An Introduction to MultiAgent Systems.

The theory of affordances

In the last four decades the container as an essential part of a unit-load-concept has achieved undoubted importance in international sea freight transportation. With ever increasing containerization the number of seaport container terminals and competition among them have become quite remarkable. Operations are nowadays unthinkable without effective and efficient use of information technology as well as appropriate optimization (operations research) methods. In this paper we describe and classify the main logistics processes and operations in container terminals and present a survey of methods for their optimization.

Container terminal operation and operations research — a classification and literature review

a 'sleeper', receiving only modest attention for 50 years before emerging as a cornerstone of communications engineering in more recent times. Roughly one in six of Walsh's 281 publications are included, photographically reproduced. Reproduction is excellent except for one paper from 1918. The book also reproduces three brief papers about Walsh and his work, by W. E. Sewell, D. V. Widder and Morris Marden. The first two were written for a special issue of the SIAM Journal celebrating Walsh's 70th birthday; the third is an obituary.

Matrix iterative analysis (2nd edn), by Richard S. Varga. Springer Series in Computational Mathematics 27. Pp. 358. £55. 2000. ISBN 3 540 66321 5 (Springer Verlag).

This paper provides a survey of existing research on agent-based approaches to transportation and traffic management. A framework for describing and assessing this work will be presented and systematically applied. We are mainly adopting a logistical perspective, thus focusing on freight transportation. However, when relevant, work of traffic and transport of people will be considered. A general conclusion from our study is that agent-based approaches seem very suitable for this domain, but that this still needs to be verified by more deployed system.

An Analysis of Agent-Based Approaches to Transport Logistics

This paper presents a multi-agent architecture that facilitates the development of real-time multi-agent systems based on the SIMBA approach. The approach allows the integration of unbounded deliberative processes with critical real-time tasks. CBP-BDI deliberative agents collaborate with ARTIS agents in order to solve real-time problems efficiently. The proposal has been successfully tested and evaluated in a case study based on the use of mobile robots for mail delivery.

Hybrid multi-agent architecture as a real-time problem-solving model

Today, the need for architectures and computational models for large-scale open multi-agent systems is considered to be a key issue for the success of agent technology in real-world scenarios. This paper analyzes the significant unsolved problems that must be taken into account in order to develop real, open multi-agent systems. It identifies requirements and related open issues, discusses how some of these requirements have been tackled by current technologies, and explains how the THOMAS architecture is able to give support to these open issues. This paper also describes the THOMAS abstract architecture and computational model for large-scale open multi-agent systems based on a service-oriented approach that specifically addresses the design of virtual organizations. An application example for the management of a travel agency system, which demonstrates the new features of the proposal, is also presented.

An abstract architecture for virtual organizations: The THOMAS approach

This paper presents a system architecture which is based on the multi-agent system paradigm for solving complex problems. This architecture is applied to solve the port container terminal management problem, and specifically to solve the automatic container allocation. The multi-agent systems paradigm seems to fit this problem due to its inherent complexity. This work is part of a project for the integral management of the container terminal of an actual port.

A Multi-Agent System for the Automation of a Port Container Terminal

Over the last few years more complex techniques have been used to develop hard real-time systems, and the multi-agent system paradigm seems to be an appropriate approach to be applied in this area. The temporal restrictions of these systems made necessary to build agents architectures that satisfy these restrictions. A formal Agent architecture to model hard-real time systems is proposed in this paper. A prototype that follows this agent architecture and works in a hard real-time environment has been implemented. Finally, a study case is described to show the design agent process.

Modelling Agents in Hard Real-Time Environments

This paper defines THOMAS, an open architecture and computational model for large-scale open multi-agent systems based on a service-oriented approach, specifically addressed for the design of virtual organizations.

Carlos Carrascosa

Papers

Hybrid multi-agent architecture as a real-time problem-solving model

An abstract architecture for virtual organizations: The THOMAS approach

A Multi-Agent System for the Automation of a Port Container Terminal

Modelling Agents in Hard Real-Time Environments

Service oriented MAS: an open architecture