Multi-Agent Systems (MAS) Tom Holvoet Dept. Computer Science, KULeuven Research group on Distributed Systems and Computer Networks

Topic 1: Introduction background course material goals / contents /... class sessions / practical work examination practical information course overview …

MAS course: objectives / content MAS course Software Engineering using Multi-Agent Systems  situate MAS in “mainstream software engineering” mostly distributed software engineering just a few topics in this course, and even then, just fragments of these topics  general perspective  typical agent architectures  interaction  communication  ant-like systems  …  “Agents are 99% computer science, and 1% A.I.” (Etzioni)

MAS course: objectives / content After this course, you should be able to…  Situate multi-agent systems in a software engineering perspective  Judging the usefulness of a multi-agent system for distributed problem solving  Make well-founded decisions in defining multi-agent system software architectures, including Agents Agent behavior architecture Coordination schemes  Message-based vs. envrironment-centric coordination taking into account non-functional requirements of scalability, flexibility, adaptability

MAS prerequisites object-oriented programming exercises terminology software development basic terminology of distributed systems / AI helps: software engineering in general  UP, requirements, analysis, OOD, design patterns

MAS: classes, exercises, practical work officially: 19.5 hourslectures 10 hoursexercise sessions planning in practice: +- 7 lectures (1.5h)  “theory”  discussion 4 exercise sessions (2.5h)  PC lab sessions  Robrecht Haesevoets

MAS course material transparencies – on-line book/chapter/paper material  M. Wooldridge, “An Introduction to MultiAgent Systems” (Wiley, 2002)  detailed description  background information  exercises  examples ...  C. Larman, Applying UML and Patterns, chapter 33  M. Wooldridge, Reasoning about Rational Agents, chapter 1-2  Bratman, Israel, Pollack, Plans and Resource-bounded Practical Reasoning  Bonabeau, Dorigo, Theraulaz, Swarm Intelligence – From Natural to Artificial Systems, chapter 1-2  Wooldridge, Jennings, Software Engineering with Agents: Pitfalls and Pratfalls  …

MAS examination: project  MAS project  “engineer a particular application using MAS”  analysis / architecture / design  make an implementation  report distribution of project description: April group of 2 students write a comprehensive document (10-12 pages) prepare a short presentation / questions  exam: discuss your paper  Deadline Wednesday, June 6 16h00 submit at secretariat Computer Science and on-line time mgt … !!

MAS course website “Toledo” / Blackboard course material discussion forum interesting links project information questions / remarks / suggestions / register !! course ID: B-KUL-H02H4A

MAS course overview (tentative) 1. Introduction 2. Multi-Agent Systems general / application domains / examples / … 3. Multi-Agent Systems in Software Engineering position of MAS in UP 4. Agent Architectures agent architectures deductive reasoning agents / practical reasoning agents / reactive agents / hybrid agents multi-agent architectures 5. Communication agent communication languages (ACLs) FIPA 6. Actions / Interactions / Cooperation action models interaction cooperation 7. Cooperative Distributed Problem Solving 8. Ant- / Swarm-based Systems emergence ACO 9. Coordination and Control Applications delegate MAS manufacturing control warehouse management 10. Conclusion Agent-Oriented Software Engineering methodologies pitfalls and pratfalls