ECS Intranet:
Agent Based Computing

Themes

IAM is one of the world's leading groups in the area of agent-based computing. We have some 30 people working on various facets of agents: from foundational work in the design of individual agents and their interactions, through the principled analysis and design of agent-based systems, to their deployment in real-world applications.

We view agent based computing as consisting of three main constituent components:

Agents: encapsulated computer systems that are situated in some environment and are capable of flexible, autonomous action in that environment in order to meet their design objectives.
Interactions: Such agents invariably need to interact with one another in order to manage their inter-dependencies. These interactions involve agents cooperating, negotiating and coordinating with one another.
Organisations: Agent interactions take place within some organisational context (eg a marketplace or some other form of electronic institution).

Research Areas

Within this landscape, our particular areas of specialisation focus on:

Models of Interaction

This work involves developing new models and techniques for capturing and specifying the interactions that take place between agents. Particular prominence is given to automated cooperation, coordination and negotiation using techniques such as game theory, argumentation, computational economics, and belief-desire-intention models.

Agent-Oriented Software Engineering

This work aims to provide a principled basis for analysing, designing and building agent-oriented systems. The group has developed a methodology for agent-based analysis and design (called Gaia) and is also involved with specifying and verifying properties both of individual agents and of collections of agents. The group has also developed a framework (SoFAR) for building agent-based systems. [more]

Applications of Agent Technology

This work involves applying agent-based concepts and techniques to real-world applications. In particular the group is concerned with the domains of distributed information management, e-commerce, grid computing, pervasive computing, telecommunications systems and process control.