents simultaneously coordinate with each other and represent various physical models to provide information and energy flow among different physical processes. The reactive power is estimated from the topology of distribution networks and with this information, necessary control actions are performed through the proposed proportional integral (PI) controller. The performance of the proposed scheme is evaluated on a 8-bus distribution network under various operating conditions. The performance of the proposed scheme is validated through simulation results and these results are compared to that of conventional PI-based DSTATCOM control scheme. From simulation results, it is found that the distributed MAS provides excellence performance for improving voltage profiles by managing reactive power in a smarter way

A multi-agent safety response model in the construction industry.

Science.gov (United States)

Meliá, José L

2015-01-01

The construction industry is one of the sectors with the highest accident rates and the most serious accidents. A multi-agent safety response approach allows a useful diagnostic tool in order to understand factors affecting risk and accidents. The special features of the construction sector can influence the relationships among safety responses along the model of safety influences. The purpose of this paper is to test a model explaining risk and work-related accidents in the construction industry as a result of the safety responses of the organization, the supervisors, the co-workers and the worker. 374 construction employees belonging to 64 small Spanish construction companies working for two main companies participated in the study. Safety responses were measured using a 45-item Likert-type questionnaire. The structure of the measure was analyzed using factor analysis and the model of effects was tested using a structural equation model. Factor analysis clearly identifies the multi-agent safety dimensions hypothesized. The proposed safety response model of work-related accidents, involving construction specific results, showed a good fit. The multi-agent safety response approach to safety climate is a useful framework for the assessment of organizational and behavioral risks in construction.

Human-Robot Teaming in a Multi-Agent Space Assembly Task

Science.gov (United States)

Rehnmark, Fredrik; Currie, Nancy; Ambrose, Robert O.; Culbert, Christopher

2004-01-01

NASA's Human Space Flight program depends heavily on spacewalks performed by pairs of suited human astronauts. These Extra-Vehicular Activities (EVAs) are severely restricted in both duration and scope by consumables and available manpower. An expanded multi-agent EVA team combining the information-gathering and problem-solving skills of humans with the survivability and physical capabilities of robots is proposed and illustrated by example. Such teams are useful for large-scale, complex missions requiring dispersed manipulation, locomotion and sensing capabilities. To study collaboration modalities within a multi-agent EVA team, a 1-g test is conducted with humans and robots working together in various supporting roles.

Optimal control in microgrid using multi-agent reinforcement learning.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Fu-Dong; Wu, Min; He, Yong; Chen, Xin

2012-11-01

This paper presents an improved reinforcement learning method to minimize electricity costs on the premise of satisfying the power balance and generation limit of units in a microgrid with grid-connected mode. Firstly, the microgrid control requirements are analyzed and the objective function of optimal control for microgrid is proposed. Then, a state variable "Average Electricity Price Trend" which is used to express the most possible transitions of the system is developed so as to reduce the complexity and randomicity of the microgrid, and a multi-agent architecture including agents, state variables, action variables and reward function is formulated. Furthermore, dynamic hierarchical reinforcement learning, based on change rate of key state variable, is established to carry out optimal policy exploration. The analysis shows that the proposed method is beneficial to handle the problem of "curse of dimensionality" and speed up learning in the unknown large-scale world. Finally, the simulation results under JADE (Java Agent Development Framework) demonstrate the validity of the presented method in optimal control for a microgrid with grid-connected mode. Copyright © 2012 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Evaluation of water security in Jordan using a multi-agent, hydroeconomic model: Initial model results from the Jordan Water Project

Science.gov (United States)

Yoon, J.; Klassert, C. J. A.; Lachaut, T.; Selby, P. D.; Knox, S.; Gorelick, S.; Rajsekhar, D.; Tilmant, A.; Avisse, N.; Harou, J. J.; Medellin-Azuara, J.; Gawel, E.; Klauer, B.; Mustafa, D.; Talozi, S.; Sigel, K.; Zhang, H.

2016-12-01

Our work focuses on development of a multi-agent, hydroeconomic model for water policy evaluation in Jordan. Jordan ranks among the most water-scarce countries in the world, a situation exacerbated due to a recent influx of refugees escaping the ongoing civil war in neighboring Syria. The modular, multi-agent model is used to evaluate interventions for enhancing Jordan's water security, integrating biophysical modules that simulate natural and engineered phenomena with human modules that represent behavior at multiple levels of decision making. The hydrologic modules are developed using spatially-distributed groundwater and surface water models, which are translated into compact simulators for efficient integration into the multi-agent model. For the multi-agent model, we explicitly account for human agency at multiple levels of decision making, with agents representing riparian, management, supplier, and water user groups. Human agents are implemented as autonomous entities in the model that make decisions in relation to one another and in response to hydrologic and socioeconomic conditions. The integrated model is programmed in Python using Pynsim, a generalizable, open-source object-oriented software framework for modeling network-based water resource systems. The modeling time periods include historical (2006-2014) and future (present-2050) time spans. For the historical runs, the model performance is validated against historical data for several observations that reflect the interacting dynamics of both the hydrologic and human components of the system. A historical counterfactual scenario is also constructed to isolate and identify the impacts of the recent Syrian civil war and refugee crisis on Jordan's water system. For the future period, model runs are conducted to evaluate potential supply, demand, and institutional interventions over a wide range of plausible climate and socioeconomic scenarios. In addition, model sensitivity analysis is conducted

An alarm filtering system for an automated process: a multiple-agent approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khoualdi, Kamel

1994-01-01

Nowadays, the supervision process of industrial installations is more and more complex involving the automation of their control. A malfunction generates an avalanche of alarms. The operator, in charge of the supervision, must face the incident and execute right actions to recover a normal situation. Generally, he is drowned under the great number of alarms. Our aim, in the frame of our researches, is to perform an alarm filtering system for an automated metro line, to help the operator finding the main alarm responsible for the malfunction. Our works are divided into two parts, both dealing with study and development of an alarm filtering system but using two different approaches. The first part is developed in the frame of the SARA project (an operator assistance system for an automated metro line) which is an expert system prototype helping the operators of a command center. In this part, a centralized approach has been used representing the events with a single event graph and using a global procedure to perform diagnosis. This approach has itself shown its limits. In the second part of our works, we have considered the distributed artificial intelligence (DAI) techniques, and more especially the multi-agent approach. The multi-agent approach has been motivated by the natural distribution of the metro line equipment and by the fact that each equipment has its own local control and knowledge. Thus, each equipment has been considered as an autonomous agent. Through agents cooperation, the system is able to determine the main alarm and the faulty equipment responsible for the incident. A prototype, written in SPIRAL (a tool for knowledge-based system) is running on a workstation. This prototype has allowed the concretization and the validation of our multi-agent approach. (author) [fr

Capturing multi-stage fuzzy uncertainties in hybrid system dynamics and agent-based models for enhancing policy implementation in health systems research.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Shiyong; Triantis, Konstantinos P; Zhao, Li; Wang, Youfa

2018-01-01

In practical research, it was found that most people made health-related decisions not based on numerical data but on perceptions. Examples include the perceptions and their corresponding linguistic values of health risks such as, smoking, syringe sharing, eating energy-dense food, drinking sugar-sweetened beverages etc. For the sake of understanding the mechanisms that affect the implementations of health-related interventions, we employ fuzzy variables to quantify linguistic variable in healthcare modeling where we employ an integrated system dynamics and agent-based model. In a nonlinear causal-driven simulation environment driven by feedback loops, we mathematically demonstrate how interventions at an aggregate level affect the dynamics of linguistic variables that are captured by fuzzy agents and how interactions among fuzzy agents, at the same time, affect the formation of different clusters(groups) that are targeted by specific interventions. In this paper, we provide an innovative framework to capture multi-stage fuzzy uncertainties manifested among interacting heterogeneous agents (individuals) and intervention decisions that affect homogeneous agents (groups of individuals) in a hybrid model that combines an agent-based simulation model (ABM) and a system dynamics models (SDM). Having built the platform to incorporate high-dimension data in a hybrid ABM/SDM model, this paper demonstrates how one can obtain the state variable behaviors in the SDM and the corresponding values of linguistic variables in the ABM. This research provides a way to incorporate high-dimension data in a hybrid ABM/SDM model. This research not only enriches the application of fuzzy set theory by capturing the dynamics of variables associated with interacting fuzzy agents that lead to aggregate behaviors but also informs implementation research by enabling the incorporation of linguistic variables at both individual and institutional levels, which makes unstructured linguistic data

A Multi-Agent Control Architecture for a Robotic Wheelchair

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

C. Galindo

2006-01-01

Full Text Available Assistant robots like robotic wheelchairs can perform an effective and valuable work in our daily lives. However, they eventually may need external help from humans in the robot environment (particularly, the driver in the case of a wheelchair to accomplish safely and efficiently some tricky tasks for the current technology, i.e. opening a locked door, traversing a crowded area, etc. This article proposes a control architecture for assistant robots designed under a multi-agent perspective that facilitates the participation of humans into the robotic system and improves the overall performance of the robot as well as its dependability. Within our design, agents have their own intentions and beliefs, have different abilities (that include algorithmic behaviours and human skills and also learn autonomously the most convenient method to carry out their actions through reinforcement learning. The proposed architecture is illustrated with a real assistant robot: a robotic wheelchair that provides mobility to impaired or elderly people.

A novel multi-agent decentralized win or learn fast policy hill-climbing with eligibility trace algorithm for smart generation control of interconnected complex power grids

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xi, Lei; Yu, Tao; Yang, Bo; Zhang, Xiaoshun

2015-01-01

Highlights: • Proposing a decentralized smart generation control scheme for the automatic generation control coordination. • A novel multi-agent learning algorithm is developed to resolve stochastic control problems in power systems. • A variable learning rate are introduced base on the framework of stochastic games. • A simulation platform is developed to test the performance of different algorithms. - Abstract: This paper proposes a multi-agent smart generation control scheme for the automatic generation control coordination in interconnected complex power systems. A novel multi-agent decentralized win or learn fast policy hill-climbing with eligibility trace algorithm is developed, which can effectively identify the optimal average policies via a variable learning rate under various operation conditions. Based on control performance standards, the proposed approach is implemented in a flexible multi-agent stochastic dynamic game-based smart generation control simulation platform. Based on the mixed strategy and average policy, it is highly adaptive in stochastic non-Markov environments and large time-delay systems, which can fulfill automatic generation control coordination in interconnected complex power systems in the presence of increasing penetration of decentralized renewable energy. Two case studies on both a two-area load–frequency control power system and the China Southern Power Grid model have been done. Simulation results verify that multi-agent smart generation control scheme based on the proposed approach can obtain optimal average policies thus improve the closed-loop system performances, and can achieve a fast convergence rate with significant robustness compared with other methods

System-Awareness for Agent-based Power System Control

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Heussen, Kai; Saleem, Arshad; Lind, Morten

2010-01-01

transition. This paper presents a concept for the representation and organization of control- and resource-allocation, enabling computational reasoning and system awareness. The principles are discussed with respect to a recently proposed Subgrid operation concept.......Operational intelligence in electric power systems is focused in a small number of control rooms that coordinate their actions. A clear division of responsibility and a command hierarchy organize system operation. With multi-agent based control systems, this control paradigm may be shifted...... to a more decentralized openaccess collaboration control paradigm. This shift cannot happen at once, but must fit also with current operation principles. In order to establish a scalable and transparent system control architecture, organizing principles have to be identified that allow for a smooth...

Research on e-commerce transaction networks using multi-agent modelling and open application programming interface

Science.gov (United States)

Piao, Chunhui; Han, Xufang; Wu, Harris

2010-08-01

We provide a formal definition of an e-commerce transaction network. Agent-based modelling is used to simulate e-commerce transaction networks. For real-world analysis, we studied the open application programming interfaces (APIs) from eBay and Taobao e-commerce websites and captured real transaction data. Pajek is used to visualise the agent relationships in the transaction network. We derived one-mode networks from the transaction network and analysed them using degree and betweenness centrality. Integrating multi-agent modelling, open APIs and social network analysis, we propose a new way to study large-scale e-commerce systems.

A Framework for Organization-Aware Agents

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Andreas Schmidt; Dignum, Virginia; Villadsen, Jørgen

2016-01-01

This short paper introduces and summarizes the AORTA reasoning framework that can be integrated into BDI-agents to enable organizational decision-making. This work has recently been published in the Journal of Autonomous Agents and Multi-Agent Systems (JAAMAS), as [3].......This short paper introduces and summarizes the AORTA reasoning framework that can be integrated into BDI-agents to enable organizational decision-making. This work has recently been published in the Journal of Autonomous Agents and Multi-Agent Systems (JAAMAS), as [3]....

Design and Implementation of Multi Agent-based Information Fusion System for Supporting Decision Making (A Case Study on Military Operation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Arwin Datumaya Wahyudi Sumari

2008-05-01

Full Text Available Quick, accurate, and complete information is highly required for supporting strategically impact decision making in a Military Operation (MO in order to reduce the decision cycle and to minimize the loss. For that purpose, we propose, design and implement a hierarchical Multi Agent-based Information Fusion System for Decision Making Support (MAIFS-DMS. The information fusion is implemented by applying Maximum Score of the Total Sum of Joint Probabilities (MSJP fusion method and is done by a collection of Information Fusion Agents (IFA that forms a multiagent system. MAIFS uses a combination of generalization of Dasarathy and Joint Director’s Laboratory (JDL process models for information fusion mechanism. Information fusion products that are displayed in graphical forms provide comprehensive information regarding the MO area dynamics. By observing the graphics resulted from the information fusion, the commandant will have situational awareness and knowledge in order to make the most accurate strategic decision as fast as possible

Designing multi-targeted agents: An emerging anticancer drug discovery paradigm.

Science.gov (United States)

Fu, Rong-Geng; Sun, Yuan; Sheng, Wen-Bing; Liao, Duan-Fang

2017-08-18

The dominant paradigm in drug discovery is to design ligands with maximum selectivity to act on individual drug targets. With the target-based approach, many new chemical entities have been discovered, developed, and further approved as drugs. However, there are a large number of complex diseases such as cancer that cannot be effectively treated or cured only with one medicine to modulate the biological function of a single target. As simultaneous intervention of two (or multiple) cancer progression relevant targets has shown improved therapeutic efficacy, the innovation of multi-targeted drugs has become a promising and prevailing research topic and numerous multi-targeted anticancer agents are currently at various developmental stages. However, most multi-pharmacophore scaffolds are usually discovered by serendipity or screening, while rational design by combining existing pharmacophore scaffolds remains an enormous challenge. In this review, four types of multi-pharmacophore modes are discussed, and the examples from literature will be used to introduce attractive lead compounds with the capability of simultaneously interfering with different enzyme or signaling pathway of cancer progression, which will reveal the trends and insights to help the design of the next generation multi-targeted anticancer agents. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Layered Learning in Multi-Agent Systems

Science.gov (United States)

1998-12-15

project almost from the beginning has tirelessly experimented with different robot architectures, always managing to pull things together and create...TEAM MEMBER AGENT ARCHITECTURE I " ! Midfielder, Left : • i ) ( ^ J Goalie , Center Home Coordinates Home Range Max Range Figure

Modelling Implicit Communication in Multi-Agent Systems with Hybrid Input/Output Automata

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marta Capiluppi

2012-10-01

Full Text Available We propose an extension of Hybrid I/O Automata (HIOAs to model agent systems and their implicit communication through perturbation of the environment, like localization of objects or radio signals diffusion and detection. To this end we decided to specialize some variables of the HIOAs whose values are functions both of time and space. We call them world variables. Basically they are treated similarly to the other variables of HIOAs, but they have the function of representing the interaction of each automaton with the surrounding environment, hence they can be output, input or internal variables. Since these special variables have the role of simulating implicit communication, their dynamics are specified both in time and space, because they model the perturbations induced by the agent to the environment, and the perturbations of the environment as perceived by the agent. Parallel composition of world variables is slightly different from parallel composition of the other variables, since their signals are summed. The theory is illustrated through a simple example of agents systems.

Finite-time and fixed-time leader-following consensus for multi-agent systems with discontinuous inherent dynamics

Science.gov (United States)

Ning, Boda; Jin, Jiong; Zheng, Jinchuan; Man, Zhihong

2018-06-01

This paper is concerned with finite-time and fixed-time consensus of multi-agent systems in a leader-following framework. Different from conventional leader-following tracking approaches where inherent dynamics satisfying the Lipschitz continuous condition is required, a more generalised case is investigated: discontinuous inherent dynamics. By nonsmooth techniques, a nonlinear protocol is first proposed to achieve the finite-time leader-following consensus. Then, based on fixed-time stability strategies, the fixed-time leader-following consensus problem is solved. An upper bound of settling time is obtained by using a new protocol, and such a bound is independent of initial states, thereby providing additional options for designers in practical scenarios where initial conditions are unavailable. Finally, numerical simulations are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the theoretical results.

Multi-Agent System for Recruiting Patients for Clinical Trials

Science.gov (United States)

2014-05-01

Managing Agent: The Trial Managing Agent has been implemented in Java , with support from a MySQL back-end database. This is used to conveniently exchange...these principles via simulation. • Recruitment Agent: The Recruitment Agent has been imple- mented in Java and has been used by 124 GPs so far

Constructing Secure Mobile Agent Systems Using the Agent Operating System

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van t Noordende, G.J.; Overeinder, B.J.; Timmer, R.J.; Brazier, F.M.; Tanenbaum, A.S.

2009-01-01

Designing a secure and reliable mobile agent system is a difficult task. The agent operating system (AOS) is a building block that simplifies this task. AOS provides common primitives required by most mobile agent middleware systems, such as primitives for secure communication, secure and

IMPERA: Integrated Mission Planning for Multi-Robot Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daniel Saur

2015-10-01

Full Text Available This paper presents the results of the project IMPERA (Integrated Mission Planning for Distributed Robot Systems. The goal of IMPERA was to realize an extraterrestrial exploration scenario using a heterogeneous multi-robot system. The main challenge was the development of a multi-robot planning and plan execution architecture. The robot team consists of three heterogeneous robots, which have to explore an unknown environment and collect lunar drill samples. The team activities are described using the language ALICA (A Language for Interactive Agents. Furthermore, we use the mission planning system pRoPhEt MAS (Reactive Planning Engine for Multi-Agent Systems to provide an intuitive interface to generate team activities. Therefore, we define the basic skills of our team with ALICA and define the desired goal states by using a logic description. Based on the skills, pRoPhEt MAS creates a valid ALICA plan, which will be executed by the team. The paper describes the basic components for communication, coordinated exploration, perception and object transportation. Finally, we evaluate the planning engine pRoPhEt MAS in the IMPERA scenario. In addition, we present further evaluation of pRoPhEt MAS in more dynamic environments.

Formation of Robust Multi-Agent Networks through Self-Organizing Random Regular Graphs

KAUST Repository

Yasin Yazicioǧlu, A.; Egerstedt, Magnus; Shamma, Jeff S.

2015-01-01

Multi-Agent networks are often modeled as interaction graphs, where the nodes represent the agents and the edges denote some direct interactions. The robustness of a multi-Agent network to perturbations such as failures, noise, or malicious attacks largely depends on the corresponding graph. In many applications, networks are desired to have well-connected interaction graphs with relatively small number of links. One family of such graphs is the random regular graphs. In this paper, we present a decentralized scheme for transforming any connected interaction graph with a possibly non-integer average degree of k into a connected random m-regular graph for some m ϵ [k+k ] 2. Accordingly, the agents improve the robustness of the network while maintaining a similar number of links as the initial configuration by locally adding or removing some edges. © 2015 IEEE.

Formation of Robust Multi-Agent Networks through Self-Organizing Random Regular Graphs

KAUST Repository

Yasin Yazicioǧlu, A.

2015-11-25

Multi-Agent networks are often modeled as interaction graphs, where the nodes represent the agents and the edges denote some direct interactions. The robustness of a multi-Agent network to perturbations such as failures, noise, or malicious attacks largely depends on the corresponding graph. In many applications, networks are desired to have well-connected interaction graphs with relatively small number of links. One family of such graphs is the random regular graphs. In this paper, we present a decentralized scheme for transforming any connected interaction graph with a possibly non-integer average degree of k into a connected random m-regular graph for some m ϵ [k+k ] 2. Accordingly, the agents improve the robustness of the network while maintaining a similar number of links as the initial configuration by locally adding or removing some edges. © 2015 IEEE.

Distributed optimization-based control of multi-agent networks in complex environments

CERN Document Server

Zhu, Minghui

2015-01-01

This book offers a concise and in-depth exposition of specific algorithmic solutions for distributed optimization based control of multi-agent networks and their performance analysis. It synthesizes and analyzes distributed strategies for three collaborative tasks: distributed cooperative optimization, mobile sensor deployment and multi-vehicle formation control. The book integrates miscellaneous ideas and tools from dynamic systems, control theory, graph theory, optimization, game theory and Markov chains to address the particular challenges introduced by such complexities in the environment as topological dynamics, environmental uncertainties, and potential cyber-attack by human adversaries. The book is written for first- or second-year graduate students in a variety of engineering disciplines, including control, robotics, decision-making, optimization and algorithms and with backgrounds in aerospace engineering, computer science, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering and operations research. Resea...

Irrigation System through Intelligent Agents Implemented with Arduino Technology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rodolfo SALAZAR

2013-11-01

Full Text Available The water has become in recent years a valuable and increasingly scarce. Its proper use in agriculture has demanded incorporate new technologies, mainly in the area of ICT. In this paper we present a smart irrigation system based on multi-agent architecture using fuzzy logic. The architecture incorporates different types of intelligent agents that an autonomous way monitor and are responsible for deciding if required enable / disable the irrigation system. This project proposes a real and innovative solution to the problem of inadequate water use with current irrigation systems employed in agricultural projects. This article presents the different technologies used, their adaptation to the solution of the problem and briefly discusses the first results obtained.

A Multi Agent Based Model for Airport Service Planning

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

W.H. Ip

2010-09-01

Full Text Available Aviation industry is highly dynamic and demanding in nature that time and safety are the two most important factors while one of the major sources of delay is aircraft on ground because of it complexity, a lot of machinery like vehicles are involved and lots of communication are involved. As one of the aircraft ground services providers in Hong Kong International Airport, China Aircraft Services Limited (CASL aims to increase competitiveness by better its service provided while minimizing cost is also needed. One of the ways is to optimize the number of maintenance vehicles allocated in order to minimize chance of delay and also operating costs. In the paper, an agent-based model is proposed for support decision making in vehicle allocation. The overview of the aircrafts ground services procedures is firstly mentioned with different optimization methods suggested by researchers. Then, the agent-based approach is introduced and in the latter part of report and a multi-agent system is built and proposed which is decision supportive for CASL in optimizing the maintenance vehicles' allocation. The application provides flexibility for inputting number of different kinds of vehicles, simulation duration and aircraft arrival rate in order to simulation different scenarios which occurs in HKIA.

An intelligent spatial land use planning support system using socially rational agents

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ghavami, S.M.; Taleai, M.; Arentze, T.A.

2017-01-01

This research presents an intelligent planning support system based on multi-agent systems for spatial urban land use planning. The proposed system consists of two main phases: a pre-negotiation phase and an automated negotiation phase. The pre-negotiation phase involves interaction between human

RANA, a real-time multi-agent system simulator

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jørgensen, Søren Vissing; Demazeau, Yves; Hallam, John

2016-01-01

for individualisation and abstraction while retaining efficiency. Events are managed by the C++ simulator core. Full run state can be recorded for post-processed visualisation or analysis. The new tool is demonstrated in three different cases: a mining robot simulation, which is purely action based; an agent......-based setup that is verifies the high precision exhibited by RANAs simulation core; and a state-based firefly-like agent simulation that models real-time responses to fellow agents' signals, in which event propagation and reception affect the result of the simulation....

Multi-dimensional information diffusion and balancing market supply: an agent-based approach

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Osinga, S.A.; Kramer, M.R.; Hofstede, G.J.; Beulens, A.J.M.

2013-01-01

This agent-based information management model is designed to explore how multi-dimensional information, spreading through a population of agents (for example farmers) affects market supply. Farmers make quality decisions that must be aligned with available markets. Markets distinguish themselves by

Multi-agent Pareto appointment exchanging in hospital patient scheduling

NARCIS (Netherlands)

I.B. Vermeulen (Ivan); S.M. Bohte (Sander); D.J.A. Somefun (Koye); J.A. La Poutré (Han)

2007-01-01

htmlabstractWe present a dynamic and distributed approach to the hospital patient scheduling problem, in which patients can have multiple appointments that have to be scheduled to different resources. To efficiently solve this problem we develop a multi-agent Pareto-improvement appointment

Multi-agent Pareto appointment exchanging in hospital patient scheduling

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vermeulen, I.B.; Bohté, S.M.; Somefun, D.J.A.; Poutré, La J.A.

2007-01-01

We present a dynamic and distributed approach to the hospital patient scheduling problem, in which patients can have multiple appointments that have to be scheduled to different resources. To efficiently solve this problem we develop a multi-agent Pareto-improvement appointment exchanging algorithm:

Enhanced risk management by an emerging multi-agent architecture

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Sin-Jin; Hsu, Ming-Fu

2014-07-01

Classification in imbalanced datasets has attracted much attention from researchers in the field of machine learning. Most existing techniques tend not to perform well on minority class instances when the dataset is highly skewed because they focus on minimising the forecasting error without considering the relative distribution of each class. This investigation proposes an emerging multi-agent architecture, grounded on cooperative learning, to solve the class-imbalanced classification problem. Additionally, this study deals further with the obscure nature of the multi-agent architecture and expresses comprehensive rules for auditors. The results from this study indicate that the presented model performs satisfactorily in risk management and is able to tackle a highly class-imbalanced dataset comparatively well. Furthermore, the knowledge visualised process, supported by real examples, can assist both internal and external auditors who must allocate limited detecting resources; they can take the rules as roadmaps to modify the auditing programme.

An Intelligent Fleet Condition-Based Maintenance Decision Making Method Based on Multi-Agent

OpenAIRE

Bo Sun; Qiang Feng; Songjie Li

2012-01-01

According to the demand for condition-based maintenance online decision making among a mission oriented fleet, an intelligent maintenance decision making method based on Multi-agent and heuristic rules is proposed. The process of condition-based maintenance within an aircraft fleet (each containing one or more Line Replaceable Modules) based on multiple maintenance thresholds is analyzed. Then the process is abstracted into a Multi-Agent Model, a 2-layer model structure containing host negoti...

Distributed multi-agent based coordinated power management and control strategy for microgrids with distributed energy resources

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rahman, M.S.; Oo, A.M.T.

2017-01-01

Highlights: • Agent-based energy management and control scheme is designed for power sharing. • Distributed agent communication topology is formed by the graph theory. • Proposed scheme is capable of dynamically adapt to the change in system conditions. • Multi-agent coordination is achieved through information exchange. • Proposed power sharing strategy ensures the reliability of energy supply. - Abstract: In this paper, a distributed peer-to-peer multi-agent framework is proposed for managing the power sharing in microgrids with power electronic inverter-interfaced distributed energy resources (DERs). Recently, the introduction of electric vehicles (EVs) has gained much popularity by offering vehicle-to-home (V2H) technologies to support the sustainable operation of microgrids. Since microgrids often exhibit volatile characteristics due to natural intermittency and uncertainty, it is necessary to maintain the balancing of generation and demand through the proper management of power sharing. Therefore, the main purpose of this paper is to design an agent-based control framework to ensure the coordinated power management within the microgrids through effective utilization of EVs. The required agent communication framework is adhered to the graph theory where the control agents interact with each other using local as well as neighboring information and their distributed coordination effectively steers the proportional sharing of real and reactive powers among the inverter-interfaced EVs to maintain the stability of microgrids. The well known Ziegler-Nichols method is used to tune the proportional-integral (PI) controller of the inner current control loop within each individual control agent to perform necessary shared control tasks. A microgrid with solar photovoltaic (PV) and V2H systems is chosen to illustrate the results and it is seen that the proposed scheme improves the system performance in a smarter way through information exchange. Furthermore

Multi-Agent Market Modeling of Foreign Exchange Rates

Science.gov (United States)

Zimmermann, Georg; Neuneier, Ralph; Grothmann, Ralph

A market mechanism is basically driven by a superposition of decisions of many agents optimizing their profit. The oeconomic price dynamic is a consequence of the cumulated excess demand/supply created on this micro level. The behavior analysis of a small number of agents is well understood through the game theory. In case of a large number of agents one may use the limiting case that an individual agent does not have an influence on the market, which allows the aggregation of agents by statistic methods. In contrast to this restriction, we can omit the assumption of an atomic market structure, if we model the market through a multi-agent approach. The contribution of the mathematical theory of neural networks to the market price formation is mostly seen on the econometric side: neural networks allow the fitting of high dimensional nonlinear dynamic models. Furthermore, in our opinion, there is a close relationship between economics and the modeling ability of neural networks because a neuron can be interpreted as a simple model of decision making. With this in mind, a neural network models the interaction of many decisions and, hence, can be interpreted as the price formation mechanism of a market.

Formalizing Knowledge in Multi-Scale Agent-Based Simulations.

Science.gov (United States)

Somogyi, Endre; Sluka, James P; Glazier, James A

2016-10-01

Multi-scale, agent-based simulations of cellular and tissue biology are increasingly common. These simulations combine and integrate a range of components from different domains. Simulations continuously create, destroy and reorganize constituent elements causing their interactions to dynamically change. For example, the multi-cellular tissue development process coordinates molecular, cellular and tissue scale objects with biochemical, biomechanical, spatial and behavioral processes to form a dynamic network. Different domain specific languages can describe these components in isolation, but cannot describe their interactions. No current programming language is designed to represent in human readable and reusable form the domain specific knowledge contained in these components and interactions. We present a new hybrid programming language paradigm that naturally expresses the complex multi-scale objects and dynamic interactions in a unified way and allows domain knowledge to be captured, searched, formalized, extracted and reused.

Distributed decision-making in electric power system transmission maintenance scheduling using multi-agent systems (MAS)

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Zhong

In this work, motivated by the need to coordinate transmission maintenance scheduling among a multiplicity of self-interested entities in restructured power industry, a distributed decision support framework based on multiagent negotiation systems (MANS) is developed. An innovative risk-based transmission maintenance optimization procedure is introduced. Several models for linking condition monitoring information to the equipment's instantaneous failure probability are presented, which enable quantitative evaluation of the effectiveness of maintenance activities in terms of system cumulative risk reduction. Methodologies of statistical processing, equipment deterioration evaluation and time-dependent failure probability calculation are also described. A novel framework capable of facilitating distributed decision-making through multiagent negotiation is developed. A multiagent negotiation model is developed and illustrated that accounts for uncertainty and enables social rationality. Some issues of multiagent negotiation convergence and scalability are discussed. The relationships between agent-based negotiation and auction systems are also identified. A four-step MAS design methodology for constructing multiagent systems for power system applications is presented. A generic multiagent negotiation system, capable of inter-agent communication and distributed decision support through inter-agent negotiations, is implemented. A multiagent system framework for facilitating the automated integration of condition monitoring information and maintenance scheduling for power transformers is developed. Simulations of multiagent negotiation-based maintenance scheduling among several independent utilities are provided. It is shown to be a viable alternative solution paradigm to the traditional centralized optimization approach in today's deregulated environment. This multiagent system framework not only facilitates the decision-making among competing power system entities, but

A Multi-task Principal Agent Model for Knowledge Contribution of Enterprise Staff

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chengyi LE

2016-10-01

Full Text Available According to the different behavior characteristics of knowledge contribution of enterprise employees, a multi-task principal-agent relationship of knowledge contribution between enterprise and employees is established based on principal-agent theory, analyzing staff’s knowledge contribution behavior of knowledge creation and knowledge participation. Based on this, a multi-task principal agent model for knowledge contribution of enterprise staff is developed to formulate the asymmetry of information in knowledge contribution Then, a set of incentive measures are derived from the theoretic model, aiming to prompt the knowledge contribution in enterprise. The result shows that staff’s knowledge creation behavior and positive participation behavior can influence and further promote each other Enterprise should set up respective target levels of both knowledge creation contribution and knowledge participation contribution and make them irreplaceable to each other. This work contributes primarily to the development of the literature on knowledge management and principal-agent theory. In addition, the applicability of the findings will be improved by further empirical analysis.

Parallel Computational Intelligence-Based Multi-Camera Surveillance System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sergio Orts-Escolano

2014-04-01

Full Text Available In this work, we present a multi-camera surveillance system based on the use of self-organizing neural networks to represent events on video. The system processes several tasks in parallel using GPUs (graphic processor units. It addresses multiple vision tasks at various levels, such as segmentation, representation or characterization, analysis and monitoring of the movement. These features allow the construction of a robust representation of the environment and interpret the behavior of mobile agents in the scene. It is also necessary to integrate the vision module into a global system that operates in a complex environment by receiving images from multiple acquisition devices at video frequency. Offering relevant information to higher level systems, monitoring and making decisions in real time, it must accomplish a set of requirements, such as: time constraints, high availability, robustness, high processing speed and re-configurability. We have built a system able to represent and analyze the motion in video acquired by a multi-camera network and to process multi-source data in parallel on a multi-GPU architecture.

Intelligence Artificielle Distribuée Et Gestion Des Connaissances : Ontologies Et Systèmes Multi-Agents Pour Un Web Sémantique Organisationnel

OpenAIRE

Gandon , Fabien

2002-01-01

This work concerns multi-agents systems for the management of a corporate semantic web based on an ontology. It was carried out in the context of the European project CoMMA focusing on two application scenarios: support technology monitoring activities and assist the integration of a new employee to the organisation. Three aspects were essentially developed in this work: the design of a multi-agents architecture supporting both scenarios, and the organisational top-down approach followed to i...

Observer-based distributed adaptive fault-tolerant containment control of multi-agent systems with general linear dynamics.

Science.gov (United States)

Ye, Dan; Chen, Mengmeng; Li, Kui

2017-11-01

In this paper, we consider the distributed containment control problem of multi-agent systems with actuator bias faults based on observer method. The objective is to drive the followers into the convex hull spanned by the dynamic leaders, where the input is unknown but bounded. By constructing an observer to estimate the states and bias faults, an effective distributed adaptive fault-tolerant controller is developed. Different from the traditional method, an auxiliary controller gain is designed to deal with the unknown inputs and bias faults together. Moreover, the coupling gain can be adjusted online through the adaptive mechanism without using the global information. Furthermore, the proposed control protocol can guarantee that all the signals of the closed-loop systems are bounded and all the followers converge to the convex hull with bounded residual errors formed by the dynamic leaders. Finally, a decoupled linearized longitudinal motion model of the F-18 aircraft is used to demonstrate the effectiveness. Copyright © 2017 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Multi-agent System for Off-line Coordinated Motion Planning of Multiple Industrial Robots

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shital S. Chiddarwar

2011-03-01

Full Text Available This article presents an agent based framework for coordinated motion planning of multiple robots. The emerging paradigm of agent based systems is implemented to address various issues related to safe and fast task execution when multiple robots share a common workspace. In the proposed agent based framework, each issue vital for coordinated motion planning of multiple robots and every robot participating in coordinated task is considered as an agent. The identified agents are interfaced with each other in order to incorporate the desired flexibility in the developed framework. This framework gives a complete strategy for determination of optimal trajectories of robots working in coordination with due consideration to their kinematic, dynamic and payload constraint. The complete architecture of the proposed framework and the detailed discussion on various modules are covered in this paper.

An Agent Based Modelling Approach for Multi-Stakeholder Analysis of City Logistics Solutions

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Anand, N.

2015-01-01

This thesis presents a comprehensive framework for multi-stakeholder analysis of city logistics solutions using agent based modeling. The framework describes different stages for the systematic development of an agent based model for the city logistics domain. The framework includes a

electrónica en sistemas multi-agente

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

MARCELA PASTRANA DAVID

2008-01-01

Full Text Available El objetivo del trabajo presentado en este artículo consiste en la definición de un método de comparación basado en la aplicación de métricas de calidad elaboradas con el fin de medir protocolos de negociación electrónica en entornos Multi-Agente. Para la comparación de los protocolos se escogen los siguientes criterios de calidad: Rapidez, Eficiencia, Escalabilidad y Completitud. Para la aplicación y validación del método de Comparación se implementan dos prototipos de negociación electrónica basados en las subastas inglesa y holandesa, utilizando la plataforma JADE (Java Agents DEvelopment Framework y se obtuvieron resultados preliminares de su comportamiento los cuales fueron analizados y se sacaron las conclusiones respectivas.

Multi-agent coordination algorithms for control of distributed energy resources in smart grids

Science.gov (United States)

Cortes, Andres

Sustainable energy is a top-priority for researchers these days, since electricity and transportation are pillars of modern society. Integration of clean energy technologies such as wind, solar, and plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs), is a major engineering challenge in operation and management of power systems. This is due to the uncertain nature of renewable energy technologies and the large amount of extra load that PEVs would add to the power grid. Given the networked structure of a power system, multi-agent control and optimization strategies are natural approaches to address the various problems of interest for the safe and reliable operation of the power grid. The distributed computation in multi-agent algorithms addresses three problems at the same time: i) it allows for the handling of problems with millions of variables that a single processor cannot compute, ii) it allows certain independence and privacy to electricity customers by not requiring any usage information, and iii) it is robust to localized failures in the communication network, being able to solve problems by simply neglecting the failing section of the system. We propose various algorithms to coordinate storage, generation, and demand resources in a power grid using multi-agent computation and decentralized decision making. First, we introduce a hierarchical vehicle-one-grid (V1G) algorithm for coordination of PEVs under usage constraints, where energy only flows from the grid in to the batteries of PEVs. We then present a hierarchical vehicle-to-grid (V2G) algorithm for PEV coordination that takes into consideration line capacity constraints in the distribution grid, and where energy flows both ways, from the grid in to the batteries, and from the batteries to the grid. Next, we develop a greedy-like hierarchical algorithm for management of demand response events with on/off loads. Finally, we introduce distributed algorithms for the optimal control of distributed energy resources, i

An Agent-based Manufacturing Management System for Production and Logistics within Cross-Company Regional and National Production Networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

T. Hanel

2008-11-01

Full Text Available The goal is the development of a simultaneous, dynamic, technological as well as logistical real-time planning and an organizational control of the production by the production units themselves, working in the production network under the use of Multi-Agent-Technology. The design of the multi-agent-based manufacturing management system, the models of the single agents, algorithms for the agent-based, decentralized dispatching of orders, strategies and data management concepts as well as their integration into the SCM, basing on the solution described, will be explained in the following.

An Agent-Based Manufacturing Management System for Production and Logistics within Cross-Company Regional and National Production Networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. Heinrich

2005-03-01

Full Text Available The goal is the development of a simultaneous, dynamic, technological as well as logistical real-time planning and an organizational control of the production by the production units themselves, working in the production network under the use of Multi-Agent-Technology. The design of the multi-agent-based manufacturing management system, the models of the single agents, algorithms for the agent-based, decentralized dispatching of orders, strategies and data management concepts as well as their integration into the SCM, basing on the solution described, will be explained in the following.

A multi-agent architecture for sharing knowledge and experimental data about waste water treatment plants through the Internet

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abu Yaman, I. R.; Kerckhoffs, J. E.

1998-01-01

In this paper, we present a first prototype of a local multi-agent architecture for the sharing of knowledge and experimental data about waste water treatment plants through the Internet, or more specifically the WWW. Applying a net browser such as nets cape, a user can have access to a CLIPS expert system (advising on waste water cleaning technologies) and experimental data files. The discussed local prototype is part of proposed global agent architecture. (authors)

A multi-agent approach to intelligent monitoring in smart grids

Science.gov (United States)

Vallejo, D.; Albusac, J.; Glez-Morcillo, C.; Castro-Schez, J. J.; Jiménez, L.

2014-04-01

In this paper, we propose a scalable multi-agent architecture to give support to smart grids, paying special attention to the intelligent monitoring of distribution substations. The data gathered by multiple sensors are used by software agents that are responsible for monitoring different aspects or events of interest, such as normal voltage values or unbalanced intensity values that can end up blowing fuses and decreasing the quality of service of end consumers. The knowledge bases of these agents have been built by means of a formal model for normality analysis that has been successfully used in other surveillance domains. The architecture facilitates the integration of new agents and can be easily configured and deployed to monitor different environments. The experiments have been conducted over a power distribution network.

The application of dynamic micro-simulation model of urban planning based on multi-agent system

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, J.; Shiming, W.

2012-12-01

The dynamic micro-simulation model of urban planning based on multi-agent, is mainly used to measure and predict the impact of the policy on urban land use, employment opportunities and the price of real estate. The representation of the supply and characteristics of land and of real estate development, at a spatial scale. The use of real estate markets as a central organizing focus, with consumer choices and supplier choices explicitly represented, as well as the resulting effects on real estate prices. The relationship of agents to real estate tied to specific locations provided a clean accounting of space and its use. Finally, it will produce a map composited with the dynamic demographic distribution and the dynamic employment transfer by the geographic spatial data. With the data produced by the urban micro-simulation model, it can provide the favorable forecast reference for the scientific urban land use.

Vehicle-based interactive management with multi-agent approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yee Ming Chen

2009-09-01

Full Text Available Under the energy crisis and global warming, mass transportation becomes more important than before. The disadvantages of mass transportation, plus the high flexibility and efficiency of taxi and with the revolution of technology, electric-taxi is the better transportation choice for metropolis. On the other hand, among the many taxi service types, dial-a-ride (DAR service system is the better way for passenger and taxi. However the electricity replenishing of electric-taxi is the biggest shortage and constraint for DAR operation system. In order to more effectively manage the electric-taxi DAR operation system and the lots of disadvantages of physical system and observe the behaviors and interactions of simulation system, multi-agent simulation technique is the most suitable simulation technique. Finally, we use virtual data as the input of simulation system and analyze the simulation result. We successfully obtain two performance measures: average waiting time and service rate. Result shows the average waiting time is only 3.93 seconds and the service rate (total transport passenger number / total passenger number is 37.073%. So these two performance measures can support us to make management decisions. The multiagent oriented model put forward in this article is the subject of an application intended in the long term to supervise the user information system of an urban transport network.

Knowledge Management in Role Based Agents

Science.gov (United States)

Kır, Hüseyin; Ekinci, Erdem Eser; Dikenelli, Oguz

In multi-agent system literature, the role concept is getting increasingly researched to provide an abstraction to scope beliefs, norms, goals of agents and to shape relationships of the agents in the organization. In this research, we propose a knowledgebase architecture to increase applicability of roles in MAS domain by drawing inspiration from the self concept in the role theory of sociology. The proposed knowledgebase architecture has granulated structure that is dynamically organized according to the agent's identification in a social environment. Thanks to this dynamic structure, agents are enabled to work on consistent knowledge in spite of inevitable conflicts between roles and the agent. The knowledgebase architecture is also implemented and incorporated into the SEAGENT multi-agent system development framework.

A New Generation of Thermal Desorption Technology Incorporating Multi Mode Sampling (NRT/DAAMS/Liquid Agent) for Both on and off Line Analysis of Trace Level Airbone Chemical Warfare Agents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Roberts, G. M.

2007-01-01

A multi functional, twin-trap, electrically-cooled thermal desorption (TD) system (TT24-7) will be discussed for the analysis of airborne trace level chemical warfare agents. This technology can operate in both military environments (CW stockpile, or destruction facilities) and civilian locations where it is used to monitor for accidental or terrorist release of acutely toxic substances. The TD system interfaces to GC, GCMS or direct MS analytical platforms and provides for on-line continuous air monitoring with no sampling time blind spots and within a near real time (NRT) context. Using this technology enables on-line sub ppt levels of agent detection from a vapour sample. In addition to continuous sampling the system has the capacity for off-line single (DAAMS) tube analysis and the ability to receive an external liquid agent injection. The multi mode sampling functionality provides considerable flexibility to the TD system, allowing continuous monitoring of an environment for toxic substances plus the ability to analyse calibration standards. A calibration solution can be introduced via a conventional sampling tube on to either cold trap or as a direct liquid injection using a conventional capillary split/splitless injection port within a gas chromatograph. Low level (linearity) data will be supplied showing the TT24-7 analyzing a variety of CW compounds including free (underivitised) VX using the three sampling modes described above. Stepwise changes in vapor generated agent concentrations will be shown, and this is cross referenced against direct liquid agent introduction, and the tube sampling modes. This technology is in use today in several geographies around the world in both static and mobile analytical laboratories. (author)

Multi-Agent System Based Special Protection and Emergency Control Scheme against Cascading Events in Power System

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)