In our group we study and develop algorithms for autonomous agents. Although the research topics listed below are very diverse, the research challenges in each application domain are similar:
- A balance must be found between the interests of the individual agents, and the welfare of the system as a whole, assuming each agent will first and foremost pursue its own goals.
- Given bounds on the computational capabilities of the agents, and on their ability to gather information either through perceiving the environment or communicating with other agents, we are nonetheless keen to prove performance guarantees (lower bounds) on the performance of our algorithms and coordination mechanisms.
- Our research is aimed at enabling solutions to real-world problems; in all of the real-world problems we study, uncertainty surrounding developments in the environment plays a major role. Therefore, our algorithms and coordination mechanisms should strive for robustness, so good quality solutions are produced even when unexpected incidents occur.
