Loïs Vanhée

CIGA: a middleware for intelligent agents in virtual environments

Building intelligent behavior in (educational) games and simulations can greatly benefit from the use of agent technology. Intelligent agents within a multi-agent system can be developed for controlling virtual characters in a simulation environment within a game engine. Coupling a multi-agent system to a game engine is not a trivial task and introduces several conceptual design issues concerning embodied agent design. In this paper we present CIGA, a middleware to facilitate this coupling tackling the design issues in a structured approach, not only for embodied agent design but also for the system as a whole.

Implementing Norms

Normative logics offer descriptions on expected behavior of agents inside a system. Norm implementation in MAS is rarely discussed and in practice, introducing norms triggers indirect impacts on the behavior of agents. In order to obtain some experience, we implemented OperettA norms using 2APL agents in a firefighter simulation. In this article, we propose a comprehensive overview of the issues encountered when implementing the different norm aspects in agents.

Agent-based evolving societies

This paper describes a method to build artificial societies that can dynamically expand themselves from bottom-up, in order to cope with environmental changes. This method is then applied to model the evolutions through the first stages of human societies, inspired by social science theories.

Gender Differences: The Role of Nature, Nurture, Social Identity and Self-organization

This paper describes an agent-based model to investigate the origins of gender differences in social status. The agents’ basic behaviour is modelled according to Kemper’s sociological status-power theory. Differences in the socializing forces of the surrounding society are modelled using Hofstede’s dimensions of culture. Particulars of play behaviour are modelled using experimental child development studies from various cultures. The resulting model is presented and discussed. Social identity as a group of either non-gendered children, boys, or girls, seems a powerful force, multiplying the effect of biological differences. The model is actually general enough to be applicable to a wide range of social behaviours with minimal changes.

Towards Simulating the Impact of National Culture on Organizations

Both culture and organizations are concepts which have been partially formalized. Only some of their aspects have been specified to build agent-based models. In this conceptual article, we identify and characterize the features that should be considered when building an agent-based model of an organization taking into account the influence of culture. In particular, we investigate the impact culture can have on the delegation, coordination, control and normative structures of organizations and on the way these structures are used. Moreover, we describe how this cultural impact would influence the three central performance criteria of organizations: efficiency, flexibility and robustness.

Modeling Culturally-Influenced Decisions

This article proposes a model of culturally influenced decision processes. In particular, cultures influence individual motivation, jointly with human nature and personality. The use of this model is then illustrated by a simulation model of the impact of cultural differences on organizational performance (efficiency, flexibility and member satisfaction) in two organizational structures (bureaucracies and adhocracies). This model is validated against empirical evidence from social sciences.

Robust Collaboration: Enriching Decisions with Abstract Preferences

Aspects of human societies provide a rich source of inspiration for influencing individual and social behaviors in order to achieve collaboration in a MAS. This article particularly investigates how human cultures and particularly human values can be used as an inspiration for achieving collaboration. Indeed, human values abstractly set what individuals consider as important, driving them towards similar individual and social outcomes, helping them to work together. We want to reproduce the same type of behaviors in MASs, even if we do not aim at faithfully reproducing human behavior.