The adaptation of software technology to distributed environments is an important challenge today. In this work we combine parallel and distributed search. By this way we add the potential speed-up of a parallel exploration in the processing of distributed problems. This paper extends DIBT, a distributed search procedure operating in distributed constraint networks [6]. The extension is twofold. First the procedure is updated to face delayed information problems upcoming in heterogeneous systems. Second, the search is extended to simultaneously explore independent parts of a distributed search tree. By this way we introduce parallelism into distributed search, which brings to Interleaved Distributed Intelligent BackTracking (IDIBT). Our results show that 1) insoluble problems do not greatly degrade performance over DIBT and 2) superlinear speed-up can be achieved when the distribution of solution is nonuniform.

A distributed constraint satisfaction problem can formalize various application problems in MAS, and several algorithms for solving this problem have been developed. One limitation of these algorithms is that they assume each agent has only one local variable. Although simple modifications enable these algorithms to handle multiple local variables, obtained algorithms are neither efficient nor scalable to larger problems. We develop a new algorithm that can handle multiple local variables efficiently, which is based on the asynchronous weak-commitment search algorithm. In this algorithm, a bad local solution can be modified without forcing other agents to exhaustively search local problems. Also, the number of interactions among agents can be decreased since agents communicate only when they find local solutions that satisfy all of the local constraints. Experimental evaluations show that this algorithm is far more efficient than an algorithm that uses the prioritization among agents. 1

Abstract. Many problems in multi-agent systems can be described as distributed Constraint Satisfaction Problems (distributed CSPs), where the goal is to nd a set of assignments to variables that satis es all constraints among agents. However, when real problems are formalized as distributed CSPs, they are often over-constrained and have no solution that satis es all constraints. This paper provides the Distributed Partial Constraint Satisfaction Problem (DPCSP) as a new framework for dealing with over-constrained situations. We also present new algorithms for solving Distributed Maximal Constraint Satisfaction Problems (DM-CSPs), which belong to an important class of DPCSP. The algorithms are called the Synchronous Branch and Bound (SBB) and the Iterative Distributed Breakout (IDB). Both algorithms were tested on hard classes of over-constrained random binary distributed CSPs. The results can be summarized as SBB is preferable when we are mainly concerned with the optimality ofasolution, while IDB is preferable when we want to get a nearly optimal solution quickly. 1

This paper addresses the application of distributed constraint optimization problems (DCOPs) to large-scale dynamic environments. We introduce a decomposition of DCOP into a graphical game and investigate the evolution of various stochastic and deterministic algorithms. We also develop techniques that allow for coordinated negotiation while maintaining distributed control of variables. We prove monotonicity properties of certain approaches and detail arguments about equilibrium sets that offer insight into the tradeoffs involved in leveraging efficiency and solution quality. The algorithms and ideas were tested and illustrated on several graph coloring domains. 1.

In this paper we present a cooperative negotiation protocol that solves a distributed resource allocation problem while conforming to soft real-time constraints in a dynamic environment. Two central principles are used in this protocol that allow it to operate in constantly changing conditions. First, we frame the allocation problem as an optimization problem, similar to a Partial Constraint Satisfaction Problem (PCSP), and use relaxation techniques to derive conflict (constraint violation) free solutions. Second, by using overlapping mediated negotiations to conduct the search, we are able to prune large parts of the search space by using a form of arc-consistency. This allows the protocol to both quickly identify situations where the problem is over-constrained and to identify the appropriate fix to the over-constrained problem. From the global perspective, the protocol has a hill climbing behavior and because it was designed to work in dynamic environments, is an approximate one. We describe the domain which inspired the creation of this protocol, as well as discuss experimental results.

It is critical that agents deployed in real-world settings, such as businesses, offices, universities and research laboratories, protect their individual users ’ privacy when interacting with other entities. Indeed, privacy is recognized as a key motivating factor in the design of several multiagent algorithms, such as in distributed constraint reasoning (including both algorithms for distributed constraint optimization (DCOP) and distributed constraint satisfaction (DisCSPs)), and researchers have begun to propose metrics for analysis of privacy loss in such multiagent algorithms. Unfortunately, a general quantitative framework to compare these existing metrics for privacy loss or to identify dimensions along which to construct new metrics is currently lacking. This paper presents three key contributions to address this shortcoming. First, the paper presents VPS (Valuations of Possible States), a general quantitative framework to express, analyze and compare existing metrics of privacy loss. Based on a state-space model, VPS is shown to capture various existing measures of privacy created for specific domains of DisCSPs. The utility of VPS is further illustrated through analysis of privacy loss in DCOP algorithms, when such algorithms are used by personal assistant agents to schedule meetings

Many problems in multi-agent systems can be described as a distributed CSP. However, some real-life problem can be over-constrained and without a set of consistent variable values when described as a distributed CSP. We have presented a distributed partial CSP for handling such an over-constrained situation and a distributed maximal CSP as a subclass of distributed partial CSP. In this paper, we first show another subclass of distributed partial CSP, a distributed hierarchical CSP. Next, we present a series of new algorithms for solving a distributed hierarchical CSP, each of which is designed based on our previous distributed constraint satisfaction algorithms. Finally, we evaluate the performance of the new algorithms on distributed 3-coloring problems in terms of optimality and anytime characteristics. The results show that our new algorithms perform much better than the previous algorithm for finding an optimal solution and produce good results for anytime characteristics. 1.

A distributed constraint optimization problem (DCOP) is a formalism that captures the rewards and costs of local interactions within a team of agents. Because complete algorithms to solve DCOPs are unsuitable for some dynamic or anytime domains, researchers have explored incomplete DCOP algorithms that result in locally optimal solutions. One type of categorization of such algorithms, and the solutions they produce, is k-optimality; a k-optimal solution is one that cannot be improved by any deviation by k or fewer agents. This paper presents the first known guarantees on solution quality for k-optimal solutions. The guarantees are independent of the costs and rewards in the DCOP, and once computed can be used for any DCOP of a given constraint graph structure. 1

In order to effectively respond to changing market conditions, business partners must be able to rapidly form supply chains. This thesis approaches the problem of automating supply chain formation—the process of determining the participants in a supply chain, who will exchange what with whom, and the terms of the exchanges—within an economic framework. In this thesis, supply chain formation is formalized as task dependency networks. This model captures subtask decomposition in the presence of resource contention—two important and challenging aspects of supply chain formation. In order to form supply chains in a decentralized fashion, price systems provide an economic framework for guiding the decisions of self-interested agents. In competitive price equilibrium, agents choose optimal allocations with respect to prices, and outcomes are optimal overall. Approximate competitive equilibria yield approximately optimal allocations. Different market protocols are proposed for agents to negotiate the allocation of resources to form supply chains. In the presence of resource contention, these protocols produce better solutions than the greedy protocols common in the artificial intelligence

This paper sets a model for Distributed Valued Constraint Satisfaction Problems, and proposes an incomplete method for solving such problems. This method is a greedy repair distributed algorithm which extends to the distributed case any greedy repair centralized algorithm. Experiments are carried out on a real-world problem and show the practical interest of this method. Introduction The Distributed Constraint Satisfaction Problem formulation (DCSP) is a general framework for modeling situations in which some agents are collectively entrusted with the task of finding a consistent solution to a set of local and inter-agent constraints. This framework has many practical applications such as distributed resource allocation, scheduling, timetabling and concurrent engineering. Significant research work has been done on this model during last years. Taking a theoretical point of view, (Collin, Dechter, & Katz 1991) demonstrated that "it is generally impossible to guarantee convergence to a ...