Eric Matson

A capabilities-based model for adaptive organizations

Multiagent systems have become popular over the last few years for building complex, adaptive systems in a distributed, heterogeneous setting. Multiagent systems tend to be more robust and, in many cases, more efficient than single monolithic applications. However, unpredictable application environments make multiagent systems susceptible to individual failures that can significantly reduce its ability to accomplish its overall goal. The problem is that multiagent systems are typically designed to work within a limited set of configurations. Even when the system possesses the resources and computational power to accomplish its goal, it may be constrained by its own structure and knowledge of its member’s capabilities. To overcome these problems, we are developing a framework that allows the system to design its own organization at runtime. This paper presents a key component of that framework, a metamodel for multiagent organizations named the Organization Model for Adaptive Computational Systems. This model defines the requisite knowledge of a system’s organizational structure and capabilities that will allow it to reorganize at runtime and enable it to achieve its goals effectively in the face of a changing environment and its agent’s capabilities.

Coordination, Organizations, Institutions, and Norms in Multi-Agent Systems

This book constitutes the thoroughly refereed post-proceedings of the International Workshop on Agents, Norms and Institutions for Regulated Multiagent Systems, ANIREM 2005, and the International Workshop on Organizations in Multi-Agent Systems, OOOP 2005, held in Utrecht, The Netherlands in July 2005 as an associated event of AAMAS 2005. This volume is the first in a series focussing on issues in Coordination, Organizations, Institutions and Norms (COIN) in multi-agent systems. The 17 papers in this volume are extended, revised versions of the best papers presented at the ANIREM and the OOOP workshops at AAMAS 2005 that were carefully selected during two rounds of reviewing and improvement. The papers from the two workshops have been re-grouped around the following themes: modelling, analyzing and programming organizations, modelling and analyzing institutions, modelling normative designs, as well as evaluation and regulation.

Formal transition in agent organizations

Multiagent systems (MAS) can be employed to solve a great many problems. When combined with an organization model, a MAS becomes an even more useful structure capable of taking on problems that require self-organization, adaptation, and recovery. To capture and understand the concept of organization and reorganization, we must define organization transition. Specifically, we describe a formal process of organization transition.

Autonomous organization-based adaptive information systems

On the field of battle, a continual flow of information is necessary to achieve information superiority. The required information potentially originates from numerous information producers. Unfortunately, due to dynamic and often dangerous conditions, these information producers can be incapacitated or destroyed. To be successful, a battlefield information system must provide a continuous flow of information and thus adaptability and fault tolerance are key features. In this paper, we show how we build adaptive and fault tolerance information systems using an organizational model. We introduce our organizational model and provide details pertaining to its use in the development of a battlefield information system.

Properties of Capability Based Agent Organization Transition

It has been said that the only constant in life is change. This rule can also be directly applied to the lives of organizations. Any organization of non-trivial size, scope, life expectancy or function, is destined to change. An organization without the ability to transition is not robust, evolvable or adaptable within its environment. These basic preconditions to human organizations must also hold in viable agent organizations. To model an adaptable agent organization, the capability must be present to transition from one state to the next over the life of the organization. The organization model must include not only the structural components, but also the ability to facilitate change. The ability to change empowers the organization to transition from one state to the next, over its useful life. To enable transition, we must formally capture and define what triggers an organization transition. In this paper, we will define the properties to formally model the ability of an adaptable organization to transition throughout its useful life.

Abstraction of transition properties in multiagent organizations

Multiagent systems (MAS) can be employed to solve a great many problems. When combined with an organization model, an MAS becomes an even more useful structure capable of taking on problems that require self-organization, adaptation, and recovery. The cost of being able to solve these problems, can be that of complexity. Even small organization-based MAS may transition to tremendous numbers of new organization states, depending on the environmental effects to the organization properties. The transition process can result in a state explosion of new potential organization configurations for consideration before determination of the optimal or desired state. The effects of having to consider large numbers of potential organization configurations after the transition is triggered can have damaging outcomes on the organizations set of goals and overall mission, due to the duration of time spent considering how to reorganize. In this paper, an approach is proposed to solve the problem of state explosion in organization-based multiagent systems.

Coordination, Organizations, Institutions and Norms in Agent Systems IV

This book constitutes the thoroughly refereed post-workshop proceedings of the International Workshop on Coordination, Organization, Institutions and Norms in Agent Systems, COIN 2008, held as two events at AAMAS 2008, the 7th International Joint Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems in Estoril, Portugal, in May 2008 and at AAAI 2008, the 23rd AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence in Chicago, IL, USA, in July 2008. This volume is the 4th in a series focussing on issues in Coordination, Organizations, Institutions and Norms (COIN) in multi-agent systems. The 17 papers contained in this volume are the revised and extended versions of a selection of papers presented and discussed in these two workshops. The papers are organized in the following topical sections: from coordination to organization, from organization to coordination, formalization of norms and institutions, design of norms and institutions, as well as applications.

Organization capable intelligent sensors

Sensors are used to monitor and interpret many different environments and phenomena. The capability of a sensor array or network is constrained first by the sensors included and secondly by how the sensors are allowed to communicate and cooperatively work together. In this paper, we show how the combination of sensors, with embedded intelligent capability, and multiagent organization systems are integrated to create a highly adaptive, scalable and viable architecture to interpret task domains, typically monitored by a lower-functioning sensor network.

From sensor networks to sensor organizations

Sensor networks have uses ranging from personal use in homes to large-scale military applications. The ability of a sensor network is only as good as the intelligence used to control and integrate the sensors into a single entity. In this paper, we look at the marriage of agent organizations with sensor networks to create a sensor organization.

Knowledge sharing between agents in a transitioning organization

People that interact within a cooperative organization must constantly exchange information on the details of the organization as well as the goals the organization exists to meet. Agent organizations must share knowledge if they are to cooperatively act in the solution of some set of defined goals. The manner in which they share and when they share information varies. In this paper, we present the process to share organization information during the process of transition from one organization state to the next. Some organization models choose to vary the information known between two agents, in relation to the organization. A key element of organization success is that all members operate with the same information so as not to cause divergence in action or purpose.