Publication - Evolution of the GPGP/TAEMS Domain-Independent Coordination Framework

Authors: Lesser, V.; Decker, K.; Wagner, T.; Carver, N.; Garvey, A.; Horling, B.; Neiman, D.; Podorozhny, R.; NagendraPrasad, M.; Raja, A.; Vincent, R.; Xuan, P.; Zhang, X.Q
Title: Evolution of the GPGP/TAEMS Domain-Independent Coordination Framework
Abstract: The GPGP/TÆMS domain-independent coordination framework for small agent groups was first described in 1992 and then more fully detailed in an ICMAS95 paper. In this paper, we discuss the evolution of this framework which has been motivated by its use in a number of applications, including: information gathering and management, intelligent home automation, distributed situation assessment, coordination of concurrent engineering activities, hospital scheduling, travel planning, repair service coordination and supply chain management. First, we review the basic architecture of GPGP and then present extensions to the TÆMS domain-independent representation of agent activities. We next describe extensions to GPGP that permit the representation of situation-specific coordination strategies and social laws as well as making possible the use of GPGP in large agent organizations. Additionally, we discuss a more encompassing view of commitments that takes into account uncertainty in commitments. We then present new coordination mechanisms for use in resource sharing and contracting, and more complex coordination mechanisms that use a cooperative search among agents to find appropriate commitments. We conclude with a summary of the major ideas underpinning GPGP, an analysis of the applicability of the GPGP framework including performance issues, and a discussion of future research directions. Keywords multi-agent coordination, teamwork
Keywords: Coordination, GPGP, Multi-Agent Systems, TAEMS
Publication: Autonomous Agents and Multi-Agent Systems, Vol: 9, Num: 1, pp. 87 - 143
Publisher: Kluwer Academic Publishers
Date: July 2004
Sources: PS: /Documents/lesser/GPGP_evol_AAMAS.pdf
Notes: This is a revised version of the paper that appeared in Proceedings 1st International Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multi-Agent Systems, 2002.
Reference: Lesser, V.; Decker, K.; Wagner, T.; Carver, N.; Garvey, A.; Horling, B.; Neiman, D.; Podorozhny, R.; NagendraPrasad, M.; Raja, A.; Vincent, R.; Xuan, P.; Zhang, X.Q. Evolution of the GPGP/TAEMS Domain-Independent Coordination Framework. Autonomous Agents and Multi-Agent Systems, Volume 9, Number 1, Kluwer Academic Publishers, pp. 87-143. July 2004. This is a revised version of the paper that appeared in Proceedings 1st International Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multi-Agent Systems, 2002.
bibtex:
@article{Lesser-268,
  author    = "V. Lesser and K. Decker and T. Wagner and N.
               Carver and A. Garvey and B. Horling and D. Neiman
               and R. Podorozhny and M. NagendraPrasad and A.
               Raja and R. Vincent and P. Xuan and X.Q Zhang",
  title     = "{Evolution of the GPGP/TAEMS Domain-Independent
               Coordination Framework}",
  journal   = "Autonomous Agents and Multi-Agent Systems",
  volume    = "9",
  number    = "1",
  publisher = "Kluwer Academic Publishers",
  pages     = "87-143",
  month     = "July",
  year      = "2004",
  url       = "http://mas.cs.umass.edu/paper/268",
}