Intelligent Agents: Multi-Agent Systems

This chapter provides an overview of the fundamentals related to agent-oriented paradigm and Multi Agent Systems (MASs). Specifically, in the first part, the definition of agent and its main features are reported. The second section discusses multi-agent systems and their main features by focusing on the concepts of automation, coordination, norms and emerging behavior which characterize a MAS. Finally, in the sections third and forth, two main ways to approach and use such paradigm for developing respectively agent-based simulations and agent-based software, by breaking down the leading and most renowned reference software platforms, are discussed.