An Interaction-Based Approach to Semantic Alignment
Publication Type:
Journal ArticleSource:
Journal of Web Semantics, Volume 12-13, p.131-147 (2012)Keywords:
semantic alignment; agent interaction context; interaction model; communication product; alignment protocol; matching criteriaAbstract:
We tackle the problem of semantic heterogeneity in the context of agent communication and argue that solutions based solely on ontologies and ontology matching do not capture adequately the richness of semantics as it arises in dynamic and open multiagent systems. Current solutions to the semantic heterogeneity problem in distributed systems usually do not address the contextual nuances of the interaction underlying an agent communication. The meaning an agent attaches to its utterances is, in our view, very relative to the particular dialogue in which it may be engaged, and that the interaction model specifying its dialogical structure and its unfolding should not be left out of the semantic alignment mechanism. In this article we provide the formal foundation of a novel, interaction-based approach to semantic alignment, drawing from a mathematical construct inspired from category theory that we call the communication product. In addition, we describe a simple alignment protocol which, combined with a probabilistic matching mechanism, endows an agent with the capacity of bootstrapping —by repeated successful interaction— the basic semantic relationship between its local vocabulary and that of another agent. We have also implemented the alignment technique based on this approach and prove its viability by means of an abstract experimentation and a thorough statistical analysis.
General Shape Grammar Interpreter for Intelligent Designs Generations
Publication Type:
Conference PaperSource:
Computer Graphics, Imaging and Visualization, CGIV'09, IEEE Computer Society, Volume 6, Tianjin, China, p.235-240 (2009)ISBN:
978-0-7695-3789-4/09Keywords:
shape grammars; electronic institution; virtual world; 3D; interpreterAbstract:
Shape grammars play an important role in a new generation of tools for the analysis and design of products. In this work we present a general tool named Shape Grammar Interpreter (SGI) for the automatic generation of designs. The developed shape grammar framework allows designers to obtain automatically generated designs and to participate in the design process. In that way the generated design complies with both the desired functionality and an attractive aspect. Great effort has been devoted on having a comfortable way of defining shapes and later using them in shape grammar rules and designs’ generation process. We have also implemented and incorporated in the tool an optimized subshape detection algorithm. Hence, subshapes of the existing shapes can be detected in the generation process obtaining more appealing designs.
A multiagent network for peer norm enforcement
Publication Type:
Journal ArticleSource:
Autonomous Agents and Multi Agent Systems, Volume 21, p.397-424 (2010)Keywords:
Multiagent systems; norms; enforcement; social network; ostracismAbstract:
In a multiagent system where norms are used to regulate the actions agents ought to execute, some agents may decide not to abide by the norms if this can benefit them. Norm enforcement mechanisms are designed to counteract these benefits and thus the motives for not abiding by the norms. In this work we propose a distributed mechanism through which agents in the multiagent system that do not abide by the norms can be ostracised by their peers. An ostracised agent cannot interact anymore and looses all benefits from future interactions. We describe a model for multiagent systems structured as networks of agents, and a behavioural model for the agents in such systems. Furthermore, we provide analytical results which show that there exists an upper bound to the number of potential norm violations when all the agents exhibit certain behaviours. We also provide experimental results showing that both stricter enforcement behaviours and larger percentage of agents exhibiting these behaviours reduce the number of norm violations, and that the network topology influences the number of norm violations. These experiments have been executed under varying scenarios with different values for the number of agents, percentage of enforcers, percentage of violators, network topology, and agent behaviours. Finally, we give examples of applications where the enforcement techniques we provide could be used.
Reaching semantic agreements through interaction
Publication Type:
Conference PaperSource:
4th AIS SigPrag Int. Pragmatic Web Conference Track, ICPW'09, at the 5th Int. Conference on Semantic Systems, i-Semantics'09, Verlag der Technischen Universität Graz, Graz, Austria, p.726-737 (2009)Keywords:
interaction model; alignment protocol; alignment mechanismAbstract:
We address the complex problem of semantic heterogeneity in multiagent communication by looking at semantics related to interaction. Our approach takes the state of the interaction in which agents are engaged as the basis on which the semantic alignment rests. In this paper we describe an implementation of this technique and provide experimental results on interactions of varying complexity.
