[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Call for Participation:
Evolutionary COmputation and Multi-Agent Systems
(ECOMAS)
(see
http://gal4.ge.uiuc.edu:8080/gecco-2001/workshops/index.html#evolutionaryCO,
where a more extensive webpage will be added in the New Year)
A Birds-Of-A-Feather Workshop At
GECCO 2001
(http://gal4.ge.uiuc.edu:8080/gecco-2001/)
Submissions Due: February 15, 2001
Workshop Date: July 7, 2001
Description Of The Workshop Topic
Multi-agent systems (MAS) are collections of interacting autonomous
entities. The behaviour of the MAS is a result of the repeated asynchronous
action and interaction of the agents. Understanding how to engineer
adaptation and self-organisation is thus central to the application of
agents on a large scale. Moreover, multi-agent simulations can also be used
to study emergent behaviour in real systems.
Desirable self-organisation is observed in many biological, social and
physical systems. However, fostering these conditions in artificial systems
proves to be difficult and offers the potential for undesirable behaviours
to emerge. Thus, it is vital to be able to understand and shape emergent
behaviours in agent based systems. Current mathematical and empirical tools
give only a partial insight into emergent behaviour in large, agent-based
societies. EC provides on paradigm for addressing this need. Moreover, EC
techniques are inherently based on a distributed paradigm (natural
evolution), making them particularly well suited for adaptation in agents.
At the same time, ideas from natural ecosystems or economies, such as
resource flows, niches, and spatial context or neighbourhood can contribute
both to the development of MAS and to the improvement of EC techniques. The
interaction between these different sources of natural inspiration and the
two computing disciplines of MAS and EC is beginning to stimulate a range of
systems with properties that extend the MAS and EC concepts in new and
interesting directions.
Notable examples of systems of that begin to examine the issues of EC in MAS
include Holland's ECHO system, Tierra, Avalanche, Egglets, Amalthaea,
InfoSpiders, and many others .
The goal of EcoMAS is to open a dialog among researchers and practitioners
who are examining EC in MAS. EcoMAS represents an important opportunity for
those active or interested in this area to hear about current work, discuss
future directions and priorities, and form invaluable research contacts.
Interest To The GEC Community
With the advance of computational power and communications speed, we now
live in a computational world where a large number of agents may be working
on behalf of any given user. A large number of Internet software agents may
be acting on behalf of even the most casual user: searching for music,
comparing pension schemes, purchasing good and services, identifying chat
partners, etc. Moreover, these agents may be collaborating with those of
other users, while spawning and managing agents of their own. In more formal
settings, a business, academic, or government user may simultaneously employ
many software agents to manage workflow, trade goods or information,
collaboratively solve problems, etc. In the future, even relatively simple
household appliances may play a role in this churning system of interacting,
computational agents.
In this world, EC theories and practices have new implications. Agents that
interact according to these theories are no longer locked inside the
laboratory conditions imposed by EC researchers and users.The interest in
merging the EC and MAS research communities is certainly growing. In the
opinion of the organizers, it is important to the GEC community that there
is a forum to discuss the particular issues of EC in MAS. Simultaneously,
such a forum allows for ideas from contemporary MAS research to spread to
the GEC community.
Workshop Format
In the opinion of the organizers, it is important that a workshop involve
more than talks and presentations. Therefore, the workshop will be focused
on an extensive, directed discussion on the future of EC in MAS. Other
aspects of the workshop will be directed at facilitating this discussion:
1) The workshop will allow for the selected presenters to post
"mini-posters." Much of this material will be available before the workshop,
via a web site.
2)
3) The first hour of the workshop will consist of "mini-presentations" to
preview the mini-poster session. Authors will be allowed to present at most
two transparencies. Time constraints will be adjusted, depending on the
number of presenters selected, but a limit will be maintained, to allow for
the sessions outlined below.
4)
5) The second hour of the workshop will consist of a mini-poster session.
6)
7) The third hour of the workshop will focus on a discussion of the future
of EC in MAS.
8)
9) The final, and perhaps most important, hour of the workshop will be a
discussion focused on action items for advancing EC in MAS. The organizers
feel that explicitly providing time to discuss agendas in the fashion will
give the workshop an atypical, meaningful outcome.
10)
Submission Instructions
If you would like to present material at the workshop (in the format noted
above), please submit a 4 page extended abstract in Postscript or PDF form
to [EMAIL PROTECTED] by February 15th, 2001. If your submission is accepted,
expect to submit a camera ready version of the extended abstract by April
15th, 2001, and to submit a web-based presentation (PowerPoint, HTML, PDF,
etc.) by June 1st, 2001.
If you would like to participate, but not present, please notify
[EMAIL PROTECTED] by February 15th, 2001, as GECCO requires us to submit a
participants list.
Important Dates:
Submissions Due: February 15, 2001
Review Decisions To Authors By: March 15, 2001
Camera Ready Due: April 15, 2001
Reservations Due at Holiday Inn Golden Gateway Hotel: June 6, 2001
Web Materials Due: June 1, 2001
Workshop Date: July 7, 2001
Workshop Organizers
Claudio Bonacina, Robert Smith
Intelligent Computing Systems Centre
University of The West of England
Coldharbour Lane, Frenchay
Bristol BS16 1QY, UK
Cefn Hoile, Paul Marrow
Intelligent Systems Laboratory, BTexaCT
Admin 2 PP 5, Adastral Park
Ipswich IP5 3RE, UK
