Walt Truszkowski

Diana F. Gordon-Spears

Christopher Rouff

Michael Hinchey

James Rash

The field of agent & multi-agent systems is experiencing tremendous growth whilst that of formal methods has also blossomed. The FAABS (Formal Approaches to Agent-Based Systems) workshops, merging the concerns of the two fields, were thus timely. This book has arisen from the overwhelming response to FAABS '00, '02 & '04 and all chapters are updated or represent new research, & are designed to provide a more in-depth treatment of the topic. Examples of how others have applied formal methods to agent-based systems are included, plus formal method tools & techniques that readers can apply to their own systems. Agent Technology from a Formal Perspective provides an in-depth view of the key issues related to agent technology from a formal perspective. As this is a relatively new interdisciplinary field, there is enormous room for further growth and this book not only creates an initial foundation, but points to the gaps; indicating open problems to be addressed by future researchers, students & practitioners.

Agent Technology from a Formal Perspective

Fabio MASSACCI

Haris Mouratidis

Mike Barley

Amy Unruh

Paul Scerri

As intelligent autonomous agents and multiagent system applications become more pervasive, it becomes increasingly important to understand the risks associated with using these systems. Incorrect or inappropriate agent behavior can have harmful - fects, including financial cost, loss of data, and injury to humans or systems. For - ample, NASA has proposed missions where multiagent systems, working in space or on other planets, will need to do their own reasoning about safety issues that concern not only themselves but also that of their mission. Likewise, industry is interested in agent systems that can search for new supply opportunities and engage in (semi-) automated negotiations over new supply contracts. These systems should be able to securely negotiate such arrangements and decide which credentials can be requested and which credentials may be disclosed. Such systems may encounter environments that are only partially understood and where they must learn for themselves which aspects of their environment are safe and which are dangerous. Thus, security and safety are two central issues when developing and deploying such systems. We refer to a multiagent system’s security as the ability of the system to deal with threats that are intentionally caused by other intelligent agents and/or s- tems, and the system’s safety as its ability to deal with any other threats to its goals.

Research Results from 2004-2006

Safety and Security in Multiagent Systems

Diana F. Gordon-Spears

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