Dear Colleagues,

A multi-agent system (MAS) is a computerized system composed of multiple interacting intelligent agents within an environment. Multi-agent systems can be used to solve problems that are difficult or impossible for an individual agent or a monolithic system to solve. Agent systems are naturally distributed and provide a conceptual model for concurrent and asynchronous operations.

Pervasive computing refers to a vision of ubiquitous computing devices that are either embedded in or can be transported into the user's environment. Pervasive computing systems are characterized by their invisibility, connectedness through networks, and ability to react to the presence of users. These systems make extensive use of distributed software technologies like multi-agent systems to coordinate the functions of various embedded computing devices.

As computing continues to permeate everyday objects like appliances, vehicles and public infrastructure, multi-agent techniques will become increasingly important for coordinating the interactions between these connected devices. Agents in pervasive computing environments need to be autonomous, flexible and designed for open-ended interactions as the system composition dynamically changes. Key research problems involve developing models for cooperation and negotiation between agents, techniques for self-configuration in response to changes, and approaches for dealing with unreliable networks and partial failures in ubiquitous systems.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Yongsheng Cao

Section Editor