Intelligent multi-agent systems offer promising approaches for knowledge-intensive distributed applications. Now that such systems are becoming applied on a wider industrial scale, there is a practical need for structured analysis and design methods, similarly as exist for more conventional information and knowledge systems. This is still lacking for intelligent agent software. In this paper, we describe how the process of agent communication specification can be carried out through a structured analysis approach. The structured analysis approach we propose is an integrated extension of the CommonKADS methodology, a widely used standard for knowledge analysis and systems development. Our approach is based on and illustrated by a large-scale multi-agent application for distributed energy load management in industries and households, called Homebots, which is discussed as an extensive industrial case study.

The process of agent communication modeling has not yet received much attention in the knowledge systems area. Conventional knowledge systems are rather simple with respect to their communication structure: often it is a straightforward question-and-answer sequence between system and end user. However, this is different in recent intelligent multi-agent systems. Therefore, agent communication aspects are now in need of a much more advanced treatment in knowledge management, acquisition and modeling. In general, a much better integration between the respective achievements of multi-agent and knowledge-based systems modeling is an important research goal. In this paper, we describe how agent communications can be specified as an extension of well-known knowledge modeling techniques. The emphasis is on showing how a structured process of communication requirements analysis proceeds, based on existing results from agent communication languages. The guidelines proposed are illustrated by and based on a large-scale industrial multi-agent application for distributed energy load management in industries and households, called Homebots. Homebots enable cost savings in energy consumption by coordinating their actions through an auction mechanism.

The deregulation of the European energy market, combined with emerging ad-vanced capabilities of information technology, provides strategic opportunities for new knowledge-oriented services on the power grid. HOMEBOTS is the name we have coined for one of these innovative services: decentralized power load management at the customer side, automatically carried out by a ‘society’ of interactive house-hold, industrial and utility equipment. They act as independent intelligent agents that communicate and negotiate in a computational market economy. The knowl-edge and competence aspects of this application are discussed, using an improved version of task analysis according to the COMMONKADS knowledge methodology. Illustrated by simulation results, we indicate how customer knowledge can be mo-bilized to achieve joint goals of cost and energy savings. General implications for knowledge creation and its management are discussed.

A compositional verification method for multi-agent systems is presented and applied to a multi-agent system for one-to-many negotiation in the domain of load balancing of electricity use. Advantages of the method are that the complexity of the verification process is managed by compositionality, and that part of the proofs can be reused in relation to reuse of components.

Verification of multi-agent systems hardly occurs in design practice. One of the difficulties is that required properties for a multi-agent system usually refer to multi-agent behaviour which has nontrivial dynamics. To constrain these multi-agent behavioural dynamics, often a form of organisational structure is used, for example, for negotiating agents, by following strict protocols. The claim is that these negotiation protocols entail a structured process that is manageable with respect to analysis, design and execution of such a multi-agent system. In this paper this is shown by a case study: verification of a multi-agent system for one-to-many negotiation in the domain of load balancing of electricity use. A compositional verification method for multi-agent systems is applied that allows to (1) logically relate dynamic properties of the multi-agent system as a whole to dynamic properties of agents, and (2) logically relate dynamic properties of agents to properties of their subcomponents. Given that properties of these subcomponents can be verified by more standard methods, these logical relationships provide proofs of the dynamic properties of the multi-agent system as a whole.

The usefulness of configurable and shared experiment platforms in design and implementation of future Resilient Smart Grids is demonstrated. A set of antagonistic threats is identified and remotely controlled experiments to harness those are presented and assessed.

The paper focus on cyber weapons used in Advanced Persistent Threat (ATP) attacks in present and future cyber warfare. The combined use of propaganda and cyber warfare supports military operations on the ground and is exemplified with the ongoing Russian hybrid warfare in Ukraine. New models and methods to develop future trustworthy critical infrastructures in our societies are presented. Some mitigation ideas to meet the challenges of future hybrid warfare are also discussed. © 2017 IEEE.

To meet the high demand of educating the next generation of MSc students in Cyber security, we propose a well-composed curriculum and a configurable cloud based learning support environment ReSeLa. The proposed system is a result of the EU TEMPUS project ENGENSEC and has been extensively validated and tested. © 2019, Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

Interacting agents of exploiters and users within an information ecosystem may be regarded both as biological beings and as part of an economic system of infohabitants. A protection system can be implemented as a filter governing the access to assets. Typically we will have a chain of attacks and countermeasures concerning this access to the desired assets. We model this process as an arms race. We base our model on a process model of a protection system based on exposure time. A user's reaction against an exploiter measure could either be a direct response to the measure or an attempt to anticipate future attacks by more general means of defeating the protection of the exploiter agent. When anticipating future attacks and countermeasures, both users and exploiters will improve their methods and tools due to an arms race. Our arms race model refines the competition as modeled in computational markets to model aspects which typically arise when societies grow beyond what can be controlled in a centralized manner. A dynamic, evolving and robust ecosystem of autonomous agents is sometimes a preferred and possible outcome of the arms race as a hardening process.

The paper addresses dynamics in information ecosystems due to competition between selfish agents to get control of protectable resources. In our case study we investigate the first arms race on Internet triggered by the Napster introduction of an easy to use service for sharing files with music content among users. We set up a model for investigation of possible scenarios emerging from the Napster and Gnutella peer-to-peer tools for information sharing. We also introduce a formal model for analyzing the Napster scenario in the cases of selfish or altruistic users. The prediction provided by our model is in line with what really happened in the Napster case. The model also shows that the outcome was indeed unavoidable if we have selfish users.

We propose a new methodological approach for engineering of agent societies. This is needed due to the emergence of the Embedded Internet. We argue that such communication platforms call for a methodology that focuses on the concept of open computational systems, grounded in general system theory, and natural systems from an engineering perspective. In doing so, it stands clear that forthcoming research in this problem domain initially have to focus on cognitive primitives, rather than domain specific interaction protocols, in construction of agent societies.

We propose a new methodological approach for engineering of agent societies. This is needed due to the emergence of the Embedded Internet. We argue that such communication platforms call for a methodology that focuses on the concept of open computational systems, grounded in general system theory, and natural systems from an engineering perspective. In doing so, it stands clear that forthcoming research in this problem domain initially have to focus on cognitive primitives, rather than domain specific interaction protocols, in construction of agent societies.

Research and development of information systems for defense and warfare have changed most dramatically during the last decade; from weapons of mass destruction to sustainable systems of services. The involved information systems can be comprised by a wide range of complex, interacting, and proactive services. Consequently, construction and observation of complex multiagent systems is an important issue to pursue. We argue that methodological principles of the involved systems most appropriately can be dealt with in terms of open computational systems. In this paper we therefore introduce the general characteristics of open computational systems and briefly outline a practical case of such systems in a network-centric warfare setting, in order to identify particular issues of the proposed approach and related tools.

A multi-agent implementation of self-healing systems

In order to address challenges and opportunities of engineering information systems for network-centric warfare, we have developed a prototype for trustworthy and sustainable operations in marine environments (TWOSOME). The system developed addressed qualities such as information fusion, target acquisition, and self-organization in open computational systems; comprised of distributed services. As such, the system prototype executes on a service-oriented layered architecture for communicating entities (SOLACE) and, furthermore, different perspectives of the prototype are visualized by means of a distributed interaction system for complex entity relation networks (DISCERN).

This report summarizes the presentations and related discussions of the first international workshop on Theory and practice of open computational systems (TAPOCS) at the twelfth international workshop on Enabling technologies: Infrastructure for collaborative enterprises (WETICE). The balance between two topics of open computational systems in particular was in focus during the workshop discussions: theory and practice. As such, we introduced these topics by means of a presentation on Visions of open computational systems and concluded them by means of a presentation on an envisioned Roadmap of open computational systems.

The material presented in this paper is focused on the characteristics of open computational systems and, in particular, the issue of coordinating behavior in such systems, i.e. systemic coordination. Firstly, we introduce a conceptual framework for characterizing systemic coordination at different levels abstraction. Secondly, challenges and opportunities of this framework is outlined as a matter of exploiting a Service-oriented layered architecture for communicating entities (SOLACE) in combination with a particular coordination model (TuCSoN). In the context of systems engineering, we consider SOLACE and TuCSoN to be examples of the basic tools required for support of systemic coordination, i.e., the continuous process of construction and observation of open computational systems and their evolving interaction space. Finally, we outline the impact of these tools on empirical aspects of systemic coordination.

The purpose of this paper is to give a short motivation for and an introduction to a novel approach of how to view and develop flexible open distributed systems of the future. We propose that the emerging style of Agent Oriented Sofnyare Engineering (AOSE) has high potentials as a candidate for future models of system development. We indicate in this paper some recent and upcoming applications of AO-SE. Furthermore, we round off the paper by giving an overview of an ongoing project within an AOSE frame work, Societies of Computation (SoC) at the University of Karlskrona/Ronneby. We also give an overview of an experimental SoC-platform, developed together with Sydkraft AB, for applications in Intelligent Distribution Automation

Multi-agent systems applied to energy/smart houses applications

Proposes a society-level (SoL) view of multi-agent systems. The purposes of a SoL approach are to give: (1) a basis for a principled design methodology of industry-scale multi-agent systems based on and extending the CommonKADS methodology; (2) a structure-preserving mapping of the SoL on to emergent technologies for distributed components and network-centric computations (this mapping provides a semantic grounding of concepts at the SoL); and (3) a framework for the assessment of techniques and methodologies as well as of the foundations of multi-agent systems.

Ongoing deregulation of energy markets together with emergent Information and Communication Technologies totally changes the business processes for utilities. They have to change from selling a commodity such as kWh to build up new business relations based on user defined added value services. These topics have been in focus of an international project ISES. We report on some lessons learned from ISES and future work to guide utilities in the ongoing transformation. We claim that smart communicating equipment on the electric grid provides important building blocks in creation of future value added services and products. To emphasise the importance of web-based technologies, we denote these services and products as eServices and eProducts.

The research program Societies of Computation (SoC) at the IDE department of HK/R has been in operation since more than one year [ 11, [2]. The SoC framework takes a Multi Agent System (MAS) approach when addressing issues in open distributed computing. The results so far are very promising and will shortly be outlined below. Assessment of those results combined by results and ideas from the international research society as well as needs from enterprises are background material for our next phase. The goals and expected results from this phase is briefly discussed in following sections. The research group, performing activities in the SoC framework, has been formed during the first phase of the project, and has at present the following active members: Rune Gustavsson, professor and principal investigator, Hans Akkermans, professor at Twente University and guest researcher, Eric Astor, Ph.D., University of Lund, Olle Lindeberg, Ph.L., HK/R, Staffan Hagg, Ph.L., HK/R, Fredrik Ygge, MSc., HK/R and Sydkraft, Barcin Kozbe, M.Sc., Ericsson Infocom Christer Lundberg, M.Sc, University College of Kalmar, Bengt Carlsson, M.Sc., University of Lund Occasionally also other researchers at IDE are involved in shorter R&D activities conducted under the SoC umbrella. Applications developed in SoC have also been sources for several projects performed by undergra-duate students, during the fiscal year of 1994-95 about 12 person years, from several undergraduate programs. Those activities of the SoC program have mainly been performed within the center SIKT. SIKT, Society Information and Knowledge Technologies, is a recently formed center at HK/R. The key industrial partner up to this point has been Sydkraft AB. The project Intelligent Distribution Automation (IDA) at Sydkraft has been a valuable partner for developing applications and assessing results. Ronneby Energi AB (REAB) and Affarsverken i Karlskrona AB are also actively supporting our R&D. The project Communication and Distributed Computing for Efficient Management of Energy Systems, supported by governmental agencies, has been instrumental for introducing and assessing MAS technologies in the Swedish research society as well as to Swedish industry.

Process algebras are indispensable tools in modeling concurrent processes in theoretical computer science. We propose a novel use of process algebra as a back-bone in designing and maintaining complex open distributed information systems. Our pi-calculus approach allows us to create and maintain service based mission oriented tasks with intended behaviors and with support for observing and maintaining mission critical systemic criteria.

Fundamental challenges in engineering of large-scale multi-agent systems involve qualitative requirements from, e.g., ambient intelligence and network-centric operations. We claim that we can. meet these challenges if we model our multi-agent systems using models of evolutionary aspects of living systems. In current methodologies of multi-agent systems the notion of system evolution is only implicitly addressed, i.e., only closed patterns of interaction are considered, as origin of dynamic system behaviour. In this paper we argue that service discovery and conjunction, by means of open patterns of interaction, are the basic tools for sustainable system behaviour. In effect, we introduce a framework for sustainable information ecosystems. Consequently, we describe basic principles of our methodology as well as a couple of applications illustrating our basic ideas. The applications coexist on our supporting agent society platform SOLACE and their respective behaviour is, visualized using our system analysis tool DISCERN. The paper is concluded with a summary and a number of open research issues in the area.

Future Smart Grids have to meet high expectations from our societies on improved energy efficiency and sustainability. However, system uptake and acceptance will to a large extent depend on the perceived trust by different stakeholders. In the paper we address issues related to engineering of trustworthy systems. This type of Engineering will be grounded in reliable models of interoperability. A key issue is here interoperability of information exchange and sharing. Based on analysis of trust concerns, we propose a model of coordinating and monitoring by Service Level Agreements (SLAs) between stakeholders to ensure trustworthiness of system performance and behavior. We illustrate our methods on case related to trustworthy inclusion of DERs in Smart Grids.

Societies of Computation (SoC) is proposed as a frame work for design of real world complex systems involving computing and communication. The computational paradigm behind SoC is communities of rational agents. The framework has three components; Foundational research, Generic technologies and Applications.

Approaches of self-healing are introduced for maintenance of Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) and Critical Information Infrastructure Protection (CIIP) in the area of future sustainable energy systems.

The paper describes methods and tools addressing self-healing and resilience of critical infrastructures, specifically power and information networks. Our case study is based on challenges addressed in the ongoing EU project INTEGRAL aiming at integrating DES/RES in cell-based virtual utilities. We propose two experimental environments, EXP II and INSPECT to support a structured approach in identifying, implementing and monitoring suitable self-healing mechanisms entailing an increasing system resilience in our systems. Our approach is based on own results from earlier EU projects and selected approaches from other international projects such as NSF GENI in the US and EU efforts such as SmartGrids and ARECI.