Spring 2016

Agent Technologies for Developers (TIES454).

Introduction

Today

Course targets
Practicalities
First assignment

Main targets of the course

Learn what an agent-based system is
- By using basic components
Learn how agents can plan and collaborate
- By using BDI architectures and auctions
Learn what an agent-based system can be used for
- By implementing scenarios
Learn how agent-based systems connect to other technologies
- By implementing external behavior for an agent

Side targets

Learn concurrent/parallel programming
- Bill Dally (Chief scientist of NVidia) :
The future of the world is parallel. You know, Serial programs it’s going to be like COBOL programs. People used to do those, but they don’t do them anymore.
Learn the Git distributed version control system
Learn how agent-based systems relate to other technologies
Use English as a communication language
Perform group work with new people
Enjoy!

Why do you want to study Multi-Agent Systems?

Rarely for the systems themselves
Mainly to carry over concepts to other technologies
- Messaging systems
- Concurrency models
- General AI
- Machine learning
- SOA
- NLP
- …
To know what the future might hold

Prerequisites

programming (at least programming 2)
basic algorithms and data structures

Course mode

Few traditional lectures (most theory is in Vagan’s course)
- Hands-on experience
- Presentations
- Feedback
Individual work
Group work
Self oriented learning
- Read and study what you need

Passing the course

Grading (Pass/fail)
- Finish the assignments

Course workload

  About 7 weeks
  5 credits
  Vagan's course
+ -------------
= Intensive

You are expected to work outside of the lecture times!

Course schedule

Demo sessions (Ag C331.3) are not mandatory
- The tasks and deadlines will be published on-line
Feedback sessions are mandatory
- Ag C331.3
  - Wed February 3
  - Wed February 17
  - Wed March 2
  - Wed March 9

Questions

Discuss with your fellow class mates
- This course is not a competition
Ask during the demos
questions about TIES453
- ask Vagan vagan.terziyan@jyu.fi

Returning tasks - Collaborating

Git is used for collaborative working and submitting results
Yousource : https://yousource.it.jyu.fi/ (The faculty’s ‘github’.)
More information about the repository to use will be in the tasks
- Log in once before the first demo to set up your account!
If unfamiliar with git
- Ask from fellow students
- Read The Pro Git book on-line (the first two sections get you going) and instructions on yousource

This week

Today (Wednesday)
- Log in to https://yousource.it.jyu.fi/ with your korppi credentials
- Start working on first demo
Friday
- First demo
  - First steps using a multi-agent system
- 10:15
- Ag C331.3