An Introduction to MultiAgent Systems [Paperback]

Michael Wooldridge (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 7, 2009 | ISBN-10: 0470519460 | ISBN-13: 978-0470519462 | Edition: 2nd

The eagerly anticipated updated resource on one of the most important areas of research and development: multi-agent systems

Multi-agent systems allow many intelligent agents to interact with each other, and this field of study has advanced at a rapid pace since the publication of the first edition of this book, which was nearly a decade ago. With this exciting new edition, the coverage of multi-agents is completely updated to include several areas that have come to prominence in the last several years, including auctions, computational social choice, and markov decision processes. In turn, a variety of topics that were initially considered critical have dwindled in importance, so the coverage of that subject matter is decreased with this new edition. The result of this redefined balance of coverage is a timely and essential resource on a popular topic.

Introduces you to the concept of agents and multi-agent systems and the main applications for which they are appropriate

Discusses the main issues surrounding the design of intelligent agents and a multi-agent society

Delves into a number of typical applications for agent technology

Addresses deductive reasoning agents, practical reasoning agents, reactive and hybrid agents, and more

Reviews multi-agent decision making, communication and cooperation, and intelligent autonomous agents

By the end of the book, you will have a firm grasp on how agents are distinct from other software paradigms and understand the characteristics of applications that lend themselves to agent-oriented software.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

"A thoroughly revised and updated book, written by one of the leading researchers in the field. This excellent book provides a wonderful introduction and a comprehensive exposition of the increasingly important field of multi-agent systems."
—Professor Nick Jennings FREng
Intelligence, Agents, Multimedia Group, Electronics and Computer Science, University of Southampton

Multiagent systems are a new paradigm for understanding and building distributed systems, where it is assumed that the computational components are autonomous: able to control their own behaviour in the furtherance of their own goals. The first edition of An Introduction to Multiagent Systems was the first contemporary textbook in the area, and became the standard undergraduate reference work for the field. This second edition has been extended with substantial new material on recent developments in the field, and has been revised and updated throughout. It provides a comprehensive, coherent, and readable introduction to the theory and practice of multiagent systems, while presenting a wealth of discussion topics and pointers into more advanced issues for those wanting to dig deeper.

Key new features include:

• dedicated new chapters on ontologies, voting, auctions, bargaining, coalition formation, and argumentation, reflecting recent research directions and new results;
• "mind maps" to illustrate key concepts and ideas - an essential study and revision aid;
• 590 literature references, revised, updated, and extended to reflect the state of the art in agent research and development.

Designed and written specifically for computing undergraduates, the book comes with a rich repository of online teaching materials, including a complete set of lecture slides.

About the Author

Michael Wooldridge is a Professor of Computer Science at the University of Liverpool, UK. He obtained his PhD in 1992 for work in the theory of multiagent systems and has, since then, been active in multiagent systems research.

Product Details

• Paperback: 484 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 2nd edition (July 7, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0470519460
• ISBN-13: 978-0470519462
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 1.1 x 9.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #358,728 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #67 in Books > Computers & Technology > Computer Science > Artificial Intelligence > Theory of Computing

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great MultiAgent Systems Book- A must read Intro book..., June 14, 2010

By 

Matt J. (Boston, Ma USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: An Introduction to MultiAgent Systems (Paperback)

This is a great book. I am a Computer Science Grad Student and this book is a great intro book. It is not only a great read and easily understandable (ie. it is written for undergrad to Grad) but it also has a moderately high degree of technicality that makes it more interesting to the more advanced reader. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone interested in learning more about the subject of MultiAgent Systems.

1 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Greate book, but ..., August 13, 2010

By 

steve - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: An Introduction to MultiAgent Systems (Paperback)

This is a great book. Author has touched on a lot of interesting topics. It is a little too academic. This book reminds me that a lot of software architects do not know how to write programs. If you want to learn how to code an agent system, this book is not recommended.