The study of multi-agent systems (MAS) focuses on systems in which many intelligent agents interact with each other. These agents are considered to be autonomous entities such as software programs or robots. Their interactions can either be cooperative (for example as in an ant colony) or selfish (as in a free market economy). This book assumes only basic knowledge of algorithms and discrete maths, both of which are taught as standard in the first or second year of computer science degree programmes. A basic knowledge of artificial intelligence would useful to help understand some of the issues, but is not essential. The book’s main aims are: To introduce the student to the concept of agents and multi-agent systems, and the main applications for which they are appropriate To introduce the main issues surrounding the design of intelligent agents To introduce the main issues surrounding the design of a multi-agent society To introduce a number of typical applications for agent technology After reading the book the student should understand: The notion of an agent, how agents are distinct from other software paradigms (e.g. objects) and the characteristics of applications that lend themselves to agent-oriented software The key issues associated with constructing agents capable of intelligent autonomous action and the main approaches taken to developing such agents The key issues in designing societies of agents that can effectively cooperate in order to solve problems, including an understanding of the key types of multi-agent interactions possible in such systems The main application areas of agent-based systems

Multiagent systems is an expanding field that blends classical fields like game theory and decentralized control with modern fields like computer science and machine learning. This monograph provides a concise introduction to the subject, covering the theoretical foundations as well as more recent developments in a coherent and readable manner. The text is centered on the concept of an agent as decision maker. Chapter 1 is a short introduction to the field of multiagent systems. Chapter 2 covers the basic theory of singleagent decision making under uncertainty. Chapter 3 is a brief introduction to game theory, explaining classical concepts like Nash equilibrium. Chapter 4 deals with the fundamental problem of coordinating a team of collaborative agents. Chapter 5 studies the problem of multiagent reasoning and decision making under partial observability. Chapter 6 focuses on the design of protocols that are stable against manipulations by self-interested agents. Chapter 7 provides a short introduction to the rapidly expanding field of multiagent reinforcement learning. The material can be used for teaching a half-semester course on multiagent systems covering, roughly, one chapter per lecture.

This book constitutes the proceedings of the 15th German Conference on Multiagent System Technologies, MATES 2017, held in Lepzig, Germany, in August 2017. The 17 full papers presented in this volume were carefully reviewed and selected from 24 submissions for inclusion in the proceedings. Over these 15 years, the MATES conference series has been aiming at the promotion of and the cross-fertilization between theory and application of intelligent agents and multi-agent systems.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the Second German Conference on Multiagent Systems Technologies, MATES 2004, held in Erfurt, Germany, in September 2004. The 22 revised full papers presented together with 2 invited papers were carefully reviewed and selected from 60 submissions. The papers are organized in topical sections on learning and social agents, analysis and security, negotiation and control, agents and software engineering, simulation and agents, and policies and testing.

This book constitutes the proceedings of the 14th German Conference on Multiagent System Technologies, MATES 2016, held in Klagenfurt, Austria, in September 2016. 12 long papers and 5 short papers were carefully reviewed and selected from 28 submissions. MATES 2016 conference talks covered a broad area of topics of interest including MAS engineering and modeling, issues of human-agent interaction, collaboration and coordination, agent-based adaptation and optimization, and applications of MAS, in particular in the smart energy domain.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 5th German Conference on Multiagent Systems Technologies, MATES 2007, held in Leipzig, Germany, September 2007, co-located with NetObjectDays, NODe 2007. The papers are organized in topical sections on engineering multi-agent systems, multi-agent planning and learning, multi-agent communication, interaction, and coordination, multi-agent resource allocation, multi-agent planning and simulation, as well as trust and reputation.

This book constitutes the proceedings of the 12th German Conference on Multiagent System Technologies, MATES 2014, held in Stuttgart, Germany, in September 2014. The 9 full papers and 7 short papers included in this volume were carefully reviewed and selected from 31 submissions. The book also contains 2 invited talks. The papers are organized in topical sections named: mechanisms, negotiation, and game theory; multiagent planning, learning, and control; and multiagent systems engineering, modeling and simulation.

The focus of the book is on completed implementations of agent-based software systems. Here, agent technology is considered broadly, starting from development of agent platforms, all the way through systems actually implemented. The covered topics also include lessons learned during implementation of agent platforms and the reflection on the process of development and application of agent-based systems. The book includes 10 chapters where interested reader can find discussion of important issues encountered during development of well-known agent platforms such as JADE and Jadex as well as some interesting experiences in developing a new platform that combines software agent and Web Services. Furthermore, the book shows readers several valuable examples of applications based on multi-agent systems including simulations, agents in autonomous negotiations and agents in public administration modelling. We believe that the book will prove useful to the researchers, professors and the practitioners in all disciplines including science and technology.

In this thesis decision-making problems are formalized using a stochastic discrete-time model called decentralized partially observable Markov decision process (Dec-POMDP).

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the First German Conference on Multiagent System Technologies, MATES 2003, held in Erfurt, Germany, in September 2003. The 18 revised full papers presented together with an invited paper were carefully reviewed and selected from 49 submissions. The papers are organized in topical sections on engineering agent-based systems, systems and applications, models and architectures, the semantic Web and interoperability, and collaboration and negotiation.