Holonic Multiagent Systems --- Theory and Practice

Klaus Fischer
Deduction and Multiagent Systems, DFKI GmbH

Friday, 26th May 2000
0930 - 1100

SEECS library (room B1.24)
University of Melbourne Computer Science Department
SEECS Building
221 Bouverie Street, Carlton.

Abstract:

The German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI GmbH) is situated in Saarbruecken and Kaiserslautern.  The overall goal of DFKI is to investigate basic AI technologies and apply them in industrial application scenarios.  The presentation gives a rough overview of research of agent-based technologies done at DFKI GmbH.  It will focus on agent technologies in a multiagent system (MAS) context.  With the ever growing usage of the world wide IT networks, agent technologies and MAS are attracting more and more attention.  MAS are designed to be open systems and agent technologies investigated in this context have to perform well in environments that are not necessarily well-structured and benevolent.  Emergent system behaviour is one of the most interesting phenomena one can investigate in MAS.  However, there is more to MAS design than the interaction between a number of agents.  For effective system behaviour we need structure and organisation.

The presentation explains basic concepts of a theory for holonic multiagent systems with the aim to define the building blocks of a theory that can explain organisation and dynamic reorganisation in MAS.  The basic concepts are illustrated with three application scenarios: flexible manufacturing, order dispatching in haulage companies, and train coupling and sharing.

Biosketch:

Klaus Fischer studied computer science at the Technische Universitaet (TU) in Muenchen.  From 1986 to 1991 he worked as a research scientist in a joint research project SFB 331 Information Processing in Autonomous Mobile Robot Systems at the Department of Computer Science at the TU Muenchen.  In 1992 he finished his doctoral degree with his thesis on Distributed and Cooperative Planning in a Flexible Manufacturing System.  In January 1992 he joined the Multiagent System Research Group at DFKI GmbH in Saarbruecken in the department of Deduction and Multiagent Systems headed by Prof. H. J. Siekmann.  He assumed the responsibility of group leader of the MAS group in November 1993 and is deputy head of department since 1996.  The group successfully finished a significant number of research projects on applications of multiagent systems in an industrial context.  He has been organising international workshops and is referee of several international conferences and journals.  Most recently he is organising the European Agent System Summer School that will take place 14.-18. August in Saarbruecken.