AGENTLINK UPDATE # 6 --- 14 August 1998 This is the email newsletter of AgentLink -- Europe's Network of Excellence for Agent-based Computing. IMPORTANT: If you are the technical contact point for your node, then it may well be that you are the only member of your organisation receiving the AgentLink update. Please take the time to distribute this mail to other members of your group who may not have received it. If you would like anybody added to this mailing list (not necessarily a member of AgentLink), then please send a request to AgentLink@qmw.ac.uk. If you have a group mail alias, why not ask for this alias to be added to the AgentLink update list? PLEASE NOTE that you cannot reply directly to this mail; send comments questions, etc to AgentLink@qmw.ac.uk. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Contents: * Strategic Planning for AgentLink * Reminder: kick-off meeting of Agent Mediated Electronic Commerce SIG * Reminder: kick-off meeting of Intelligent Information Agents SIG * Reminder: kick-off meeting of Methodologies/software engineering SIG ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Strategic Planning for AgentLink Incredibly, we need to start thinking about strategic planning for the future of AgentLink already, even though the network is still ramping up its activities, and has yet to hold its first large scale meeting! This is because we are hoping the fifth framework will be announced in the Autumn, to kick off early 1999. Funding for the first round of AgentLink runs out in October next year, so we need to be applying for a continuation pretty much as soon as the fifth framework opens for business. This means we must start thinking about the future of AgentLink now. AgentLink aims to be responsive to the needs of the community it was created to serve, and it is thus vital to get feedback from member nodes about what AgentLink can and should be doing. What are the key issues facing the community? How can AgentLink help in addressing these issues? If you have any ideas about activities or directions for AgentLink, pleae send them to Mike Wooldridge (mailto:M.J.Wooldridge@elec.qmw.ac.uk) -- they will then be discussed at the next management committee meeting, on 25 September. If you would like to make some suggestions, then there are a few important points to note. First, suggesting a travel fund for visits to conferences is not a good idea! (The first law of travel funds states that requests for travel to conferences will always exceed the funds available to support such visits...) Second, please try to think about the pragmatics of your suggestion. Most of the work of AgentLink is done gratis. Therefore proposals that involve complicated arrangements, or lots of labour, probably won't be workable. Finally, please try to think about any costs involved, and come up with some at least tentative figures on what it would cost to implement the proposal. Bear in mind that supporting one proposal may well mean cutting another. This may all sound negative, but it isn't intended to. We are very keen to hear about ideas for future directions of the network, so please take the time to think about them! (Please send suggestions, ideas, etc no later than Friday September 11th.) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Reminder: Kick-off meeting of Agent Mediated Electronic Commerce SIG Brussels, September 24, 1998 This first meeting of the Special Interest Group intends to set the scene for the future collaboration among the members of AgentLink interested on the challenges that agent-mediated electronic commerce faces, as well as the opportunities it creates. We expect to bring together specialists from industry and research who will contribute theoretical, methodological and application perspectives in the narrowly focused topic that nevertheless involves wide ranging concerns such as: agent architectures, structure of agent-mediated electronic institutions, economic-theoretic, modelling, legal frameworks, or policy guidelines. The full-day meeting will strive towards an informal atmosphere with plenty of interaction among participants. The discussions should bring into scene the need for practical solutions that might strengthen the European Industry position. This may hopefully initiate discussions to create consortia for the Vth framework programme. The one-day meeting will be organized around two types of activities: * Group presentations. Presentation of the research and development activities on agent-mediated electronic commerce of research laboratories and industrial R&D departments, with special emphasis on the practical results obtained so far. * Panels. In-depth discussion of practical and theoretical aspects of Agent-Mediated Electronic Commerce. Two panels are expected: - On Practical challenges. The questions to be addressed by the members of this panel will focus on the practical aspects of the developments of agent-mediated systems for electronic commerce. Which architectures are going to be mainly used? which standards is it necessary to put into action? which role will agent mobility play in electronic commerce? which are the right answers to the issues of security and liability? - On Theoretical challenges. The questions to be addressed by these panelists will refer to the theoretical results that are needed to ensure a safe introduction of agent-mediated systems in everyday electronic commerce practice. Issues like certification of agent behaviour, formal specification of agent-mediated electronic institutions, modelling of agent communication, semantics of agent interaction become crucial. Those willing to contribute to the meeting are required to send a one-page summary of their contribution to Carles Sierra (mailto:sierra@iiia.csic.es) no later than the 1st of September. Contributions can be either a group activities report -with detailed recent activity- or a position to be presented in one of the panels. Multiple contributions, group presentation and panel position, are encouraged. As already announced in the AgentLink electronic Newsletter, no more than 15 AgentLink nodes will get travel support refunded. If more contributions are received, those coming from very active groups or presenting multiple contributions will be selected. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Kick-off meeting of Intelligent Information Agents SIG Brussels, Belgium, September 24 1998, The main aim of this SIG is to promote collaborative projects and cross fertilisation of ideas between academic nodes with similar interests in the research area of intelligent information agents (I2A). This shall be done for example by putting groups with related interests in touch with one-another, and by providing and disseminating information about work of national and international groups and projects in the I2A area. We hopefully will have a very stimulating kick-off meeting of our SIG and hope to welcome as many participants as possible at that meeting. To participate, please send us a short report on your recent activities in R&D of information agents, potential needs for collaboration with other groups in the field. The report should have a format of 1-2 pages (or more, if you like) in plain text or postscript. We would appreciate it very much if you'd like to present some special, interesting research work and/or a running system, prototype or some application of information agents developed by your group. Please note, however, that the kick-off meeting is NOT an academic conference or workshop, and so detailed technical presentations are not appropriate. There will be plenty of time for open discussions, to learn about related work in the I2A field from other groups, and maybe to initiate first contacts for further collaborations. Please send the report or a paper (in plain text or postscript) to be presented, by EMAIL to Matthias Klusch (matilto:klusch@cs.cmu.edu) NOT LATER THAN August 20, 1998. Please indicate, if you want to give your presentation in a short or long talk (20 and 45 minutes, respectively), and your needs of equipment (OHP, Video). If you have any suggestions for an interesting PANEL, some survey talk on a special issue to be given at this meeting, etc., feel free to send us an email! We'll try to meet the demands as best as we . If you need financial support for traveling to the SIG meeting in Brussels, there is a limited possibility to get funded, IF you give a presentation at the meeting (as a member of AgentLink). In this case, please indicate your needs in addition to the report; decision about funding will then be available as soon as possible. If you have further questions, please, do not hesitate to contact us at: Matthias Klusch (coordinator) Carnegie Mellon University Robotics Institute 5000 Forbes Ave, Pittsburgh PA 15213, USA email: klusch@cs.cmu.edu phone: +1-412-268-5287 fax: +1-412-268-5569 Innes Ferguson (co-coordinator) Active On-line Systems Ltd. 13 Grange Park, Flat 4, London W5 3PL, UK email: innes@active-online.net phone: +44-181-579-0598 or +44-958-904197 Looking forward to see you in Brussels! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Reminder: kick-off meeting of Methodologies/software engineering SIG The main aim of this Special Interest Group is to promote co-operation and cross fertilisation of ideas between academic and industrial nodes with similar interests in the area of Methodologies and Software Engineering of Agent Systems. For more details about this SIG, see the SIG's home page. http://www.cs.vu.nl/~treur/SIG.meth0.html Your are cordially invited to join us at this kick-off meeting! DATE AND TIME This first (one-day) SIG meeting will be held in Brussels (Belgium) at September 24, 1998. It is intended to have presentations and discussions. The exact location of this SIG meeting will be announced as soon as available. THE MEETING The aim of the kick-off meeting for this SIG will be to establish a detailed agenda for the SIG, mapping out the key issues that need to be addressed in order to make agent-based software development a reality, and the key interests and problems of participants. To participate in the SIG, you should send a position statement, which should be at least 2 pages in length. This position paper should state the key issues that you believe need to be addressed in order to realise the vision of agent-based software engineering, and should summarise how your work is addressing these issues. The deadline for submission of position papers is September 1 Please send your paper (in postscript) to treur@cs.vu.nl The kick-off meeting itself will consist of presentations and discussion sessions. TRAVEL FUNDING If you need financial support for traveling to the SIG meeting in Brussels, there is a limited possibility to get funded, IF you are a member of AgentLink AND give a presentation at the meeting. In this case, please indicate your needs in addition to your paper; a decision about funding will then be available as soon as possible. Please note, that funding is limited for up to 15 participants at the meeting. CONTACT If you have further questions, please contact me: Jan Treur (SIG coordinator) Artificial Intelligence Group Department of Mathematics and Computer Science Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam De Boelelaan 1081a, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands Email: treur@cs.vu.nl URL: http://www.cs.vu.nl/~treur Phone: +31.20.4447763 Fax: +31.20.4447653 END ------------------------------------------------------------------