Computation Tree Logic Model Checking of Multi-Agent Systems Based on Fuzzy Epistemic Interpreted Systems

Model checking is an automated formal verification method to verify whether epistemic multi-agent systems adhere to property specifications.Although there is an extensive literature on qualitative properties such as safety and liveness,there is still a lack of quantitative and uncertain property verifications for these systems.In uncertain environments,agents must make judicious decisions based on subjective epistemic.To verify epistemic and measurable properties in multi-agent systems,this paper extends fuzzy computation tree logic by introducing epistemic modalities and proposing a new Fuzzy Computation Tree Logic of Knowledge(FCTLK).We represent fuzzy multi-agent systems as distributed knowledge bases with fuzzy epistemic interpreted systems.In addition,we provide a transformation algorithm from fuzzy epistemic interpreted systems to fuzzy Kripke structures,as well as transformation rules from FCTLK formulas to Fuzzy Computation Tree Logic(FCTL)formulas.Accordingly,we transform the FCTLK model checking problem into the FCTL model checking.This enables the verification of FCTLK formulas by using the fuzzy model checking algorithm of FCTL without additional computational overheads.Finally,we present correctness proofs and complexity analyses of the proposed algorithms.Additionally,we further illustrate the practical application of our approach through an example of a train control system.

Discovering Latent Variables for the Tasks With Confounders in Multi-Agent Reinforcement Learning

Efficient exploration in complex coordination tasks has been considered a challenging problem in multi-agent reinforcement learning(MARL). It is significantly more difficult for those tasks with latent variables that agents cannot directly observe. However, most of the existing latent variable discovery methods lack a clear representation of latent variables and an effective evaluation of the influence of latent variables on the agent. In this paper, we propose a new MARL algorithm based on the soft actor-critic method for complex continuous control tasks with confounders. It is called the multi-agent soft actor-critic with latent variable(MASAC-LV) algorithm, which uses variational inference theory to infer the compact latent variables representation space from a large amount of offline experience.Besides, we derive the counterfactual policy whose input has no latent variables and quantify the difference between the actual policy and the counterfactual policy via a distance function. This quantified difference is considered an intrinsic motivation that gives additional rewards based on how much the latent variable affects each agent. The proposed algorithm is evaluated on two collaboration tasks with confounders, and the experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of MASAC-LV compared to other baseline algorithms.

Event-triggered robust cooperative output regulation for a class of linear multi-agent systems with an unknown exosystem

This paper investigates the robust cooperative output regulation problem for a class of heterogeneousuncertain linear multi-agent systems with an unknown exosystem via event-triggered control (ETC). By utilizingthe internal model approach and the adaptive control technique, a distributed adaptive internal model isconstructed for each agent. Then, based on this internal model, a fully distributed ETC strategy composed ofa distributed event-triggered adaptive output feedback control law and a distributed dynamic event-triggeringmechanism is proposed, in which each agent updates its control input at its own triggering time instants. It isshown that under the proposed ETC strategy, the robust cooperative output regulation problem can be solvedwithout requiring either the global information associated with the communication topology or the bounds ofthe uncertain or unknown parameters in each agent and the exosystem. A numerical example is provided toillustrate the effectiveness of the proposed control strategy.

Multi-agent Based Hierarchy Simulation Models of Carrier-based Aircraft Catapult Launch

With the aid of multi-agent based modeling approach to complex systems, the hierarchy simulation models of carrier-based aircraft catapult launch are developed. Ocean, carrier, aircraft, and atmosphere are treated as aggregation agents, the detailed components like catapult, landing gears, and disturbances are considered as meta-agents, which belong to their aggregation agent. Thus, the model with two layers is formed i.e. the aggregation agent layer and the meta-agent layer. The information communication among all agents is described. The meta-agents within one aggregation agent communicate with each other directly by information sharing, but the meta-agents, which belong to different aggregation agents exchange their information through the aggregation layer first, and then perceive it from the sharing environment, that is the aggregation agent. Thus, not only the hierarchy model is built, but also the environment perceived by each agent is specified. Meanwhile, the problem of balancing the independency of agent and the resource consumption brought by real-time communication within multi-agent system （MAS） is resolved. Each agent involved in carrier-based aircraft catapult launch is depicted, with considering the interaction within disturbed atmospheric environment and multiple motion bodies including carrier, aircraft, and landing gears. The models of reactive agents among them are derived based on tensors, and the perceived messages and inner frameworks of each agent are characterized. Finally, some results of a simulation instance are given. The simulation and modeling of dynamic system based on multi-agent system is of benefit to express physical concepts and logical hierarchy clearly and precisely. The system model can easily draw in kinds of other agents to achieve a precise simulation of more complex system. This modeling technique makes the complex integral dynamic equations of multibodies decompose into parallel operations of single agent, and it is convenient to expand, maintain, and reuse the program codes.

Resilience Against Replay Attacks:A Distributed Model Predictive Control Scheme for Networked Multi-Agent Systems

In this paper,a resilient distributed control scheme against replay attacks for multi-agent networked systems subject to input and state constraints is proposed.The methodological starting point relies on a smart use of predictive arguments with a twofold aim:1)Promptly detect malicious agent behaviors affecting normal system operations;2)Apply specific control actions,based on predictive ideas,for mitigating as much as possible undesirable domino effects resulting from adversary operations.Specifically,the multi-agent system is topologically described by a leader-follower digraph characterized by a unique leader and set-theoretic receding horizon control ideas are exploited to develop a distributed algorithm capable to instantaneously recognize the attacked agent.Finally,numerical simulations are carried out to show benefits and effectiveness of the proposed approach.

Immune multi-agent model using vaccine for cooperative air-defense system of systems for surface warship formation based on danger theory

Aiming at the problem on cooperative air-defense of surface warship formation, this paper maps the cooperative airdefense system of systems （SoS） for surface warship formation （CASoSSWF） to the biological immune system （BIS） according to the similarity of the defense mechanism and characteristics between the CASoSSWF and the BIS, and then designs the models of components and the architecture for a monitoring agent, a regulating agent, a killer agent, a pre-warning agent and a communicating agent by making use of the theories and methods of the artificial immune system, the multi-agent system （MAS）, the vaccine and the danger theory （DT）. Moreover a new immune multi-agent model using vaccine based on DT （IMMUVBDT） for the cooperative air-defense SoS is advanced. The immune response and immune mechanism of the CASoSSWF are analyzed. The model has a capability of memory, evolution, commendable dynamic environment adaptability and self-learning, and embodies adequately the cooperative air-defense mechanism for the CASoSSWF. Therefore it shows a novel idea for the CASoSSWF which can provide conception models for a surface warship formation operation simulation system.

The Multi-Agent Modeling and Calculated Analysis of Shop Logistics Scheduling in the Manufacturing Enterprises

In this paper,the multi-agent model about shop logistics is set up. This model has 8 agents: raw materials stock agent,process agent,testing agent,transition agent,production information agent,scheduling agent,process agent and stock agent. The scheduling agent has three subagents: manager agent (MA),resource agent (RA) and part agent (PA). MA,PA and RA are communicating equally that guarantees agility of the whole MAS system. The part tasks pass between MA,RA and PA as an integer,which can guarantee the consistency of the data. We use a detailed example about shop logistics scheduling in a semiconductor company to explain the principle. In this example,we use two scheduling strategies: FCFS and SPT. The result data indicates that the average flow time and lingering ratio are changed using different strategy. It is proves that the multi-agent scheduling is useful.

Multi-agent Blind Model and Its Application to Regional Eco-environmental Quality Assessment

Through denoting each expert as an agent and viewing a multiple criteria decision-making as a synthesis problem of aggregating experts＇ ratings, a multi-agent blind model （MABM） is developed for regional eco-environmental quality assessment. In this model, the ratings of the evaluated object under an index, given by expert group, are first utilized to construct a series of blind numbers. In general, each index will correspond to different blind numbers. On the basis of aggregating index weights, the rank score in the form of a blind number is obtained for the evaluated object. Then, by means of calculating expected value of the above blind number, its rank score is further converted into a crisp value. By way of comparing the expected value with classification standards, eco-environmental quality of the evaluated sample could he identified successfully in the end. As a case, the MABM is used to evaluate the eco-environmental quality of Chaohu Lake basin. Study result shows that the MABM is a useful model for regional eco-environmental quality assessment.

Multi-agent Based Modeling of Manufacturing Network

An intelligent manufacturing system is modeled currently from the viewpoint of manufacturing applications,and the network platform’s influence to manufacturing applications is not considered adequately. However any bottleneck in service oriented architecture (SOA) for the manufacturing network can affect the agility of the IT environment. In this paper,to achieve a trade-off between manufacturing resources and network resources,the manufacturing network is modeled with multi-agent,in which two kinds of basic elements,the manufacturing application unit and the network carrier of manufacturing information,are presented. And their main characters are described by colored petri net. The manufacturing application model drives the network platform that inversely provides this application model technology supports. The proposed multi-agent system is demonstrated through an example integration scenario involving production plan,resources management and execution subsystems. And the result suggests that analyzing and designing the system architecture of networked manufacturing should give due attention to the operation system as well as manufacturing applications.

On modeling and analyzing multi-agent systems using π-calculus

Dynamic architecture of multi-agent systems （MAS） is important for critical systems. As the existing formal specifications of MAS cannot describe its dynamic architecture, a formal approach using n-calculus is presented, which is suited for the describing and analyzing of concurrent MAS with dynamic topology, n-calculus describes the belief-desireintention （BDI） model that represents agent＇s mental states and provides many useful facilities to analyze MAS model such as deadlock, behavior equivalence, and model checking. To illustrate the favorable representation capability of n-calculus, an example of dynamic multi-agent systems in e-commerce is provided. Finally, by using an existing n-calculus supporting tool, MAS model and some key behaviors properties are analyzed and verified.

A Multi-Agent Based Model for User Interest Mining on Sina Weibo

User interest mining on Sina Weibo is the basis of personalized recommendations,advertising,marketing promotions,and other tasks.Although great progress has been made in this area,previous studies have ignored the differences among users:the varied behaviors and habits that lead to unique user data characteristics.It is unreasonable to use a single strategy to mine interests from such varied user data.Therefore,this paper proposes an adaptive model for user interest mining based on a multi-agent system whose input includes self-descriptive user data,microblogs and correlations.This method has the ability to select the appropriate strategy based on each user’s data characteristics.The experimental results show that the proposed method performs better than the baselines.

Discrete decision model and multi-agent simulation of the Liang Zong two-chain hierarchical organization in a complex project

Different from the organization structure of complex projects in Western countries, the Liang Zong hierarchical organization structure of complex projects in China has two different chains, the chief-engineer chain and the general-director chain,to handle the trade-off between technical and management decisions. However, previous works on organization search have mainly focused on the single-chain hierarchical organization in which all decisions are regarded as homogeneous. The heterogeneity and the interdependency between technical decisions and management decisions have been neglected. A two-chain hierarchical organization structure mapped from a real complex project is constructed. Then, a discrete decision model for a Liang Zong two-chain hierarchical organization in an NK model framework is proposed. This model proves that this kind of organization structure can reduce the search space by a large amount and that the search process should reach a final stable state more quickly. For a more complicated decision mechanism, a multi-agent simulation based on the above NK model is used to explore the effect of the two-chain organization structure on the speed, stability, and performance of the search process. The results provide three insights into how, compared with the single-chain hierarchical organization, the two-chain organization can improve the search process: it can reduce the number of iterations efficiently; the search is more stable because the search space is a smoother hill-like fitness landscape; in general, the search performance can be improved.However, when the organization structure is very complicated, the performance of a two-chain organization is inferior to that of a single-chain organization. These findings about the efficiency of the unique Chinese-style organization structure can be used to guide organization design for complex projects.

Multi-agent immune recognition of water mine model

It is necessary for mine countermeasure systems to recognise the model of a water mine before destroying because the destroying measures to be taken must be determined according to mine model. In this paper, an immune neural network (INN) along with water mine model recognition system based on multi-agent system is proposed. A modified clonal selection algorithm for constructing such an INN is presented based on clonal selection principle. The INN is a two-layer Boolean network whose number of outputs is adaptable according to the task and the affinity threshold. Adjusting the affinity threshold can easily control different recognition precision, and the affinity threshold also can control the capability of noise tolerance.

Decision-Making Model of Public Service Facility Configuration in Multi-agent Communities and Its Application

The decision.making process of the public service facility configuration in multi.agent community is usually simplistic and static. In order to reflect dynamic changes and interactions of all behavior subjects induding of residents, real estate developers and the government, a decision-making model of public service facility configuration according to the multi-agent theory was made to improve the efficiency of the public service facility configuration in community and the living quality of residents. Taking a community to the cast of Jinhui Port in Fengxian District in Shanghai for example, the model analyzed the decision-makers＇ adaptive behaviors and simulated the decision.making criteria. The results indicate that the decision-making model and criteria can be well of satisfying the purpose of improving validity and rationality of public service facility configuration in large community.

The Profit Model of Long-Term Lease Apartments Under Multi-Agent Supply

The acceleration of urbanization has led to an increase in the number of urban floating population, which leads to more demands for the housing rental market. With the support of policies, long-term lease apartments have begun to emerge. However, under the multi-subject supply, longterm lease apartments have encountered problems such as small profits in their development. Starting from the background of the development of long-term lease apartments, this study classified the main types of long-term lease apartments, analyzed the four profit models of comprehensive profit, expansion of rent difference, REITs and value-added services based on their business models, and proposed corresponding suggestions on the profitability of long-term lease apartments according to the current situation of profit difficulty of long-term lease apartments and the lack of profit models.

A Cognitive Model for Multi-Agent Collaboration

In multi-agent system, agents work together for solving complex tasks and reaching common goals. In this paper, we propose a cognitive model for multi-agent collaboration. Based on the cognitive model, an agent architecture will also be presented. This agent has BDI, awareness and policy driven mechanism concurrently. These approaches are integrated in one agent that will make multi-agent collaboration more practical in the real world.

Hierarchical Resource Load Balancing Based on Multi-Agent in ServiceBSP Model

Based on ServiceBSP model, a hierarchical resource load balancing algorithm with Multi-Agent is put forward in this paper which achieves the goal of dynamic load balancing and favorable Fault-tolerant. The algorithm calculates the load value according to the attributes of resource and scheduling tasks relies on the load value, while updating the load information dynamically depending on Multi-Agent. The method avoids frequent communications on load information. Furthermore, the paper introduces the function of agents, relations and communications among agents in details. Finally, by comparing response time and distribution of load using proposed method with other available methods such as without no load balancing and load balancing only giving regards to CPU, the experimental simulation shows that the load balancing based on Multi-Agent possesses superior performance on response time and load balancing.

A model for knowledge transfer in a multi-agent organization based on lattice kinetic model

A study on knowledge transfer in a mutli-agent organization is performed by applying the basic principle in physics such as the kinetic theory.Based on the theoretical analysis of the knowledge accumulation process and knowledge transfer attributes,a special type of knowledge field(KF)is introduced and the knowledge diffusion equation(KDE)is developed.The evolution of knowledge potential is modeled by lattice kinetic equation and verified by numerical experiments.The new equation-based modeling developed in this paper is meaningful to simulate and predict the knowledge transfer process in firms.The development of the lattice kinetic model(LKM)for knowledge transfer can contribute to the knowledge management theory,and the managers can also simulate the knowledge accumulation process by using the LKM.

A Fundamental Study on Multi-agent Pedestrian Model Based on Risk Avoidance Behavior during Road Blockage and Evacuation Simulation of Regional Urban Disaster

Regional cities in Japan are at the risk of experiencing big fire accidents or earthquakes every day.However,neither the number nor the capacity of shelters has increased because local governments might not consider them owing to budget shortfall.By contrast,wide-area evacuation simulations can easily provide an antagonizing image of regional urban disasters.After a disaster,the city collapses and the evacuation routes are closed;consequently,evacuees feel anxious and they cannot move as usual.This anxiety behavior has not been considered in previous related studies and simulations.In this study,a wide-area evacuation simulation is developed;this model can not only calculate the possibility of blocking escape routes when the city is broken but also provide safe and more realistic evacuation plans before a disaster occurs by incorporating into the simulation the risk avoidance behaviors of evacuees from road blockage,such as“the route re-seeking behavior”and“the shelter re-selecting behavior”.

Dynamic Behavior Modeling in Multi-Agent System By Evolutionary Programming

In a multi-agent system, each agent must adapt itself to the environment and coordinate with other agents dynamically. TO predict or cooperate with the behavior of oiller agents. An agent should dynamically establish and evolve the cooperative behavior model of itself. In this paper, we represent the behavior model of an agent as a f-mite state machine and propose a new method of dynamically evolving the behavior model of an agent by evolutionary programming.