A heuristic for problem formalization in agent based simulation studies

Agent Based Modeling and Simulation (ABMS) is considered an effective approach for conducting simulation studies in many fields. In order to develop high quality simulation models, methodological approaches are demanded. In such direction we are moving by proposing a heuristic for the formalization of agent based simulation problems. The proposed heuristic is based on some guidelines developed for identifying the main elements of the problem domain description by analysing verbs and their common taxonomy in grammar.

A KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM FOR ORGANIZATIONAL ACTIVITY SUPPORT

L’attuale realt`a imprenditoriale `e fortemente influenzata dalla dinamicit`a dei mercati e dai continui progressi tecnologici. Queste tendenze trovano pratica realizzazione nel modello di organizzazione flessibile, che punta a massimizzare la capacit`a di rispondere con efficacia alle sfide della complessit`a ambientale. La conoscenza, considerata un nuovo fattore di produzione, diventa un elemento chiave nei processi aziendali. Sempre di pi`u, negli ultimi anni `e cresciuta la consapevolezza delle imprese dell’effettivo valore di una corretta gestione della conoscenza. L’uso di strumenti propri del Knowledge Management nelle organizzazioni `e divenuto una pratica comune. Una caratteristic…

Fast Fuzzy Fusion in Multimodal Biometric Systems

A Norm-Governed Holonic Multi-agent System Metamodel

Modeling and designing systems that require a high level of coordination, control and automation is a very difficult task. The problem is the lack of design processes able to cover all the features these systems present. This paper presents an extension of the ASPECS metamodel for supporting organizational and normative principles and it allows to define models not only from an holonic agent viewpoint but also from a normative organization perspective. Moreover, our work emphasizes and makes it explicit the norms that regulate the structural, behavioral and finally adaptive aspect of an organizational system. The extended metamodel was experimented creating a Virtual Enterprise model for th…

Common and Domain-specific Metamodel Elements for Problem Description in Simulation Problems

It is well known that the multi-agent system paradigm is well suited for modelling and developing simulations of complex systems belonging to several application domains. Simulation study aims at developing simulation models useful for representing, studying and analyzing entities and their behavior in a system according to specific purposes. With our work we are trying to understand what are the right elements to be considered and included in the description of a simulation problem. In order to root our resulting metamodel in the state of the art of multi-agent simulations we started from the study of twelve papers dealing with four different application domains: Crowd Dynamics, Traffic an…

Towards a design process for modeling MAS organizations

The design of MAS organizations is a complex activity where a proper methodological approach may offer a significant advantage in enabling the conception of the best solution. Moreover, the aid provided by a supporting tool significantly contributes to make the approach technically sound and it is a fundamental ingredient of a feasible strategy to the development of large MASs. In this paper, we introduce a portion of methodological approach devoted to design MAS organizations and a preliminary version of a specific case tool, named MoT (Moise+ Tool), for supporting activities from design production to automatic code generation. MoT provides four kinds of diagrams based on a definite graphi…

Simulation Goals and Metrics Identification

Agent-Based Modeling and Simulation (ABMS) is a very useful means for producing high quality models during simulation studies. When ABMS is part of a methodological ap- proach it becomes important to have a method for identifying the objectives of the simulation study in a disciplined fashion. In this work we propose a set of guidelines for properly capturing and representing the goals of the simulations and the metrics, allowing and evaluating the achievement of a simulation objective. We take inspiration from the goal-question-metric approach and with the aid of a specific problem formalization we are able to derive the right questions for relating simulation goals and metrics.

Requirement analysis abstractions for AmI system design

Current trends in the AI’s evolution are going towards enriching environments with intelligence in order to support humans in their everyday life. AmI systems are plunged in the real world and humans expect to interact with them in a way that is similar to the one they have with other humans. In this kind of systems, where eliciting requirements involves several documents and stakeholders (mainly users that will be the first consumers of the system), the requirement analysis phase can be affected by incomplete, ambiguous and imprecise information. Hence, the need to find a fruitful way for knowledge management and its representation at design time. In this paper we propose a set of abstract…

A Knowledge Management System using Bayesian Network

In today's world, decision support and knowledge management processes are strategic and interdependent activities in many organizations. The companies' interest on a correct knowledge management is grown, more than interest on the mere knowledge itself. This paper proposes a Knowledge Management System based on Bayesian networks. The system has been tested collecting and using data coming from projects and processes typical of ICT companies, and provides a Document Management System and a Decision Support system to share documents and to plan how to best use firms' knowledge.

A Notation for Modeling Jason-Like BDI Agents

The design and development of a large Multi Agent System (MAS) is a complex and difficult activity where a proper modeling notation may offer a significant contribution to the formulation of the best solution. The support provided by a specific CASE tool can significantly contribute to make the chosen approach technically valid and it is also a fundamental element of a feasible development strategy. The present work reports a UML profile and the related graphical notation for describing a MAS based on the Jason meta model. Moreover a specific CASE tool has been developed for supporting MASs design and automatic code generation. The proposed notation is shown in details using a classical exa…

A Knowledge Management System based on Ontologies

Recently the companies’ interest on a correct knowledge management is grown, more than interest on the mere knowledge itself. In the last few years, several projects have been carried out, with the aim of the development of innovative systems capable of collecting and sharing information. This paper proposes a Knowledge Management System, whose main feature is an ontological knowledge representation. The ontological representation of data allows of specializing the reasoning capabilities and of providing ad hoc behaviors. The system has been tested collecting and using data coming from projects and processes typical of ICT companies, and provides a Document Management System and an Expert S…

Explainable Post-Occupancy Evaluation Using a Humanoid Robot

The paper proposes a new methodological approach for evaluating the comfort condition using the concept of explainable post occupancy to make the user aware of the environmental state in which (s)he works. Such an approach was implemented on a humanoid robot with social capabilities that aims to enforce human engagement to follow recommendations. The humanoid robot helps the user to position the sensors correctly to acquire environmental measures corresponding to the temperature, humidity, noise level, and illuminance. The distribution of the last parameter due to its high variability is also retrieved by the simulation software Dialux. Using the post occupancy evaluation method, the robot …

A Knowledge Management and Decision Support Model for Enterprises

We propose a novel knowledge management system (KMS) for enterprises. Our system exploits two different approaches for knowledge representation and reasoning: a document-based approach based on data-driven creation of a semantic space and an ontology-based model. Furthermore, we provide an expert system capable of supporting the enterprise decisional processes and a semantic engine which performs intelligent search on the enterprise knowledge bases. The decision support process exploits the Bayesian networks model to improve business planning process when performed under uncertainty. Copyright © 2011 Patrizia Ribino et al.

A Humanoid Social Robot Based Approach for Indoor Environment Quality Monitoring and Well-Being Improvement

The indoor environmental quality (IEQ) monitoring inside buildings where people spend most of their time is essential for ensuring their well-being. Traditional approaches based on Building Automation and Control Systems consider buildings equipped with many different sensors. Unfortunately, the sensors are not always placed for taking the measurements at the right positions. Besides, users could feel a negative perception due to continuous supervision. The present work proposes an approach based on a social humanoid robot that monitors indoor environmental quality. It friendly interacts with occupants providing appropriate suggestions. Particularly, the social robot has been endowed with c…

Fuzzy Fusion in Multimodal Biometric Systems

Multimodal authentication systems represent an emerging trend for information security. These systems could replace conventional mono-modal biometric methods using two or more features for robust biometric authentication tasks. They employ unique combinations of measurable physical characteristics: fingerprint, facial features, iris of the eye, voice print, hand geometry, vein patterns, and so on. Since these traits are hardly imitable by other persons, the aim of these multibiometric systems is to achieve a high reliability to determine or verify person's identity. In this paper a multimodal biometric system using two different fingerprints is proposed. The matching module integrates fuzzy…

Fuzzy Fusion in Multimodal Biometric Systems

Multimodal authentication systems represent an emerging trend for information security. These systems could replace conventional mono-modal biometric methods using two or more features for robust biometric authentication tasks. They employ unique combinations of measurable physical characteristics: fingerprint, facial features, iris of the eye, voice print, hand geometry, vein patterns, and so on. Since these traits are hardly imitable by other persons, the aim of these multibiometric systems is to achieve a high reliability to determine or verify person's identity. In this paper a multimodal biometric system using two different fingerprints is proposed. The matching module integrates fuzzy…