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Andrea Omicini

Università di Bologna, Dipartimento di Informatica – Scienza e Ingegneria (DISI), Faculty Member

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Full Professor at the Alma Mater Studiorum working on coordination, multi-agent systems, software engineering, intelligent systems, simulation, and self-organisation.
Phone: +39 0547 338875
Address: via Sacchi 3
47521 Cesena
Italy

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Vrije Universiteit Brussel

David Pierre Leibovitz

Carleton University

Ege University

Kansas State University

Armando Marques-Guedes

UNL - New University of Lisbon

Luís Moniz Pereira

Universidade Nova de Lisboa

Graduate Center of the City University of New York

Francesco Santini

Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR)

Fernando De La Prieta

University of Salamanca

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Papers by Andrea Omicini

The TuCSoN coordination infrastructure for virtual enterprises

Proceedings Tenth IEEE International Workshop on Enabling Technologies: Infrastructure for Collaborative Enterprises. WET ICE 2001

Virtual Enterprises (VE) and Workflow Management Systems (WFMS) require deployable and flexible i... more Virtual Enterprises (VE) and Workflow Management Systems (WFMS) require deployable and flexible infrastructures, promoting the integration of heterogenous resources and services, as well as the development of new VE's business processes in terms of workflow (WF) rules coordinating the activities of VE's component enterprises. In this paper, we argue that a suitable general-purpose coordination infrastructure may well fit the needs of VE management in a highly dynamic and unpredictable environment like the Internet, by providing engineers with the abstractions and run-time support to address heterogeneity of different sorts, and to represent WF rules as coordination laws. We discuss the requirements for VE infrastructures, and suggest why VE management and WFMS may be seen as coordination problems. Then, we introduce the TuCSoN coordination model and technology, and show, both in principle and in a simple case study, how such a coordination infrastructure can support the design and development of VE's WFMS.

Supporting coordination in open computational systems with TuCSon

WET ICE 2003. Proceedings. Twelfth IEEE International Workshops on Enabling Technologies: Infrastructure for Collaborative Enterprises, 2003.

Coordination is a primary issue in the context of open computational systems. Accordingly, in thi... more Coordination is a primary issue in the context of open computational systems. Accordingly, in this work, after providing a brief overview of the main issues and challenges concerning the modelling and engineering of these systems, we focus on coordination and discuss the adoption of TuCSoN agent coordination infrastructure for its specification and enactment in the context of open computational systems.

2P-Kt: logic programming with objects & functions in Kotlin

Mainstream programming languages nowadays tends to be more and more multi-paradigm ones, by integ... more Mainstream programming languages nowadays tends to be more and more multi-paradigm ones, by integrating diverse programming paradigms—e.g., object-oriented programming (OOP) and functional programming (FP). Logic-programming (LP) is a successful paradigm that has contributed to many relevant results in the areas of symbolic AI and multi-agent systems, among the others. Whereas Prolog, the most successful LP language, is typically integrated with mainstream languages via foreign language interfaces, in this paper we propose an alternative approach based on the notion of domain-specific language (DSL), which makes LP available to OOP programmers straightforwardly within their OO language of choice. In particular, we present a Kotlin DSL for Prolog, showing how the Kotlin multiparadigm (OOP+FP) language can be enriched with LP in a straightforward and effective way. Since it is based on the interoperable 2P-Kt project, our technique also enables the creation of similar DSL on top of ot...

Logic-Based Technologies for Intelligent Systems: State of the Art and Perspectives

Information, 2020

Together with the disruptive development of modern sub-symbolic approaches to artificial intellig... more Together with the disruptive development of modern sub-symbolic approaches to artificial intelligence (AI), symbolic approaches to classical AI are re-gaining momentum, as more and more researchers exploit their potential to make AI more comprehensible, explainable, and therefore trustworthy. Since logic-based approaches lay at the core of symbolic AI, summarizing their state of the art is of paramount importance now more than ever, in order to identify trends, benefits, key features, gaps, and limitations of the techniques proposed so far, as well as to identify promising research perspectives. Along this line, this paper provides an overview of logic-based approaches and technologies by sketching their evolution and pointing out their main application areas. Future perspectives for exploitation of logic-based technologies are discussed as well, in order to identify those research fields that deserve more attention, considering the areas that already exploit logic-based approaches ...

LPaaS as Micro-Intelligence: Enhancing IoT with Symbolic Reasoning

Big Data and Cognitive Computing, 2018

In the era of Big Data and IoT, successful systems have to be designed to discover, store, proces... more In the era of Big Data and IoT, successful systems have to be designed to discover, store, process, learn, analyse, and predict from a massive amount of data—in short, they have to behave intelligently. Despite the success of non-symbolic techniques such as deep learning, symbolic approaches to machine intelligence still have a role to play in order to achieve key properties such as observability, explainability, and accountability. In this paper we focus on logic programming (LP), and advocate its role as a provider of symbolic reasoning capabilities in IoT scenarios, suitably complementing non-symbolic ones. In particular, we show how its re-interpretation in terms of LPaaS (Logic Programming as a Service) can work as an enabling technology for distributed situated intelligence. A possible example of hybrid reasoning—where symbolic and non-symbolic techniques fruitfully combine to produce intelligent behaviour—is presented, demonstrating how LPaaS could work in a smart energy grid...

Engineering agent societies

Proceedings of the first international joint conference on Autonomous agents and multiagent systems part 3 - AAMAS '02, 2002

Objective vs. Subjective Coordination in Agent-Based Systems: A Case Study

This paper aims at showing the benefits of objective coordination in the design and development o... more This paper aims at showing the benefits of objective coordination in the design and development of agent-based distributed applications. We compare the subjective and objective coordination approaches in the engineering of a simple case study-a distributed MP3 encoding application-pointing out the benefits of the objective ones. In particular, we discuss the design and development of the sample application using three different solutions according to such approaches: a subjective solution, based on conversation and middle-agents, as often found in Distributed Artificial Intelligence and in Multi-Agent Systems; JavaSpaces, as a notable example of loosely-objective approach, not expressive enough to gain all the advantages of objective coordination; and TuCSoN as a fully-objective approach, providing a hybrid coordination model able to exploit the full potential of objective coordination.

RBAC-MAS and SODA: Experimenting RBAC in AOSE

Lecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics), 2009

Agents, intelligence and tools

Lecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics), 2009

This chapter investigates the relationship among agent intelligence, environment and the use of t... more This chapter investigates the relationship among agent intelligence, environment and the use of tools. To this end, we first survey, organise and relate many relevant approaches in the literature, coming from both within and without the fields of artificial intelligence and computer science. Then we introduce the A&A metamodel for multiagent systems (MAS), where artifacts, working as tools for agents, are used as basic building blocks for MAS modelling and engineering, and discuss the related metaphor of the Agens Faber, which promotes a new, principled way to conceive and build intelligent systems.

Developing pervasive multi-agent systems with nature-inspired coordination

Pervasive and Mobile Computing, 2015

Pervasive computing systems can be modeled effectively as populations of interacting autonomous c... more Pervasive computing systems can be modeled effectively as populations of interacting autonomous components. The key challenge to realizing such models is in getting separately-specified and-developed subsystems to discover and interoperate with each other in an open and extensible way, supported by appropriate middleware services. In this paper, we argue that nature-inspired coordination models offer a promising way of addressing this challenge. We first frame the various dimensions along which nature-inspired coordination models can be defined, and survey the most relevant proposals in the area. We describe the nature-inspired coordination model developed within the SAPERE project as a synthesis of existing approaches, and show how it can effectively support the multifold requirements of modern and emerging pervasive services. We conclude by identifying what we think are the open research challenges in this area, and identify some research directions that we believe are promising.

Agent Coordination Contexts for the formal specification and enactment of coordination and security policies

Science of Computer Programming, 2006

In the context of multi-agent systems (MAS), an Agent Coordination Context (ACC) is an abstractio... more In the context of multi-agent systems (MAS), an Agent Coordination Context (ACC) is an abstraction provided by the infrastructure to each agent entering a MAS, aimed at enabling and controlling all the interactions of the agent with its environment. The notion of ACC features some key properties that help abating system complexity, that is, (i) it works as both a coordination and a security abstraction, (ii) it covers the engineering process from design to deployment, and (iii) it comes equipped with a clear formalisation, thus easing predictability of the MAS behaviour. In particular, in this paper we exploit typical process algebra techniques to define the syntax and semantics of a language for ACC specification, describing patterns of interaction protocols allowed to the agent. This language is shown to be useful to specify and enact integrated policies for security and coordination in MAS.

Agent Coordination and Control

UK PubMed Central (UKPMC) is an archive of life sciences journal literature.

Implementing contexts in logic programming

3rd International Workshop on Extensions of Logic Programming (ELP'92), 1992

The intensive use of logic programming languages, and Prolog in particular, implies in some frequ... more The intensive use of logic programming languages, and Prolog in particular, implies in some frequent and significant cases the introduction of linguistic extensions to the basic logic programming paradigm to enhance its expressive power. For instance, artificial intelligence applications frequently demand for the knowledge base to be structured into different theories that can be statically or dynamically combined, in order to represent inheritance relationships, viewpoints and evolving knowledge ([Bow85, Mil86, BLM90]).

A Structured Logic Programming Approach to Robot Programming

Proceedings of the Conference on Practical Applications of Prolog (PAP94), London, UK, Apr 1, 1994

Abstract. This paper discusses an approach to robot programming based on Prolog, properly extende... more Abstract. This paper discusses an approach to robot programming based on Prolog, properly extended with control capabilities toward program structuring (contextual programming) and (pseudo) concurrence (communicating Prolog units). This Prolog-based programming system supports the definition, both static and dynamic, of extendible software components, promoting at the same time incremental design and development of software systems. Moreover, it suggests an approach to integration between object-oriented, ...

Coordination technology for the development of multi-agent systems on the Web

Proceedings of the 6th AI* IA Congress of the Italian Association for Artificial Intelligence (AI* IA’99), 1999

Abstract. The development of multi-agent systems on the Web requires powerful and effective coord... more

Robot control systems as contextual logic programs

Logic Programming: Formal Methods and Practical Applications", C. Beierke and L. Plumer (Eds.), SCSAI, 1994

ABSTRACT

A Framework for Systemic Coordination

The material presented in this paper is focused on thecharacteristics of open computational syste... more The material presented in this paper is focused on thecharacteristics of open computational systems and, in particular, the issue of coordinating behavior in such systems, ie systemiccoordination. Firstly, we introduce a conceptual framework forcharacterizing systemic coordination at different levels abstraction. Secondly, challenges and opportunities of this framework isoutlined as a matter of exploiting a Service-oriented layered architecturefor communicating entities (SOLACE) in combination witha particular ...

Task-oriented engineering of coordinated software systems

ABSTRACT: In the context of Internet-based applications where heterogeneous, legacy entities shou... more ABSTRACT: In the context of Internet-based applications where heterogeneous, legacy entities should integrate and cooperate, the efficiency of the software production process is a key problem: yet, the classical development cycle and methodologies fall short, calling for ad hoc abstractions, methodologies and tools. In this work, we claim that a task-oriented approach can effectively support the design of highly-interactive applications, enabling even small development teams to afford complex software projects. By explicitly conceiving ...

Linkable Coordination Artifacts for Inter-Organisational Workflow

Inter-organisational workflow (IOW) is a natural scenario for MAS (multiagent system) technologie... more Inter-organisational workflow (IOW) is a natural scenario for MAS (multiagent system) technologies. In particular, MAS coordination infrastructures can work as a general-purpose support for WfMSs (workflow management systems): coordination artifacts can be specialised as workflow engines, encapsulating workflow rules expressed in terms of coordination laws. A network of inter-connected coordination artifacts can then be used to represent multiple, interdependent, distributed workflows, where malleability and ...

Smart Environments as Agents Workspaces

Ubiquitous Computing and Communication Journal, Special Issue-CPE, Jun 1, 2008

The pervasive computing scenario provides a diffused presence of technological appliances distrib... more The pervasive computing scenario provides a diffused presence of technological appliances distributed in the environment and interacting by means of wired or wireless networks. These computational units should be able to fruitfully exploit interactions with other components (eg information sources) in order to supply context aware services and support advanced forms of interaction among users. The aim of this paper is to show how models and frameworks for Multi-Agent Systems (MAS) can be exploited to design and ...

The TuCSoN coordination infrastructure for virtual enterprises

Proceedings Tenth IEEE International Workshop on Enabling Technologies: Infrastructure for Collaborative Enterprises. WET ICE 2001

Virtual Enterprises (VE) and Workflow Management Systems (WFMS) require deployable and flexible i... more Virtual Enterprises (VE) and Workflow Management Systems (WFMS) require deployable and flexible infrastructures, promoting the integration of heterogenous resources and services, as well as the development of new VE's business processes in terms of workflow (WF) rules coordinating the activities of VE's component enterprises. In this paper, we argue that a suitable general-purpose coordination infrastructure may well fit the needs of VE management in a highly dynamic and unpredictable environment like the Internet, by providing engineers with the abstractions and run-time support to address heterogeneity of different sorts, and to represent WF rules as coordination laws. We discuss the requirements for VE infrastructures, and suggest why VE management and WFMS may be seen as coordination problems. Then, we introduce the TuCSoN coordination model and technology, and show, both in principle and in a simple case study, how such a coordination infrastructure can support the design and development of VE's WFMS.

Supporting coordination in open computational systems with TuCSon

WET ICE 2003. Proceedings. Twelfth IEEE International Workshops on Enabling Technologies: Infrastructure for Collaborative Enterprises, 2003.

Coordination is a primary issue in the context of open computational systems. Accordingly, in thi... more Coordination is a primary issue in the context of open computational systems. Accordingly, in this work, after providing a brief overview of the main issues and challenges concerning the modelling and engineering of these systems, we focus on coordination and discuss the adoption of TuCSoN agent coordination infrastructure for its specification and enactment in the context of open computational systems.

2P-Kt: logic programming with objects & functions in Kotlin

Mainstream programming languages nowadays tends to be more and more multi-paradigm ones, by integ... more Mainstream programming languages nowadays tends to be more and more multi-paradigm ones, by integrating diverse programming paradigms—e.g., object-oriented programming (OOP) and functional programming (FP). Logic-programming (LP) is a successful paradigm that has contributed to many relevant results in the areas of symbolic AI and multi-agent systems, among the others. Whereas Prolog, the most successful LP language, is typically integrated with mainstream languages via foreign language interfaces, in this paper we propose an alternative approach based on the notion of domain-specific language (DSL), which makes LP available to OOP programmers straightforwardly within their OO language of choice. In particular, we present a Kotlin DSL for Prolog, showing how the Kotlin multiparadigm (OOP+FP) language can be enriched with LP in a straightforward and effective way. Since it is based on the interoperable 2P-Kt project, our technique also enables the creation of similar DSL on top of ot...

Logic-Based Technologies for Intelligent Systems: State of the Art and Perspectives

Information, 2020

Together with the disruptive development of modern sub-symbolic approaches to artificial intellig... more Together with the disruptive development of modern sub-symbolic approaches to artificial intelligence (AI), symbolic approaches to classical AI are re-gaining momentum, as more and more researchers exploit their potential to make AI more comprehensible, explainable, and therefore trustworthy. Since logic-based approaches lay at the core of symbolic AI, summarizing their state of the art is of paramount importance now more than ever, in order to identify trends, benefits, key features, gaps, and limitations of the techniques proposed so far, as well as to identify promising research perspectives. Along this line, this paper provides an overview of logic-based approaches and technologies by sketching their evolution and pointing out their main application areas. Future perspectives for exploitation of logic-based technologies are discussed as well, in order to identify those research fields that deserve more attention, considering the areas that already exploit logic-based approaches ...

LPaaS as Micro-Intelligence: Enhancing IoT with Symbolic Reasoning

Big Data and Cognitive Computing, 2018

In the era of Big Data and IoT, successful systems have to be designed to discover, store, proces... more In the era of Big Data and IoT, successful systems have to be designed to discover, store, process, learn, analyse, and predict from a massive amount of data—in short, they have to behave intelligently. Despite the success of non-symbolic techniques such as deep learning, symbolic approaches to machine intelligence still have a role to play in order to achieve key properties such as observability, explainability, and accountability. In this paper we focus on logic programming (LP), and advocate its role as a provider of symbolic reasoning capabilities in IoT scenarios, suitably complementing non-symbolic ones. In particular, we show how its re-interpretation in terms of LPaaS (Logic Programming as a Service) can work as an enabling technology for distributed situated intelligence. A possible example of hybrid reasoning—where symbolic and non-symbolic techniques fruitfully combine to produce intelligent behaviour—is presented, demonstrating how LPaaS could work in a smart energy grid...

Engineering agent societies

Proceedings of the first international joint conference on Autonomous agents and multiagent systems part 3 - AAMAS '02, 2002

Objective vs. Subjective Coordination in Agent-Based Systems: A Case Study

This paper aims at showing the benefits of objective coordination in the design and development o... more This paper aims at showing the benefits of objective coordination in the design and development of agent-based distributed applications. We compare the subjective and objective coordination approaches in the engineering of a simple case study-a distributed MP3 encoding application-pointing out the benefits of the objective ones. In particular, we discuss the design and development of the sample application using three different solutions according to such approaches: a subjective solution, based on conversation and middle-agents, as often found in Distributed Artificial Intelligence and in Multi-Agent Systems; JavaSpaces, as a notable example of loosely-objective approach, not expressive enough to gain all the advantages of objective coordination; and TuCSoN as a fully-objective approach, providing a hybrid coordination model able to exploit the full potential of objective coordination.

RBAC-MAS and SODA: Experimenting RBAC in AOSE

Lecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics), 2009

Agents, intelligence and tools

Lecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics), 2009

This chapter investigates the relationship among agent intelligence, environment and the use of t... more This chapter investigates the relationship among agent intelligence, environment and the use of tools. To this end, we first survey, organise and relate many relevant approaches in the literature, coming from both within and without the fields of artificial intelligence and computer science. Then we introduce the A&A metamodel for multiagent systems (MAS), where artifacts, working as tools for agents, are used as basic building blocks for MAS modelling and engineering, and discuss the related metaphor of the Agens Faber, which promotes a new, principled way to conceive and build intelligent systems.

Developing pervasive multi-agent systems with nature-inspired coordination

Pervasive and Mobile Computing, 2015

Pervasive computing systems can be modeled effectively as populations of interacting autonomous c... more Pervasive computing systems can be modeled effectively as populations of interacting autonomous components. The key challenge to realizing such models is in getting separately-specified and-developed subsystems to discover and interoperate with each other in an open and extensible way, supported by appropriate middleware services. In this paper, we argue that nature-inspired coordination models offer a promising way of addressing this challenge. We first frame the various dimensions along which nature-inspired coordination models can be defined, and survey the most relevant proposals in the area. We describe the nature-inspired coordination model developed within the SAPERE project as a synthesis of existing approaches, and show how it can effectively support the multifold requirements of modern and emerging pervasive services. We conclude by identifying what we think are the open research challenges in this area, and identify some research directions that we believe are promising.

Agent Coordination Contexts for the formal specification and enactment of coordination and security policies

Science of Computer Programming, 2006

In the context of multi-agent systems (MAS), an Agent Coordination Context (ACC) is an abstractio... more In the context of multi-agent systems (MAS), an Agent Coordination Context (ACC) is an abstraction provided by the infrastructure to each agent entering a MAS, aimed at enabling and controlling all the interactions of the agent with its environment. The notion of ACC features some key properties that help abating system complexity, that is, (i) it works as both a coordination and a security abstraction, (ii) it covers the engineering process from design to deployment, and (iii) it comes equipped with a clear formalisation, thus easing predictability of the MAS behaviour. In particular, in this paper we exploit typical process algebra techniques to define the syntax and semantics of a language for ACC specification, describing patterns of interaction protocols allowed to the agent. This language is shown to be useful to specify and enact integrated policies for security and coordination in MAS.

Agent Coordination and Control

UK PubMed Central (UKPMC) is an archive of life sciences journal literature.

Implementing contexts in logic programming

3rd International Workshop on Extensions of Logic Programming (ELP'92), 1992

The intensive use of logic programming languages, and Prolog in particular, implies in some frequ... more The intensive use of logic programming languages, and Prolog in particular, implies in some frequent and significant cases the introduction of linguistic extensions to the basic logic programming paradigm to enhance its expressive power. For instance, artificial intelligence applications frequently demand for the knowledge base to be structured into different theories that can be statically or dynamically combined, in order to represent inheritance relationships, viewpoints and evolving knowledge ([Bow85, Mil86, BLM90]).

A Structured Logic Programming Approach to Robot Programming

Proceedings of the Conference on Practical Applications of Prolog (PAP94), London, UK, Apr 1, 1994

Abstract. This paper discusses an approach to robot programming based on Prolog, properly extende... more Abstract. This paper discusses an approach to robot programming based on Prolog, properly extended with control capabilities toward program structuring (contextual programming) and (pseudo) concurrence (communicating Prolog units). This Prolog-based programming system supports the definition, both static and dynamic, of extendible software components, promoting at the same time incremental design and development of software systems. Moreover, it suggests an approach to integration between object-oriented, ...

Coordination technology for the development of multi-agent systems on the Web

Proceedings of the 6th AI* IA Congress of the Italian Association for Artificial Intelligence (AI* IA’99), 1999

Abstract. The development of multi-agent systems on the Web requires powerful and effective coord... more

Robot control systems as contextual logic programs

Logic Programming: Formal Methods and Practical Applications", C. Beierke and L. Plumer (Eds.), SCSAI, 1994

ABSTRACT

A Framework for Systemic Coordination

The material presented in this paper is focused on thecharacteristics of open computational syste... more The material presented in this paper is focused on thecharacteristics of open computational systems and, in particular, the issue of coordinating behavior in such systems, ie systemiccoordination. Firstly, we introduce a conceptual framework forcharacterizing systemic coordination at different levels abstraction. Secondly, challenges and opportunities of this framework isoutlined as a matter of exploiting a Service-oriented layered architecturefor communicating entities (SOLACE) in combination witha particular ...

Task-oriented engineering of coordinated software systems

ABSTRACT: In the context of Internet-based applications where heterogeneous, legacy entities shou... more ABSTRACT: In the context of Internet-based applications where heterogeneous, legacy entities should integrate and cooperate, the efficiency of the software production process is a key problem: yet, the classical development cycle and methodologies fall short, calling for ad hoc abstractions, methodologies and tools. In this work, we claim that a task-oriented approach can effectively support the design of highly-interactive applications, enabling even small development teams to afford complex software projects. By explicitly conceiving ...

Linkable Coordination Artifacts for Inter-Organisational Workflow

Inter-organisational workflow (IOW) is a natural scenario for MAS (multiagent system) technologie... more Inter-organisational workflow (IOW) is a natural scenario for MAS (multiagent system) technologies. In particular, MAS coordination infrastructures can work as a general-purpose support for WfMSs (workflow management systems): coordination artifacts can be specialised as workflow engines, encapsulating workflow rules expressed in terms of coordination laws. A network of inter-connected coordination artifacts can then be used to represent multiple, interdependent, distributed workflows, where malleability and ...

Smart Environments as Agents Workspaces

Ubiquitous Computing and Communication Journal, Special Issue-CPE, Jun 1, 2008

The pervasive computing scenario provides a diffused presence of technological appliances distrib... more The pervasive computing scenario provides a diffused presence of technological appliances distributed in the environment and interacting by means of wired or wireless networks. These computational units should be able to fruitfully exploit interactions with other components (eg information sources) in order to supply context aware services and support advanced forms of interaction among users. The aim of this paper is to show how models and frameworks for Multi-Agent Systems (MAS) can be exploited to design and ...

A Gillespie-based Computational Model for Integrating Event-driven and Multi-Agent Based Simulation: Extended Abstract

by Andrea Omicini and Danilo Pianini

Based on two intuitions -(i) event-driven systems and multi-agent systems are two computational p... more Based on two intuitions -(i) event-driven systems and multi-agent systems are two computational paradigms that are amenable of a coherent interpretation within a unique conceptual framework; (ii) integrating the two simulation approaches can lead to a more expressive and powerful simulation framework -we propose a computational model integrating Discrete-Event Simulation (DES) and Multi-Agent Based Simulation (MABS), based on an extension of the Gillespie's stochastic simulation algorithm.