Models and Methods of Analysis for Agent Based Systems

7 April 2001, Genova, Italy

A Satellite Event to ETAPS 2001

Context

Many technologies now exist for building software and hardware systems in an "agent based" style. Engineers are expected to build individual systems with high degrees of autonomy and release these into a loosely constrained environment where they may interact with other systems about which they have little knowledge. It is difficult, but necessary, to predict what the large-scale behaviour of such systems might be. The only way to obtain this knowledge in advance of deployment of systems is through modelling and analysis. The range of possible analytical methods is, however, diverse and most of these are untested on real situations. The principal aim of this workshop is to bring together those with expertise in analysis and experience in building or managing large scale agent based systems. Special emphasis will be made on the use of models and techniques coming from the areas such as ecology and economics which, in their own ways, have already faced this sort of large scale modelling problem.

The workshop will provide:

Examples of analyses appropriate to agent-based systems. We welcome as broad a range of these as possible, including for instance: model checking, continuous flow models, agent-based simulations.
Studies of real-world systems which yield benchmark analytical problems. These need not have been conceived as "agent based".
Discussion of the limitations of existing methods with respect to benchmark problems.

Workshop Schedule

Morning sessions:	Modelling dynamic agent systems
9.00- 9.30	Registration
9.30-9.40	Introduction (Dave Robertson)
9.40-10.05	Robert Muetzelfeldt (topic)
10.05-10.30	Marco Dorigo (topic)
10.30-11.00	Carles Sierra and Simon Parsons (topic)
11.00-11.30	Coffee
11.30-11.50	Fausto Giunchiglia (topic)
11.50-13.00	Panel and discussion
13.00-14.30	Lunch
Afternoon sessions:	Implementation languages and platforms
14.30-14.40	Introduction (Dave Robertson)
14.40-15.00	Alessandro Cimatti (topic)
15.00-15.20	Fabio Bellifemine (topic)
15.20-15.40	Wamberto Vasconcelos and Jordi Sabater (topic)
15.40-16.00	Franco Zambonelli (topic)
16.00-16.30	Coffee
16.30-17.00	Julian Padget (topic)
17.00-18.00	Panel and discussion

Organisers

Jaume Agusti (AI Institute, Barcelona)
Stuart Anderson (University of Edinburgh, UK)
Michael Fourman (University of Edinburgh, UK)
Simon Parsons (University of Liverpool, UK)
David Robertson (University of Edinburgh, UK)
Don Sannella (University of Edinburgh, UK)
Carles Sierra (AI Institute, Barcelona)
Michael Wooldridge (University of Liverpool, UK)

Principal E-Mail Contact

David Robertson (D.Robertson@ed.ac.uk)