Course Description

Contents and Objectives:

 
Multiagent systems has emerged as an important research area with applications in many fields of computer science, including artificial intelligence, e-commerce, sensor networks, distributed computing and information retrieval, information security, and robotics. In multiagent systems, multiple autonomous entities with their own objectives have to interact and make decisions. This course explores techniques for the modeling, design, decision making, and communication in these systems. While the course will focus on frameworks, methodologies, and algorithms, it will investigate (and illustrate) them in the context of a wide range of application areas, including multi-robot systems, distributed scheduling and resource allocation, sensor networks, distributed information extraction, and network security.

Prerequisites:

 
Many of the techniques covered in this course are based on probabilities and random processes and a basic background in statistics is required for the course. Prerequisites for the course are an advanced statistics and random processes course (CSE 5301 or similar), or consent of instructor. In addition, experience with Algorithms, Artificial Intelligence, and programming will be useful for assignments and projects.

Course Materials:

 
The course will mainly use the following textbook:
Y. Shoham and K. Leyton-Brown, Multiagent Systems: Algorithmic, Game-Theoretic, and Logical Foundations, Cambridge University Press, 2009. (This book is also available on-line in PDF format at http://www.masfoundations.org/downloading.html).

In addition the course will use readings from other books as well as papers from technical conferences and journals. These materials will be made available through the library, the course site, or Blackboard.

E-mail and WWW page:

 
There is a course web page at http://www-cse.uta.edu/~huber/cse6369_multi-agent . All changes and supplementary course materials will be available from this site. In addition, necessary changes or important announcements will also be distributed by e-mail. In order to receive class-related messages you have to send an e-mail to the instructor (huber@cse.uta.edu).

Tentative Office Hours:

 
Office hours for the course will be held by the instructor either in ERB 128 or in ERB 522, M 2:00 - 2:45, W 7:00 - 8:00, and Th 2:00-3:00. Times are subject to change and will be posted. If for some reason you can not make it to any of these office hours, please inform the instructor.
e-mail: huber@cse.uta.edu