Distributed Interaction Graph Construction for Dynamic DCOPs in Cooperative Multi-agent Systems

DCOP algorithms usually rely on interaction graphs to operate. In open and dynamic environments, such methods need to address how this interaction graph is generated and maintained among agents. Existing methods require reconstructing the entire graph upon detecting changes in the environment or assuming that new agents know potential neighbors to facilitate connection. We propose a novel distributed interaction graph construction algorithm to address this problem. The proposed method does not assume a predefined constraint graph and stabilizes after disruptive changes in the environment. We evaluate our approach by pairing it with existing DCOP algorithms to solve several generated dynamic problems. The experiment results show that the proposed algorithm effectively constructs and maintains a stable multi-agent interaction graph for open and dynamic environments.

A Robust Model for Trust Evaluation during Interactions between Agents in a Sociable Environment

Trust evaluation is an important topic in both research and applications in sociable environments. This paper presents a model for trust evaluation between agents by the combination of direct trust, indirect trust through neighbouring links and the reputation of an agent in the environment (i.e. social network) to provide the robust evaluation. Our approach is typology independent from social network structures and in a decentralized manner without a central controller, so it can be used in broad domains.