Contract Net Protocol

About: Contract Net Protocol is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 606 publications have been published within this topic receiving 13729 citations.

Multi-Agent-Systems and Applications II 9th ECCAI-ACAI/EASSS 2001, AEMAS 2001, HoloMAS 2001. Selected Revised Papers

Abstract: Multi-Agent Systems and Applications ACAI 2001: Selected Tutorial Papers.- Intelligent Agents: The Key Concepts.- Motivated Agent Behaviour and Requirements Applied to Virtual Emergencies.- Software Agents for Electronic Business: Opportunities and Challenges.- From Simulated Dialogues to Interactive Performances.- Cooperating Agents for Holonic Manufacturing.- Multi-Agent Systems and Applications ACAI 2001: Selected Student Papers.- Self-Stabilizing Distributed Algorithms for Defeat Status Computation in Argumentation.- Replanning in a Resource-Based Framework.- Distributed Branch and Bound Algorithm in Coalition Planning.- Formal Conversations for the Contract Net Protocol.- Adaptive Agents in Argumentation-Based Negotiation.- Flexible Load Balancing in Distributed Information Agent Systems.- Autonomous Agents Applied to Manufacturing Scheduling Problems: A Negotiation-Based Heuristic Approach.- Adaptability and Embodiment Using Multi-Agent Systems AEMAS 2001: Selected Papers.- Adaptability and Embodiment Using Multi-Agent Systems.- Distributed Shared Agent Representations.- Modeling Adaptive Multi-Agent Systems Inspired by Developmental Biology.- Industrial Applications of Holonic and Multi-Agent Systems HoloMAS 2001: Selected Papers.- Holons & Agents: Recent Developments and Mutual Impacts.- Material Handling Problem: FIPA Compliant Agent Implementation.- Industrial MAS for Planning and Control.- An Integral Implementation of a Machine-Holon Applying the ZEUS Agent Framework.- ExPlanTech: Exploitation of Agent-Based Technology in Production Planning.- A Holonic Approach to Reconfiguring Real-Time Distributed Control Systems.- Rationales for Holonic Applications in Chemical Process Industries.- Distributed Deadline Control in Holonic Manufacturing Systems.- CPlanT: Coalition Planning Multi-Agent System for Humanitarian Relief Operations.

An implementation of FIPA contract net interaction protocol adapted for smart home agents simulation

Abstract: In this paper we give an adaptation of the standard FIPA Contract net Protocol for a multi-agent based smart home simulation. Smart home appliances are controlled by software agents that can communicate their needs and un/satisfaction to the Home Energy Manager Agent. The problem we encountered with FIPA specification is that each interacting agent is either initiator or participant during his life cycle. We propose a solution that allows agents to change their basic behavior and to be dynamical to their whole environment change depending on their requirements. The proposed solution is suitable to manage flexible household appliances such as advancing, delaying, or suspending their operation. Hence it leads to building energy efficiency and enhancing agents' coordination and collaboration for smart grid demand side management.

DOC: The Degree of Credibility Model in Contract Net Protocol

Abstract: The Degree of Credibility(DOC)model is proposed in the Contract Net Protocol(CNP)for the non-cooperative multi-agent system. In order to maximize their profiles, the self-interested agents may embellish their bids and delude their manager to get more bids, even if they cannot accomplish the tasks on time. With the DOC model, when the manager evaluates the bids from the contractors, it will make a decision on the contractors’ historical credibility, by which can decrease the negation times and enhance the task completion quality. To show the properties of the DOC model, we have implemented the agent interaction processes using CNP on the JATLite platform. The experimental results indicate that the DOC model can improve the performance of the system while preserving the task completion quality, especially in situation of large amount of tasks.

Modeling and Analysis of Reliable Contract Net Protocol Using Timed Colored Petri Nets

Abstract: Contract Net Protocol (CNP) is probably the most widely used task allocation protocol in distributed multi-agent systems (MAS). However it is limited in some issues and has serious drawbacks if it is applied in such real world applications where temporal interaction aspects are of great importance and fault-tolerance is a crucial issue. Many researchers have proposed various methods to expand and to improve it but those challenges have not been much addressed. To cope with these limitations, this paper proposes a formal model that extends the conventional contract net with real time constraints, often defined as interaction duration and message deadlines, and fault tolerance to handle the agent death exception. In this study we concentrate on the reliability of the awarded contractor which may die while carrying out the assigned task. In the proposed approach a timeout mechanism is modeled to detect the crash failure of the contractor, hence a proper termination of the negotiation process can be timely performed by the manager ensuring the failure recovery. We model the extended CNP with timed colored Petri nets and show that it terminates correctly either in a safety case or in a failure situation. The model analysis by means of CPN tools proves that the protocol meets the key properties namely model correctness, deadline respect, absence of deadlocks and live locks, absence of dead code, agent terminal states consistency, concurrency and validity.