CSCE 475/896
Handout 19: Homework 3 Review:
Agents or Not Agents, MAS or Not
MAS?
December 11, 2003
This supplement is based on Homework 3, and Shenk, D.
(2003). Watching You, National Geographic, 204(5):2-29.
1. Is the system an agent or a multiagent system or neither?
|
|
0 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
11 |
12 |
|
Poisedon |
A |
A |
A |
A |
A |
A |
A |
A |
MAS |
A |
N |
A |
A |
|
E.Watchdog |
N |
N |
N |
N |
A |
A |
N |
A |
MAS |
N |
MAS |
N |
N |
|
PMMW |
N |
N |
N |
N |
A |
~ |
N |
N |
N |
N |
N |
N |
N |
|
“Pager” |
N |
A |
N |
N |
N |
N |
N |
~ |
A |
N |
N |
N |
A |
|
Smart
Card |
N |
N |
N |
N |
N |
N |
A |
N |
MAS |
N |
MAS |
N |
N |
|
FinCEN |
N |
N |
MAS |
MAS |
N |
MAS |
MAS |
MAS |
N |
N |
N |
A |
A |
|
CopLink |
~ |
~ |
? |
~ |
~ |
~ |
~ |
A |
MAS |
A |
MAS |
A |
A |
|
CCTV |
N |
N |
N |
N |
N |
N |
N |
N |
MAS |
N |
MAS |
N |
N |
|
Echelon |
N |
A |
N |
MAS |
A |
MAS |
A |
A |
A |
~ |
MAS |
MAS |
A |
|
Sensormatic |
A |
N |
A |
A |
A |
MAS |
A |
MAS |
A |
A |
MAS |
A |
MAS |
A few of you failed to identify correctly whether a system was an agent. An agent must be able to take sensory input from its environment, makes autonomous decisions, and carry out some actions that in turn affect the environment. A multiagent system is a group of agents that interact with each other in some coherent manner.
Some of you discussed intelligent agents and made your discussions confusing. In Homework 3, the questions did not involve intelligent agents, simply agents and multiagent systems. An intelligent agent is an agent that is intelligent—therefore not all agents are intelligent. A thermostat is not intelligent, but it is an agent. An intelligent should have flexible behavior such as reactivity, pro-activity, and social ability; and according to some definitions, should also be able to learn.
Most thought that Poisedon is an agent. Most thought that Sensormatic Intellex DV 16000 was either an agent or a multiagent system. Sensors such as CCTVs are almost certainly neither agents nor multiagent systems. Why? Because human operators are still required to analyze the video, for example. Human operators are still required to make decisions based on the data that CCTVs provide. Smart Card is also almost certainly not an agent, nor a multiagent system. Why? It is a data storage. It stores data. The network that uses Smart Card may be a multiagent system, though.