Agent-Based Defeasible Control in Dynamic Environments

This volume, the 7th volume in the DRUMS Handbook series, is part of the aftermath of the successful ESPRIT project DRUMS (Defeasible Reasoning and Uncertainty Management Systems) which took place in two stages from 1989- 1996. In the second stage (1993-1996) a work package was introduced devoted to the topics Reasoning and Dynamics, covering both the topics of "Dynamics of Reasoning", where reasoning is viewed as a process, and "Reasoning about Dynamics", which must be understood as pertaining to how both designers of and agents within dynamic systems may reason about these systems. The present volume presents work done in this context extended with some work done by outstanding researchers outside the project on related issues. While the previous volume in this series had its focus on the dynamics of reasoning pro cesses, the present volume is more focused on "reasoning about dynamics', viz. how (human and artificial) agents reason about (systems in) dynamic environments in order to control them. In particular we consider modelling frameworks and generic agent models for modelling these dynamic systems and formal approaches to these systems such as logics for agents and formal means to reason about agent based and compositional systems, and action & change more in general. We take this opportunity to mention that we have very pleasant recollections of the project, with its lively workshops and other meetings, with the many sites and researchers involved, both within and outside our own work package.

Is - together with Volume 6 - devoted to the topics Reasoning and Dynamics, covering both the topics of "Dynamics of Reasoning", where reasoning is viewed as a process, and "Reasoning about Dynamics", which must be understood as pertaining to how both designers of, and agents within dynamic systems may reason about these systems

Contenu
I: Introduction and Basic Concepts.- Basic Concepts.- II: Modelling Frameworks and Generic Agent Models.- Compositional Design of Multi-Agent Systems: Modelling Dynamics and Control.- Control Techniques for Complex Reasoning: The Case of Milord II.- Coordinating Heterogeneous Components Using Executable Temporal Logic.- Compositional Design and Reuse of a Generic Agent Model.- IIIA: Formal Analyis: General Approaches.- Semantic Formalisation of Emerging Dynamics of Compositional Agent Systems.- A Descriptive Dynamic Logic and its Application to Reflective Architectures.- Compositional Verification of Multi-Agent Systems in Temporal Multi-Epistemic Logic.- IIIB: Formal Analysis: Logics for Agents.- Formalising Abilities and Opportunities of Agents.- Seeing is Believing (And so are Hearing and Jumping).- Motivational Attitudes in the KARO Framework.- Modelling Social Agents: Towards Deliberate Communication.- IIIC: Formal Analysis: Reasoning about Dynamics.- Reasoning about Action and Change Using Dijkstra's Semantics for Programming Languages.- Reasoning about Action and Change: Actions with Abnormal Effects.- Preferential Action Semantics.- Reuse and Abstraction in Verification: Agents Acting in Dynamic Environments.- Compositional Verification of a Multi-Agent System for One-to-Many Negotiation.