This article overviews the concepts of distributed intelligence, outlining the motivations for studying this field of research. First, common systems of distributed intelligence are classified based upon the types of interactions exhibited, since the type of interaction has relevance to…

A paradigm for modelling and analysing Home Automation Systems is introduced, based on Multi-Agent System theory. A rich and versatile environment for Home Automation System simulation is constructed for investigating the performances of the system. The exploitation of limited resources…

This special issue of the Journal of Physical Agents is devoted to multi-robot systems. Some might perhaps argue that the term should have been ”multi-agent systems” or ”physical multi-agent systems”, in accordance with the title of the journal. In any…

This special issue of the Journal of Physical Agents is devoted to human interaction with domestic robots. The form, features and future, of domestic robotic devices, from entertainment-based agents through to robotic cleaners, companions, assistants and helpers, are considered and…

In this work we present a reactive autonomous robot navigation system based only on omnidirectional vision. It does not rely on any prior knowledge about the environment apart from assuming a structured one, like indoor corridors or outdoor avenues. The…

In this article we describe a novel algorithm that allows fast and continuous learning on a physical robot working in a real environment. The learning process is never stopped and new knowledge gained from robot-environment interactions can be incorporated into…

This paper briefly introduces a summary of the special session on Hybrid Reasoning and Coordination Methods on Multi-Agent Systems, held in conjunction with the 4th International Conference on Hybrid Artificial Intelligence Systems 2009 (HAIS’09). The research papers of this session…

Can you imagine a useful task you would like a social robot to perform for you? This paper presents an Internet survey where participants were asked this question to identify applications for social robots. The applications mentioned by the participants…

If robotic companions are to be used in the near future by aging adults, they have to be accepted by them. In the process of developing a methodology to measure, predict and explain acceptance of robotic companions, we researched the…

In Fall 2007, the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) held the Urban Challenge, a street race between fully autonomous vehicles. Unlike previous challenges, the Urban Challenge vehicles had to follow the California laws for driving, including properly handling…