CS712 ADVANCED TOPICS IN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE:
Multiagent Systems and Mixed-Initiative Planning
Instructors:
Dr. Michael T. Cox
Assistant Professor of Computer Science & Enginnering
Wright State University
cs712fac@cs.wright.edu
http://www.mcox.org/
Office: RC343 (phone 775-5126)
Office Hours: 6:00 - 7:00 PM Tuesday and Thursday
Meeting Times/Location:
8:00-9:15 T Th
Room 155, Russ Engineering Center
Credit Hours:
4.0 Quarter Hrs.
Exams:
Course Description:
This is an advanced level course in Artificial Intelligence (AI). Students
taking this class should have taken a previous introductory class in AI
at the graduate level. The course will introduce the student to basic concepts
in distributed intelligent planning using agent-oriented methods. Subsequently
the instructors will develop the concept of mixed-initiative planners (i.e.,
a planning system that actively includes humans in the planning process).
Finally the students will study a novel research paradigm that incorporate
teams of intelligent agents and humans that together solve difficult collaborative
planning problems. A term project that explores open issues within this
paradigm provides students with hands-on experience in one of the newest
research areas within AI.
Objectives:
The main objectives of the course are
1. to provide a survey of basic concepts regarding
multiagent planning systems.
2. to expose the student to current literature in
both agent technologies and mixed-initative planning.
3. to introduce students to open research questions
in these areas.
4. to allow students to explore possible solutions
to these questions.
Required Text:
Weiss, G. (Ed.) (1999). Multiagent Systems: A modern approach to distributed
artificial intelligence. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.
Supplementary Text:
Cox, M. (Ed.) (1999). Proceedings
of the AAAI Workshop on Mixed-Initiative Intelligence. Menlo Park,
CA: AAAI Press.
Academic Dishonesty:
Academic dishonesty will not be tolerated in class, on homework, or during
examinations. For a list of examples of cheating see Section X in the Code
of Student Conduct in the online Wright State University Student Handbook.
Your individual institution may define these examples somewhat differently.
Student Evaluation:
Evaluation for the course consists of a midterm exam (25%), a final
exam (35%), a term project (25%), homework (10%), and
a few pop quizzes (5%).
All of the assignments must be submitted in class on the dates specified.
Assignments must be turned in on time. No extensions will be granted. If
your assignment is incomplete, turn it in and we will grade it for partial
credit.
All assignments must be done independently or in groups when instructed.
You are encouraged to talk to the instructors, if you encounter any difficulties.
When working independently, you may discuss the problem, and the issues
that arise, with other students, as long as you clearly indicate who you
discussed the problem with. You may not share or discuss your code. In
other words, talk about the problem, not about the program
itself. Likewise when working in groups, adhere to the same conduct between
groups. These are supposed to be common sense guidelines; please talk to
an instructor, if you are unsure about what is permissible. If you use
algorithms or methods described in books or papers, make sure you include
a comment in your program with the appropriate references.
Most assignments will contain one or more extra credit problems. These
are designed for students who need extra credit to remedy a poor score,
and also for students who wish to explore particular topics in greater
depth. The final grades will be assigned on a curve based on regular credit
problems, after which students with extra credit will be scaled up appropriately.
This ensures that extra credit can only help those students who have it,
but not hurt those who don't.
WSU Computing Resources:
C, Pascal, JAVA and Allegro Common Lisp are available on campus wide Unix
machines (e.g., paladin). College computer
labs,
software
availability, and the user help
desk are listed on-line.
Communication:
Most communication regarding the course will be done electronically. Please
read your electronic mail (e-mail) regularly; the elm command or others
can be used to do this.
Correspondence: cs712fac@cs.wright.edu