Les systèmes multi-agents (SMA) peuvent être utilisé pour modéliser les phénomènes qui peuvent être décomposés en agents qui interagissent et qui existent au sein d'un environnement. Ils peuvent être utilisés pour modéliser les sociétés humaines et animales, aux fins de l'analyse de leurs propriétés par des moyens de calcul. Cette thèse est consacrée à l'analyse automatisée d'un type particulier de ces modèles sociaux, celles qui sont fondées sur les principes comportementalistes, qui contrastent avec les approches cognitives plus dominantes dans la littérature des SMAs. La caractéristique des théories comportementalistes est l'accent mis sur la définition des comportements basée sur l'interaction entre les agents et leur environnement. Non seulement des actions réflexives, mais aussi d'apprentissage, les motivations, et les émotions peuvent être définies. Nous introduisons une architecture formelle d'agent basée sur la théorie d'analyse comportementale de B. F. Skinner, ainsi que une notion appropriée et formelle de l'environnement pour mettre ces agents ensemble dans un SMA. La simulation est souvent utilisée pour analyser les SMAs. Les techniques consistent généralement à simuler le SMA plusieurs fois, soit pour recueillir des statistiques, soit pour voir ce qui se passe à travers l'animation. Toutefois, les simulations peuvent être utilisées d'une manière plus orientée vers la vérification si on considère qu'elles sont en réalité des explorations de grandes espaces d'états. Nous proposons une technique de vérification nouvelle basé sur cette idée, qui consiste à simuler un SMA de manière guidée, afin de vérifier si quelques hypothèses sur lui sont confirmées ou non. À cette fin, nous tirons profit de la position privilégiée que les environnements sont dans les SMAs de cette thèse: la spécification formelle de l'environnement d'un SMA sert à calculer les évolutions possibles du SMA comme un système de transition, établissant ainsi l'espace d'états à vérifier. Dans ce calcul, les agents sont pris en compte en les simulant afin de déterminer, à chaque état de l'environnement, quelles sont leurs actions. Chaque exécution de la simulation est une séquence d'états dans cet espace d'états, qui est calculée à la volée, au fur et à mesure que la simulation progresse. L'hypothèse à étudier, à son tour, est donnée comme un autre système de transition, appelé objectif de simulation, qui définit les simulations désirables et indésirables. Il est alors possible de vérifier si le SMA est conforme à l'objectif de simulation selon un certain nombre de notions de satisfiabilité très précises. Algorithmiquement, cela correspond à la construction d'un produit synchrone de ces deux systèmes de transitions (i.e., celui du SMA et l'objectif de simulation) à la volée et à l'utiliser pour faire fonctionner un simulateur. C'est-à-dire, l'objectif de simulation est utilisé pour guider le simulateur, de sorte que seuls les états concernés sont en réalité simulés. À la fin d'un tel algorithme, il délivre un verdict concluant ou non concluant. Si c'est concluant, il est connu que le SMA est conforme à l'objectif de simulation par rapport aux observations qui ont été faites lors des simulations. Si c'est non-concluant, il est possible d'effectuer quelques ajustements et essayer à nouveau. En résumé, dans cette thèse nous fournissons quatre nouveaux éléments: (i) une architecture d'agent; (ii) une spécification formelle de l'environnement de ces agents, afin qu'ils puissent être composés comme un SMA; (iii) une structure pour décrire les propriétés d'intérêt, que nous avons nommée objectif de simulation, et (iv) une technique pour l'analyse formelle du SMA résultant par rapport à un objectif de simulation. Ces éléments sont mis en œuvre dans un outil, appelé Simulateur Formellement Guidé (FGS, de l'anglais Formally Guided Simulator).Des études de cas exécutables dans FGS sont fournies pour illustrer l'approche. / Multi-agent systems (MASs) can be used to model phenomena that can be decomposed into several interacting agents which exist within an environment. In particular, they can be used to model human and animal societies, for the purpose of analysing their properties by computational means. This thesis is concerned with the automated analysis of a particular kind of such social models, namely, those based on behaviourist principles, which contrasts with the more dominant cognitive approaches found in the MAS literature. The hallmark of behaviourist theories is the emphasis on the definition of behaviour in terms of the interaction between agents and their environment. In this manner, not merely reflexive actions, but also learning, drives, and emotions can be defined. More specifically, in this thesis we introduce a formal agent architecture (specified with the Z Notation) based on the Behaviour Analysis theory of B. F. Skinner, and provide a suitable formal notion of environment (based on the pi-calculus process algebra) to bring such agents together as a MAS. Simulation is often used to analyse MASs. The techniques involved typically consist in implementing and then simulating a MAS several times to either collect statistics or see what happens through animation. However, simulations can be used in a more verification-oriented manner if one considers that they are actually explorations of large state-spaces. In this thesis we propose a novel verification technique based on this insight, which consists in simulating a MAS in a guided way in order to check whether some hypothesis about it holds or not. To this end, we leverage the prominent position that environments have in the MASs of this thesis: the formal specification of the environment of a MAS serves to compute the possible evolutions of the MAS as a transition system, thereby establishing the state-space to be investigated. In this computation, agents are taken into account by being simulated in order to determine, at each environmental state, what their actions are. Each simulation execution is a sequence of states in this state-space, which is computed on-the-fly, as the simulation progresses. The hypothesis to be investigated, in turn, is given as another transition system, called a simulation purpose, which defines the desirable and undesirable simulations (e.g., "every time the agent does X, it will do Y later"). It is then possible to check whether the MAS satisfies the simulation purpose according to a number of precisely defined notions of satisfiability. Algorithmically, this corresponds to building a synchronous product of these two transitions systems (i.e., the MAS's and the simulation purpose) on-the-fly and using it to operate a simulator. That is to say, the simulation purpose is used to guide the simulator, so that only the relevant states are actually simulated. By the end of such an algorithm, it delivers either a conclusive or inconclusive verdict. If conclusive, it becomes known whether the MAS satisfies the simulation purpose w.r.t. the observations made during simulations. If inconclusive, it is possible to perform some adjustments and try again.In summary, then, in this thesis we provide four novel elements: (i) an agent architecture; (ii) a formal specification of the environment of these agents, so that they can be composed into a MAS; (iii) a structure to describe the property of interest, which we named simulation purpose; and (iv) a technique to formally analyse the resulting MAS with respect to a simulation purpose. These elements are implemented in a tool, called Formally Guided Simulator (FGS). Case studies executable in FGS are provided to illustrate the approach.

Aujourd’hui l’environnement connaît des bouleversements fondamentaux dus en grande partie à l’action de l’homme sur les milieux. En effet, tandis que les phénomènes climatiques et biophysiques ont été pendant longtemps les moteurs principaux des transformations des surfaces terrestres, l’Homme est aujourd’hui à l’origine de la majeure partie des transformations qui affectent les écosystèmes terrestres. Ainsi, les pratiques des acteurs du territoire jouent un rôle fondamental sur les modifications de l’usage des sols, et par conséquent sur les écosystèmes environnementaux. L’intensification de l’agriculture entraîne une dégradation des milieux « naturels », et de profonds changements dans les structures paysagères. Dans les régions bocagères, la gestion du réseau de haies joue un rôle déterminant dans la conservation des écosystèmes, de la biodiversité tant faunistique que floristique et également sur la qualité de l’eau, des sols, … Cette thèse, centrée sur les haies bocagères, porte plus particulièrement sur l’identification de pratiques agricoles territorialisées et sur leur organisation spatio‐temporelle. Les objectifs poursuivis dans cette thèse sont d’étudier les pratiques agricoles effectuées sur les haies en Bretagne à travers leurs interactions avec les structures paysagères, et d’en modéliser le fonctionnement, afin de comprendre comment elles influencent la dynamique du paysage.L‘identification et la caractérisation des pratiques agricoles ont été effectuées à partir de l’évaluation de différents types d’images de télédétection à haute et très haute résolution spatiale et de données laser aéroportées LiDAR, en utilisant une approche de classification contextuelle orientée‐objets. La modélisation des pratiques agricoles a été réalisée avec un modèle multi‐agents, afin de prendre en compte la dimension spatiale des jeux d’acteurs pour évaluer l’influence des pratiques agricoles sur l’évolution du réseau de haies. Les résultats de l’observation du réseau bocager à partir des données de télédétection mettent en avant leur complémentarité : la caractérisation de la continuité des haies à un niveau fin est rendue possible grâce aux images à très haute résolution spatiale, tandis que la détermination et la cartographie des pratiques agricoles à l’échelle de l’arbre peut être appréhendée à partir de données laser aéroportées de type LiDAR. L’observation et la caractérisation du réseau de haies ont permis de déterminer l’arrangement spatial des structures boisées en prenant en compte non plus seulement la présence des éléments mais également leur emprise dans le paysage et leur agencement au sein de la dynamique temporelle des successions culturales. Le modèle multi‐agents développé a permis d’analyser l’influence des pratiques agricoles sur la dynamique du paysage, et de déterminer l’importance de décisions prises au niveau local sur l’évolution du réseau de haies à une échelle supérieure / Today the environment is experiencing fundamental changes, largely due to human activity. Indeed, while climate and biophysical phenomena have been the main drivers of land surface transformations for a long time, humans are now responsible for most of the changes affecting terrestrial ecosystems. Thus, the practices of local actors play a key role in land use change and therefore in environmental ecosystems. Intensification of agriculture causes degradation in the “natural” environment and significant changes in landscape structures. In “bocage” regions, hedgerow network management plays a key role in ecosystem conservation, biodiversity, vegetation and wildlife and in the quality of water, soil, etc. This thesis focuses on hedgerows, and especially on the identification of territorialized agricultural practices and their space‐time organization. The objectives of this thesis are to study hedgerow agricultural practices in Brittany through their interactions with landscape structures, and to model their organization, in order to understand how they influence landscape dynamics. The process of identification and characterization of agricultural practices was undertaken by evaluating different types of remote sensing images with high and very high spatial resolution and airborne LiDAR data, using a contextual approach to object‐oriented classification. The modeling of agricultural practices was performed with a multi‐agent model in order to take into account the spatial dimension of actor decisions and to evaluate the influence of agricultural practices on hedgerow network evolution. The results of the hedgerow network analysis using remote sensing data highlight their complementarities: detailed characterization of hedgerow continuity is made possible using high spatial resolution images, while determination and mapping of agricultural practices at the tree scale can be seen from airborne LiDAR data. The process of observation and characterization of the hedgerow network allows determination of the spatial arrangement of the woody structure, by taking into account not only the presence of individual elements, but also their extent in the landscape and their spatial arrangement within crop succession temporal dynamics. The multi‐agent model developed allowed analysis of the influence of agricultural practices on landscape dynamics, and determination of the importance of making local level decisions on the hedgerow network evolution at a larger scale

Os motores de indução trifásicos são os principais elementos de conversão de energia elétrica em mecânica motriz aplicados em vários setores produtivos. Identificar um defeito no motor em operação pode fornecer, antes que ele falhe, maior segurança no processo de tomada de decisão sobre a manutenção da máquina, redução de custos e aumento de disponibilidade. Nesta tese são apresentas inicialmente uma revisão bibliográfica e a metodologia geral para a reprodução dos defeitos nos motores e a aplicação da técnica de discretização dos sinais de correntes e tensões no domínio do tempo. É também desenvolvido um estudo comparativo entre métodos de classificação de padrões para a identificação de defeitos nestas máquinas, tais como: Naive Bayes, k-Nearest Neighbor, Support Vector Machine (Sequential Minimal Optimization), Rede Neural Artificial (Perceptron Multicamadas), Repeated Incremental Pruning to Produce Error Reduction e C4.5 Decision Tree. Também aplicou-se o conceito de Sistemas Multiagentes (SMA) para suportar a utilização de múltiplos métodos concorrentes de forma distribuída para reconhecimento de padrões de defeitos em rolamentos defeituosos, quebras nas barras da gaiola de esquilo do rotor e curto-circuito entre as bobinas do enrolamento do estator de motores de indução trifásicos. Complementarmente, algumas estratégias para a definição da severidade dos defeitos supracitados em motores foram exploradas, fazendo inclusive uma averiguação da influência do desequilíbrio de tensão na alimentação da máquina para a determinação destas anomalias. Os dados experimentais foram adquiridos por meio de uma bancada experimental em laboratório com motores de potência de 1 e 2 cv acionados diretamente na rede elétrica, operando em várias condições de desequilíbrio das tensões e variações da carga mecânica aplicada ao eixo do motor. / The three-phase induction motors are the key elements of electromechanical energy conversion in a variety of productive sectors. Identify a defect in an operating motor can provide, before it fails, greater safety for decision making on machine maintenance, reduce costs and increase process availability. This thesis initially presents a literature review and the general methodology for reproduction of defects in the motors and the application of discretization technique of current and voltage signals in the time domain. It was also developed a comparative study of methods of pattern classification for the identification of defects has been developed in these machines, such as Naive Bayes, k-Nearest Neighbor, Support Vector Machine (Sequential Minimal Optimization), Artificial Neural Network (Multilayer Perceptron), Repeated incremental Pruning to Produce Error Reduction and C4.5 Decision Tree. Also applied the concept of Multi-Agent Systems (MAS) to support the use of multiple competing methods in a distributed manner to pattern recognition of faults in bearings, broken rotor bars and stator short-circuit in induction motors. Additionally, some strategies for the definition of the severity of the aforementioned defects in engines have been explored, including making an investigation of the influence of voltage unbalance in the machine feed for the determination of these anomalies. Experimental data are acquired from 1 and 2 cv motors under sinusoidal supply, operating in various unbalance conditions and under a wide range of mechanical load applied to the motor shaft.

Multi-agent systems (MASs) can be used to model phenomena that can be decomposed into several interacting agents which exist within an environment. In particular, they can be used to model human and animal societies, for the purpose of analysing their properties by computational means. This thesis is concerned with the automated analysis of a particular kind of such social models, namely, those based on behaviourist principles, which contrasts with the more dominant cognitive approaches found in the MAS literature. The hallmark of behaviourist theories is the emphasis on the definition of behaviour in terms of the interaction between agents and their environment. In this manner, not merely re exive actions, but also learning, drives, and emotions can be defined. More specifically, in this thesis we introduce a formal agent architecture (specified with the Z Notation) based on the Behaviour Analysis theory of B. F. Skinner, and provide a suitable formal notion of environment (based on the pi-calculus process algebra) to bring such agents together as an MAS. Simulation is often used to analyse MASs. The techniques involved typically consist in implementing and then simulating a MAS several times to either collect statistics or see what happens through animation. However, simulations can be used in a more verification-oriented manner if one considers that they are actually explorations of large state-spaces. In this thesis we propose a novel verification technique based on this insight, which consists in simulating a MAS in a guided way in order to check whether some hypothesis about it holds or not. To this end, we leverage the prominent position that environments have in the MASs of this thesis: the formal specification of the environment of a MAS serves to compute the possible evolutions of the MAS as a transition system, thereby establishing the state-space to be investigated. In this computation, agents are taken into account by being simulated in order to determine, at each environmental state, what their actions are. Each simulation execution is a sequence of states in this state-space, which is computed on-the-fly, as the simulation progresses. The hypothesis to be investigated, in turn, is given as another transition system, called a simulation purpose, which defines the desirable and undesirable simulations (e.g., \"every time the agent does X, it will do Y later\"). It is then possible to check whether the MAS satisfies the simulation purpose according to a number of precisely defined notions of satisfiability. Algorithmically, this corresponds to building a synchronous product of these two transitions systems (i.e., the MAS\'s and the simulation purpose) on-the-fly and using it to operate a simulator. That is to say, the simulation purpose is used to guide the simulator, so that only the relevant states are actually simulated. By the end of such an algorithm, it delivers either a conclusive or an inconclusive verdict. If conclusive, it becomes known whether the MAS satisfies the simulation purpose with respect to the observations made during simulations. If inconclusive, it is possible to perform some adjustments and try again. In summary, then, in this thesis we provide four novel elements: (i) an agent architecture; (ii) a formal specification of the environment of these agents, so that they can be composed into an MAS; (iii) a structure to describe the property of interest, which we named simulation purpose; and (iv) a technique to formally analyse the resulting MAS with respect to a simulation purpose. These elements are implemented in a tool, called Formally Guided Simulator (FGS). Case studies executable in FGS are provided to illustrate the approach. / Sistemas multi-agentes (SMAs) podem ser usados para modelar fenômenos que podem ser decompostos em diversos agentes que interagem entre si dentro de um ambiente. Em particular, eles podem ser usados para modelar sociedades humanas e animais, com a finalidade de se analisar as suas propriedades computacionalmente. Esta tese trata da análise automatizada de um tipo particular de tais modelos sociais, a saber, aqueles baseados em princípios behavioristas, o que contrasta com as abordagens cognitivas mais dominante na literatura de SMAs. A principal característica das teorias behaviorista é a ênfase na descrição do comportamento em termos da interação entre agentes e seu ambiente. Desta forma, não apenas ações refl exivas, mas também de aprendizado, motivações, e as emoções podem ser definidas. Mais especificamente, nesta tese apresentamos uma arquitetura de agentes formal (especificada através da Notação Z) baseada na teoria da Análise do Comportamento de B. F. Skinner, e fornecemos uma noção adequada e formal de ambiente (com base na álgebra de processos pi-calculus) para colocar tais agentes juntos em um SMA. Simulações são freqüentemente utilizadas para se analisar SMAs. As técnicas envolvidas tipicamente consistem em simular um SMA diversas vezes, seja para coletar estatísticas, seja para observar o que acontece através de animações. Contudo, simulações podem ser usadas de forma a pertmitir a realização de verificações automatizadas do SMA caso sejam entendidas como explorações de grandes espaços-de-estados. Nesta tese propomos uma técnica de verificação baseada nessa observação, que consiste em simular um SMA de uma forma guiada, a fim de se determinar se uma dada hipótese sobre ele é verdadeira ou não. Para tal fim, tiramos proveito da importância que os ambientes têm nesta tese: a especificação formal do ambiente de um SMA serve para calcular as evoluções possíveis do SMA como um sistema de transição, estabelecendo assim o espaço-de-estados a ser investigado. Neste cálculo, os agentes são levados em conta simulando-os, a fim de determinar, em cada estado do ambiente, quais são suas ações. Cada execução da simulação é uma seqüência de estados nesse espaço-de-estados, que é calculado em tempo de execução, conforme a simulação progride. A hipótese a ser investigada, por sua vez, é dada como um outro sistema de transição, chamado propósito de simulação, o qual define as simulações desejáveis e indesejáveis (e.g., \"sempre que o agente fizer X, ele fará Y depois\"). Em seguida, é possível verificar se o SMA satisfaz o propósito de simulação de acordo com uma série de relações de satisfatibilidade precisamente definidas. Algoritmicamente, isso corresponde a construir um produto síncrono desses dois sistemas de transições (i.e., o do SMA e o do propósito de simulação) em tempo de execução e usá-lo para operar um simulador. Ou seja, o propósito de simulação é usado para guiar o simulador, de modo que somente os estados relevantes sejam efetivamente simulados. Ao terminar, um tal algoritmo pode fornecer um veredito conclusivo ou inconclusivo. Se conclusivo, descobre-se se o SMA satisfaz ou não o propósito de simulação com relação às observações feitas durante as simulações. Se inconclusivo, é possível realizar alguns ajustes e tentar novamente. em resumo, portanto, nesta tese propomos quatro novos elementos: (i) uma arquitetura de agente, (ii) uma especificação formal do ambiente desses agentes, de modo que possam ser compostos em um SMA, (iii) uma estrutura para descrever a propriedade de interesse, a qual chamamos de propósito de simulação, e (iv) uma técnica para se analisar formalmente o SMA resultante com relação a um propósito de simulação. Esses elementos estão implementados em uma ferramenta, denominada Simulador Formalmente Guiado (FGS, do inglês Formally Guided Simulator). Estudos de caso executáveis no FGS são fornecidos para ilustrar a abordagem.

[pt] A resolução de problemas distribuídos com o uso de sistemas compostos de vários agentes, agrupados em organizações, e que visam objetivos comuns vem ganhando grande atenção da comunidade científica. Este interesse evidencia-se pelo número crescente de iniciativas para a criação de métodos de desenvolvimento e plataformas de implementação de sistema multi-agentes. Algumas plataformas concentram-se no suporte a aspectos específicos destes sistemas, enquanto outras preocupam-se com a criação de uma infra-estrutura completa que permita o desenvolvimento dos agentes e suas organizações. O Web Life é uma arquitetura para a implementação de sistemas multi-agentes para a Web, que auxilia a criação dos agentes e suas organizações, oferecendo toda a infra-estrutura de comunicação, coordenação, tomada de decisões e realização de tarefas necessária a atuação dos agentes. A arquitetura procura aproveitar diversas iniciativas de padronização e de criação de ferramentas para resolução de certos aspectos do problema, agrupando-as sob um framework integrado. A arquitetura promove a evolução da Web no sentido de se tornar uma Web de conteúdos semânticos aptos ao tratamento automático por mecanismos de software - a Web Semântica. / [en] The resolution of distributed problems by applying computer systems composed by agents and organized towards a common objective is attracting the scientific community s attention. This is shown by the increasing number of initiatives for the development of methods and platforms to help constructing multiagent systems. Some platforms concentrate efforts on supporting some multi-agent systems aspects while others try to offer a complete infrastructure for the agents and organizations development. The Web Life architecture offers an implementation platform for developing Web-based multi- agent systems. The architecture is focused on the provision of a complete multi-agent infrastructure with native support for communication, coordination, decision-taking and task-oriented behavior. The incorporation of current under development standards and tools for solving specific problems in multi-agent systems is one of the main objectives of this work. These standards and tools are integrated by the Web Life framework. The architecture try to help the evolution of the Web into a Web with semantic contents that may be automatically processed - the Semantic Web.

[pt] O progresso tecnológico da computação móvel associada à Internet promove a concretização de uma visão futurista em que os usuários acessam dados e serviços a qualquer momento e em qualquer lugar. Entretanto, esta visão expõe questões importantes no desenvolvimento de aplicações, pois se deve dar maior atenção para a comunicação entre dispositivos móveis e serviços web, considerando restrições de processamento, armazenamento de dados, diversidade de padrões e disponibilidade dos serviços. Esta dissertação explora aspectos de engenharia de software como computação autonômica, frameworks e sistemas multiagentes no desenvolvimento de aplicações para dispositivos móveis dando ênfase ao gerenciamento do uso de serviços web. Para consolidar os conceitos abordados e prover um guia que facilite o desenvolvimento de aplicações autoadaptáveis, propõe-se um framework para auxiliar o desenvolvimento de aplicações para computação móvel. Para ilustrar a utilização do framework são apresentadas duas aplicações. A primeira aplicação é um sistema que apresenta o risco de deslizamento de massa em uma área a partir do cálculo de susceptibilidade baseado em informações sobre clima, relevo e solo. A segunda aplicação faz parte de um sistema de agência de viagens que define um pacote de viagens que melhor atende às necessidades do usuário. / [en] Technological progress in mobile computing and the Internet promotes an achievement of the futuristic vision in which users have access to data and services anytime and anywhere. However, this vision realization brings important issues to application development, because more attention is required to the communication between mobile devices and web services, especially regarding processing and data storage constraints, diversity standards and availability of services. This dissertation explores aspects of software engineering as autonomic computing, multi-agent systems and frameworks in developing applications for mobile devices, emphasizing autonomic management of web services use. Aiming the consolidation of the investigated concepts and provide a guide to facilitate the development of self-adapting applications, a framework is proposed to help in applications development for mobile computing. The development of two applications illustrates the framework appliance. The first application is a system that presents the risk of mass sliding in an area through a susceptibility calculation based on information of climate, topography and soil. The second application is part of a travel agency system that defines a travel package that best fit user needs.

Custom software development and maintenance is one of the key expenses associated with developing automated systems for mass customization. This paper presents a method for reducing the risk associated with this expense by developing a flexible environment for determining and executing dynamic workflow paths. Strategies for developing an autonomous agent-based framework and for identifying and creating web services for specific process tasks are presented. The proposed methods are outlined in two different case studies to illustrate the approach for both a generic process with complex workflow paths and a more specific sequential engineering process.

L'objectif de cette thèse de doctorat est (i) d'étudier et de développer des méthodes d’analyse et de commande de systèmes de contrôle en réseau linéaires et non linéaires et (ii) de montrer le potentiel de ces approches dans des applications complexes pertinentes. À cet égard, la théorie des systèmes à plusieurs agents, la théorie des graphes algébriques et le consensus sont des outils méthodologiques les plus intéressants. Une attention particulière est accordée à la caractérisation des relations entre, d'une part, la topologie du graphe de communication qui sous-tend l'évolution du système à plusieurs agents considéré et, d'autre part, les propriétés spectrales de la matrice Laplacienne associée au graphe lui-même. Le contrôle d'un groupe d'agents autonomes est étudié sous différents angles. Le principal objectif de contrôle est de s’assurer que les agents travaillent ensemble de manière coopérative, où la coopération représente la relation étroite entre tous les agents de l'équipe, le partage de l'information jouant un rôle important. En particulier, beaucoup de problèmes de consensus/accord/ synchronisation /rendez-vous sont étudiés afin de guider un groupe d’agents vers un état commun. Le consensus est étudié dans un contexte à temps discret parce que la dynamique du système est en général continue alors que les mesures et les entrées de contrôle sont des données échantillonnées. En outre, la théorie des jeux est utilisée pour faire face aux problèmes de coordination distribués à plusieurs agents, avec une application aux réseaux connus sous le nom de Software Defined Networks. À cet égard, on peut montrer que, sous des protocoles correctement conçus, les joueurs convergent vers un équilibre unique de Wardrop. On concentre l’attention sur le contrôle distribué, car cette approche présente des avantages évidents par rapport à la centralisation, comme l'évolutivité et la robustesse. Pourtant, le contrôle distribué a également ses propres inconvénients : avant tout, un inconvénient est que chaque agent ne peut pas prédire efficacement le comportement global du groupe en se basant uniquement sur des informations locales. Une certaine attention est également accordée à la nécessité de sécuriser les réseaux électriques contre le danger des attaques cyber-physiques grâce au développement de technologies d'intelligence distribuée. À cet égard, sur la base de topologies de réseaux d'énergie réalistes, nous présentons brièvement la conception d'un schéma de protection contre les attaques dynamiques à un point et à points multiples en boucle fermée. Nous formulons et résolvons un problème d'optimisation non convexe soumis à une contrainte de stabilité de Lyapunov pour la représentation à plusieurs agents autonome d'un réseau électrique obtenue après la linéarisation et l'application des lois d’attaque et de contrôle de fréquence. Finalement, nous présentons des résultats obtenus sur : le pilotage exact de la dynamique non linéaire finie à données échantillonnées avec des retards sur les entrées, au sujet de la stabilisation à données échantillonnées et de la poursuite de l'orbite quasi-halo autour du point de libration translunaire L₂, et au sujet des algorithmes heuristiques basés sur des méthodes d'apprentissage par renforcement à plusieurs agents capables d'effectuer un contrôle adaptatif optimal de qualité de service / qualité de l’expérience dans des scénarios sans modèle. / The objective of this PhD thesis is (i) to investigate and develop methods for the analysis and design of linear and nonlinear networked control systems and (ii) to show the potential of such approaches in relevant complex applications. In this respect, multi-agent systems theory, algebraic graph theory and consensus are the most interesting methodological tools, and specific attention is paid to the characterization of the relationships between, on the one hand, the topology of the communication graph that underlies the evolution of the considered multiagent system and, on the other hand, the spectral properties of the Laplacian matrix associated with the graph itself. The control of a group of autonomous agents is investigated from different perspectives. The main control objective is to make sure that the agents work together in a cooperative fashion, where cooperation accounts for the close relationship among all agents in the team, with information sharing playing an important role. In particular, various problems regarding consensus/agreement/synchronization/rendezvous are investigated with the specific aim of driving a group of agents to some common state. Consensus is investigated in a discrete-time setting due to the fact that the system dynamics is normally continuous while the measurements and control inputs might only be made in a sampled-data setting. Moreover, game theory is relied upon in order to cope with distributed multi-agent coordination problems, with application to Software Defined Networks. In this respect, it can be shown that, under properly designed protocols, the players converge to a unique Wardrop equilibrium. We focus on distributed control, since this approach shows obvious benefits over centralization, such as scalability and robustness. Yet, it also has its own drawbacks: among all, one drawback is that each agent cannot effectively predict the overall group behaviour based on only local information. Some attention is also devoted to the need for securing power grids against the danger of cyber-physical attacks through the development of distributed intelligence technologies accompanied by appropriate security enforcements. In this respect, based on realistic power network topologies, we briefly present the design of a protection scheme against closed-loop single-point and multi-point dynamic load altering attacks. This is done by formulating and solving a non-convex optimization problem subject to a Lyapunov stability constraint for the autonomous multiagent representation of a power system obtained after linearization and application of the attack and frequency control laws. Eventually, we show some other results achieved in terms of the exact steeering of finite sampled nonlinear dynamics with input delays, of sampled-data stabilization and quasi-halo orbit following around the L₂ translunar libration point, and of heuristic algorithms based on multi-agent reinforcement learning methods capable of performing optimal adaptive Quality of Service/Quality of Experience control in model-free scenarios.

<div>Self-organization in a multi-robot system is a spontaneous process where some form of overall order arises from local interactions between robots in an initially disordered system. Cooperative coordination strategies for self-organization promote teamwork to complete a task while increasing the total utility of the system. In this dissertation, we apply prosocial behavioral concepts such as altruism and cooperation in multi-robot systems and investigate their effects on overall system performance on given tasks. We stress the significance of this research in long-term applications involving minimal to no human supervision, where self-sustainability of the multi-robot group is of utmost importance for the success of the mission at hand and system re-usability in the future.</div><div><br></div><div>For part of the research, we take bio-inspiration of cooperation from the huddling behavior of Emperor Penguins in the Antarctic which allows them to share body heat and survive one of the harshest environments on Earth as a group. A cyclic energy sharing concept is proposed for a convoying structured multi-robot group inspired from penguin movement dynamics in a huddle with carefully placed induction coils to facilitate directional energy sharing with neighbors and a position shuffling algorithm, allowing long-term survival of the convoy as a group in the field. Simulation results validate that the cyclic process allows individuals an equal opportunity to be at the center of the group identified as the most energy conserving position, and as a result robot groups were able to travel over 4 times the distance during convoying with the proposed method without any robot failing as opposed to without the shuffling and energy sharing process. </div><div><br></div><div>An artificial potential based Adaptive Inter-agent Spacing (AIS) control law is also proposed for efficient energy distribution in an unstructured multi-robot group aimed at long-term survivability goals in the field. By design, as an altruistic behavior higher energy bearing robots are dispersed throughout the group based on their individual energy levels to counter skewed initial distributions for faster group energy equilibrium attainment. Inspired by multi-huddle merging and splitting behavior of Emperor Penguins, a clustering and sequential merging based systematic energy equilibrium attainment method is also proposed as a supplement to the AIS controller. The proposed system ensures that high energy bearing agents are not over crowded by low energy bearing agents. The AIS controller proposed for the unstructured energy sharing and distribution process yielded 55%, 42%, 23% and 33% performance improvements in equilibrium attainment convergence time for skewed, bi-modal, normal and random initial agent resource level distributions respectively on a 2D plane using the proposed energy distribution method over the control method of no adaptive spacing. Scalability analysis for both energy sharing concepts confirmed their application with consistently improved performances different sized groups of robots. Applicability of the AIS controller as a generalized resource distribution method under certain constraints is also discussed to establish its significance in various multi-robot applications.</div><div><br></div><div>A concept of group based survival from damaging directional external stimuli is also adapted from the Emperor Penguin huddling phenomenon where individuals on the damaging stimuli side continuously relocate to the leeward side of the group following the group boundary using Gaussian Processes Machine Learning based global health-loss rate minima estimations in a distributed manner. The method relies on cooperation from all robots where individuals take turns being sheltered by the group from the damaging external stimuli. The distributed global health loss rate minima estimation allowed the development of two settling conditions. The global health loss rate minima settling method yielded 12.6%, 5.3%, 16.7% and 14.2% improvement in average robot health over the control case of no relocation, while an optimized health loss rate minima settling method further improved on the global health loss rate settling method by 3.9%, 1.9%, 1.7% and 0.6% for robot group sizes 26, 35, 70 and 107 respectively.</div><div><br></div><div>As a direct application case study of collaboration in multi-robot systems, a distributed shape formation strategy is proposed where robots act as beacons to help neighbors settle in a prescribed formation by local signaling. The process is completely distributed in nature and does not require any external control due to the cooperation between robots. Beacon robots looking for a robot to settle as a neighbor and continue the shape formation process, generates a surface gradient throughout the formed shape that allow robots to determine the direction of the structure forming frontier along the dynamically changing structure surface and eventually reach the closest beacon. Simulation experiments validate complex shape formation in 2D and 3D using the proposed method. The importance of group collaboration is emphasized in this case study without which the shape formation process would not be possible, without a centralized control scheme directing individual agents to specific positions in the structure. </div><div> </div><div>As the final application case study, a collaborative multi-agent transportation strategy is proposed for unknown objects with irregular shape and uneven weight distribution. Although, the proposed system is robust to single robot object transportation, the proposed methodology of transport is focused on robots regulating their effort while pushing objects from an identified pushing location hoping other robots support the object moment on the other end of the center of mass to prevent unintended rotation and create an efficient path of the object to the goal. The design of the object transportation strategy takes cooperation cues from human behaviors when coordinating pushing of heavy objects from two ends. Collaboration is achieved when pushing agents can regulate their effort with one another to maintain an efficient path for the object towards the set goal. Numerous experiments of pushing simple shapes such as disks and rectangular boxes and complex arbitrary shapes with increasing number of robots validate the significance and effectiveness of the proposed method. Detailed robustness studies of changing weight of objects during transportation portrayed the importance of cooperation in multi-agent systems in countering unintended drift effects of the object and maintain a steady efficient path to the goal. </div><div><br></div><div>Each case study is presented independent of one another with the Penguin huddling based self-organizations in response to internal and external stimuli focused on fundamental self-organization methods, and the structure formation and object transportation strategies focused on cooperation in specific applications. All case studies are validated by relevant simulation and experiments to establish the effectiveness of altruistic and cooperative behaviors in multi-robot systems.</div>

Background: Multiple Objective Optimization problems(MOOPs) are common and evident in every field. Container port terminals are one of the fields in which MOOP occurs. In this research, we have taken a case in logistics management and modelled Multi-agent systems to solve the MOOP using Non-dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm-II (NSGA-II). Objectives: The purpose of this study is to build AI-based models for solving a Multiple Objective Optimization Problem occurred in port terminals. At first, we develop a port agent with an objective function of maximizing throughput and a customer agent with an objective function of maximizing business profit. Then, we solve the problem using the single-objective optimization model and multi-objective optimization model. We then compare the results of both models to assess their performance. Methods: A literature review is conducted to choose the best algorithm among the existing algorithms, which were used previously in solving other Multiple Objective Optimization problems. An experiment is conducted to know how well the models performed to solve the problem so that all the participants are benefited simultaneously. Results: The results show that all three participants that are port, customer one and customer two have gained profits by solving the problem in multi-objective optimization model. Whereas in a single-objective optimization model, a single participant has achieved earnings at a time, leaving the rest of the participants either in loss or with minimal profits. Conclusion: We can conclude that multi-objective optimization model has performed better than the single-objective optimization model because of the impartial results among the participants.