Autonomous Multiagent Systems

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Autonomous Multiagent Systems

• Instructor Peter Stone

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Welcome!

• Please follow instructions on course web page
• Send info for class account
• Get on the mailing list
• (Even if youre still shopping you cant do the
  assignment without a class account.)

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Today

• A brief introduction to autonomous agents
• Details in the readings for next week
• An introduction to Robocup robot soccer world
  cup
• Your programming assignments will be in the
  RoboCup simulator.

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Words without (accepted) definitions

• Intelligence
• Agent
• But there are examples.

All proposed definitions include too much or
leave gaps.
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Intelligent (autonomous) Agents

• Autonomous robot
• Information gathering agent
• Find me the cheapest
• E-commerce agents
• Decides what to buy/sell and does it
• Air-traffic controller
• Meeting scheduler
• Computer-game-playing agent

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Not Intelligent Agents

• Thermostat
• Telephone
• Answering machine
• Pencil
• Java object

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Agents vs. Objects

• Agents decide what to do
• Object methods are called externally
• Agents react flexibly to sensory inputs

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My Requirement of Agents

• They must sense their environment
• They must decide what action to take (think)
• They must execute the action in their environment

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For more on agents

• Assignment 1 readings
• Written assignment (on web page) is to identify
  an intelligent agent not listed above and not
  defined in the readings
• Programming assignment (on web page) is to get
  familiar with the RoboCup simulator
• No real programming this week, but there is
  something to turn in.

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RoboCup

• The rest of today is an introduction to RoboCup
• A great domain for studying agents
• Basis of your programming assignments
• Today video about all of RoboCup including work
  with real robots, diaster rescue, etc.
• This class all in the RoboCup simulator