Foundations of Distributed Artificial Intelligence

by G. M. P. O'Hare (Editor), N. R. Jennings (Editor)

Overview

Distributed Artificial Intelligence (DAI) is a dynamic area of research and this book is the first comprehensive, truly integrated exposition of the discipline presenting influential contributions from leaders in the field. Commences with a solid introduction to the theoretical and practical issues of DAI, followed by a discussion of the core research topics—communication, coordination, planning—and how they are related to each other. The third section describes a number of DAI testbeds, illustrating particular strategies commissioned to provide software environments for building and experimenting with DAI systems. The final segment contains contributions which consider DAI from different perspectives.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780471006756
Publisher:	Wiley
Publication date:	04/05/1996
Series:	Sixth Generation Computer Technologies , #9
Pages:	592
Product dimensions:	6.36(w) x 9.57(h) x 1.35(d)

About the Author

About the editors

G. M. P. O'HARE is a lecturer in the Department of Computation at UMIST, Manchester, England.

N. R. JENNINGS is a reader in the Department of Electronic Engineering at Queen Mary & Westfield College, University of London, where he heads the Distributed AI Unit. He is an internationally recognized authority on the design and implementation of multi-agent systems—having developed and deployed systems in a wide range of industrial and commercial environments. He has also made significant contributions to the theory of DAI systems—devising new models of cooperation and coordination.

Table of Contents

Partial table of contents:

FORMULATIVE READINGS.

Logical Foundations of Distributed Artificial Intelligence (E. Werner).

Distributed Artificial Intelligence Testbeds (K. Decker).

COOPERATION, COORDINATION, AND AGENCY.

Coordination Techniques for Distributed Artificial Intelligence (N. Jennings).

Negotiation Principles (H. Müller).

Planning in Distributed Artificial Intelligence (E. Durfee).

DAI FRAMEWORKS AND THEIR APPLICATIONS.

IMAGINE: An Integrated Environment for Constructing Distributed Artificial Intelligence Systems (D. Steiner).

AGenDA--A General Testbed for Distributed Artificial Intelligence Applications (K. Fischer, et al.).

Agent Factory: An Environment for the Fabrication of Multiagent Systems (G. O'Hare).

RELATED DISCIPLINES.

Philosophy and Distributed Artificial Intelligence: The Case of Joint Intention (R. Tuomela).

User Design Issues for Distributed Artificial Intelligence (L. Hall).

Appendix.

Index.

Editorial Reviews

A comprehensive and unified treatment of a subfield of artificial intelligence that is concerned with distributing and coordinating knowledge and actions in multiple agent environments. The sections cover the fundamentals and necessary background material; communication, coordination, planing, and agency; specifics of systems, testbeds, and software environments uses in many industrial and practical applications; and related disciplines ranging from philosophy and the social sciences to interface design issues. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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