This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 11th German Conference on Multiagent System Technologies, MATES 2013, held in Koblenz, Germany, in September 2013. The 29 revised full papers and 3 keynote talks presented were carefully reviewed and selected from various submissions. The papers cover a broad area of topics of interest ranging from issues of agent-based coordination to simulation to negotiation.
This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 12th International Workshop on Cooperative Information Agents, CIA 2008, held in Prague, Czech Republik, in September 2008. The book contains 5 invited papers and 19 revised full papers which were carefully reviewed and selected from 38 submissions. The papers are organized in topical sections on Trust, Applications, Coordination and Communications, and Negotiation.
These proceedings document the 11th International Workshop on Cooperative Information Agents (CIA 2007), held at Delft University of Technology, Netherlands, from September 19–21, 2007. In our interconnected world of diverse information systems and devices, the intelligent coordination and delivery of relevant information anytime and anywhere is crucial for various applications. This challenge can be addressed through intelligent and cooperative information agents. These agents are software entities that access multiple heterogeneous and geographically dispersed data sources, proactively searching for and maintaining information on behalf of users or other agents, ideally just in time. They help manage the complexities of information overload in pervasive information landscapes. Each component of a modern cooperative information system is represented by an intelligent information agent capable of addressing system and semantic heterogeneities in context. These agents aim to achieve both individual and shared goals based on user preferences while considering constraints like time, budget, and resources. A significant challenge in developing age-based intelligent information systems in open environments, such as the Internet, is balancing the autonomy of networked data and knowledge sources with the benefits of utilizing cooperative and intelligent agents.
This compilation explores various aspects of agent-based systems and their applications in the Semantic Web and beyond. It begins with an overview of the current state and challenges in Semantic Web research, followed by a proposed research agenda for agent-based service-oriented architectures. The text discusses the role of distributed agents in creating helpful environments and examines voting dynamics in cooperative information scenarios. It delves into agent-based information provision and the optimization of web content personalization in mobile computing contexts. Applications of agent technology are highlighted, including incident management analysis and a distributed implementation of flocking models for document clustering. The text also addresses the statistical selection of web services and the dynamic evaluation of services in bioinformatics. A classification framework for adaptation in multi-agent systems is presented, alongside market-inspired collaborative learning strategies. Resource and task allocation techniques are explored, emphasizing egalitarian approaches and efficient decomposition methods. Negotiation strategies in non-stationary environments are analyzed, focusing on the elimination of interdependencies in multi-issue scenarios. The text concludes with discussions on communication patterns, interoperability through standards, and frameworks for cooperative agents, including knowledge transfer proto
These proceedings document the 8th International Workshop on Cooperative Information Agents (CIA 2004), held in -furt, Germany, from September 27–29, 2004, as part of the multi-conference Net.ObjectDays 2004 and co-located with the 2nd German Conference on Multiagent Systems Technologies (MATES 2004). In our increasingly interconnected world of diverse computer systems and information sources, the intelligent coordination and delivery of relevant information through cooperative information agents is vital for various applications. An information agent is a software entity that accesses multiple heterogeneous and geographically dispersed data sources, proactively searching for and maintaining information for its users or other agents, ideally just in time. This addresses the challenges of information overload in pervasive information and service landscapes. Cooperative information agents can work together to achieve both individual and shared goals, influenced by user preferences, budget constraints, and available resources. A key challenge in developing agent-based intelligent information systems in open environments is balancing the autonomy of networked data sources with the benefits of utilizing them through information agents. Interdisciplinary research and development in this field necessitates expertise in information retrieval, artificial intelligence, database systems, human-computer interaction, and Internet and web t
These proceedings document the 7th International Workshop on Cooperative Information Agents (CIA 2003), held at the Sonera Conference Center in Helsinki, Finland, from August 27–29, 2003, alongside the 4th Agentcities Information Days. A primary challenge in developing advanced agent-based information systems is balancing the autonomy of diverse networked data sources with the benefits of utilizing intelligent information agents on the Internet. Information agents are software entities that access multiple heterogeneous and distributed data sources, proactively searching for and maintaining relevant information for users or other agents, ideally just-in-time. They address the challenges of information overload in the rapidly expanding Internet and Web. Depending on their applications, information agents can collaborate in various environments to enhance the value of applications across different domains. The research and development of these agents is inherently interdisciplinary, requiring expertise in areas like information retrieval, artificial intelligence, database systems, human-computer interaction, and web technology. Established in 1997, this annual workshop series aims to provide a platform for researchers, developers, and managers to share and discuss high-quality advancements in information agent technology. Each event encourages contributions from diverse research communities and fosters open discussions on relate
These are the proceedings of the Sixth International Workshop on Cooperative Information Agents (CIA 2002), held at the Universidad de Rey Juan Carlos in Madrid, Spain, September 18–20, 2002. It was colocated with the Third Int- national Workshop on Engineering Societies in the Agents World (ESAW 2002). Since 1997 the annual CIA workshop series has aimed to provide an open forum for all parties interested in the research and development of intelligent infor- tion agents for the Internet and Web. Each event in this renowned series attempts to capture the intrinsic interdisciplinary nature of this research area by calling for contributions from di? erent research communities, and by promoting open and informative discussions on all related topics. In keeping with its tradition, this year’s workshop featured a sequence of regular and invited talks of excellence given by leading experts in the ? elds related to information agent technology. These talks covered a broad area of topics of - terest, such as information agents for mobile computing environments as well as information gathering, exchange, management, and collaborative recommender systems. Other topics included agent interaction and communication, negot- tion strategies for purchasing relevant information, and agent-based distributed knowledge management.
These proceedings document the Fifth International Workshop on Cooperative Information Agents, held in Modena, Italy, from September 6-8, 2001. Information agent technology has emerged as a crucial component of the Internet and World Wide Web, addressing challenges in cyberspace from both technological and user perspectives. Developing these agents requires expertise across various disciplines, including Artificial Intelligence (AI), advanced databases, knowledge base systems, distributed information systems, information retrieval, and Human-Computer Interaction (HCI). The workshop continued its tradition of fostering interdisciplinary collaboration by inviting contributions from diverse research communities and encouraging open discussions on related topics. It featured a series of regular and invited talks by leading experts, focusing on the challenges faced by information agents in the era of ubiquitous and pervasive computing. Key issues discussed included the efficient utilization, evolution, and trust management of information agents for user-oriented information search, provision, and visualization in environments with small, mobile, and embedded devices. Additionally, the potential for agent-based support in massive distributed data warehousing on a global scale was explored.
These proceedings capture the essence of the Fourth International Workshop on Cooperative Information Agents, which took place in Boston, Massachusetts, from July 7-9, 2000. The focus of cooperative information agent research has evolved from accessing diverse, distributed information sources through methods like Internet search engines and application program interfaces to integrating this information into coherent models. This integration raises critical issues such as data quality, source reliability, and personal privacy. The scope of research has broadened to encompass agent negotiation, communities, mobility, and collaboration for information discovery in constrained environments. The interdisciplinary workshop series addresses a wide range of topics related to cooperative information agents. Previous proceedings have been published by Springer as Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence. The theme for this workshop, "The Future of Information Agents in Cyberspace," reflects the growing significance of agents in information gathering, negotiation, and dissemination. A notable trend at CIA 2000 was the emphasis on agent communities that negotiate for resources, develop robust ontologies to improve search capabilities, communicate for planning and problem-solving, learn from experiences, and gain increasing autonomy in managing complex systems.
This book presents 10 chapters on various aspects of intelligent information agents contributed by members of the respective AgentLink special interest group. The papers are organized in three parts on agent-based information systems, adaptive information agents, and coordination of information agents. Also included are a comprehensive introduction and surveys for each of the three parts.