Aims & Scope

Software systems are undergoing dramatic changes in scale and complexity. We are moving rapidly into the age of micro-cosmic computing: from the planetary scale in which a single application can access the computing power and data resources of the entire world, to nanotech scale computing where a single location can be wired with millions of sensors. But at both ends of the scale, the computing devices (applications, sensors) interact with each other to provide us with increasingly complex, context-aware, and content-adaptive services and functionalities. There is therefore is a strong qualitative impact on the nature, substance and style of interaction between components. These interactions will occur in patterns and via mechanisms that can hardly be grasped in terms of classical models of interaction or service-oriented coordination. To some extent, future software systems will exhibit characteristics making them more resemble natural systems and societies than of mechanical systems and traditional software architectures.

This situation poses exciting challenges to computer scientists and software engineers. Already, software agents and multi-agent systems are recognised as both useful abstractions and effective technologies for the modelling and building of complex distributed applications. However, little is done with regard to effective and methodical development of complex software systems in terms of multi-agent societies. An urgent need exists for novel approaches to software modelling and software engineering that can support the successful deployment of software systems made up of a massive number of autonomous components. We need to enable designers to control and predict the behaviour of their systems, but alternatively to enable emergent global system properties and discovered functionality to be commonplace. It is very likely that such innovations will exploit lessons from a variety of different scientific disciplines, such as sociology, economics, organisation science, modern thermodynamics, and biology. Furthermore, since these systems will be ubiquitous, persistent, and pervasive, i.e. embedded in the real world, we need to know what frameworks of law will facilitate their regulation.

The sequel to successful editions in 2000, 2001 and 2002, ESAW'03 remains committed to the use of the notion of multi-agent systems as seed for animated, constructive, and highly inter-disciplinary discussions about technologies, methodologies, and tools for the engineering of complex distributed applications. While the workshop places an emphasis on practical engineering issues, it also welcomes theoretical, philosophical, and empirical contributions, provided that they clearly document their connection to the core applied issues.

Topics of Interest...

... therefore include (but are not limited to):

• analysis, design, development and verification of agent societies
• very large-scale multi-agent systems
• models of complex distributed systems with agents and societies
• agent societies as norm-governed computational systems
• coordination models & technologies for engineering of agent societies
• interaction-coordination patterns in agent societies
• inter-disciplinary approaches to engineering of agent societies
• engineering of social intelligence in multi-agent systems
• indirect programming of multi-agent systems
• centralised vs. decentralised social control
• self-organisation and self-regulation in agent societies
• security and trust in agent societies
• conflict resolution in agent societies
• middleware infrastructures for agent societies
• studies of information ecosystems
• applications of analyses of entangled behaviour and bizarre systems
• experiences in building and maintaining large agent societies
• evolution of institutions in multi-agent societies
• socio-cognitive and cultural factors in multi-agent societies
• insightful analyses of negative results

Extended versions of papers presented at the workshop incorporating the results of the discussions will be published in the workshop's post-proceedings. As for the earlier workshop editions (LNAI 1972, LNAI 2203, and LNAI 2577), post-proceedings will be published by Springer-Verlag, as a volume of the Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence series.

Omicini A., Tolksdorf R., Zambonelli F. (eds.):
Engineering Societies in the Agents World
First International Workshop, ESAW 2000, Berlin, Germany, August 2000, Revised Papers
Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence (LNAI) 1972
Springer Verlag, Berlin Heidelberg New York Barcelona, 2000.
 

Omicini A., Petta P., Tolksdorf R. (eds.):
Engineering Societies in the Agents World II
Second International Workshop, ESAW 2001, Prague, Czech Republic, July 7, 2001, Revised Papers
Lecture Notes in Computer Science 2203,
Springer Verlag, Berlin Heidelberg, 2001.
 

Petta P., Tolksdorf R., Zambonelli F., Ossowski S. (eds.):
Engineering Societies in the Agents World III
Third International Workshop, ESAW 2002, Madrid, Spain, September 2002, Revised Papers
Lecture Notes in Computer Science 2577, Springer Verlag, Berlin Heidelberg, 2003.