A framework for modelling and implementing self-organising coordination

Abstract

Research fields like pervasive computing are showing that the interactions between components in large-scale, mobile, and open systems are highly affected by unpredictability: self-organising techniques are increasingly adopted within infrastructures aimed at managing such interactions in a robust and adaptive way. Accordingly, in this paper we discuss the framework of self-organising coordination: coordination media spread over the network are in charge of managing interactions with each other and with agents solely according to local criteria, making interesting and fruitful global properties of the resulting system appearing by emergenceprobability and timing typically playing a crucial role. We show that the TuCSoN coordination infrastructure can be used as a general platform for enacting self-organising coordination; we put it to test on two cases: an inter-space application of adaptive tuple clustering, and a intra-space application of chemical-like coordination reactions.

Developing pervasive multi-agent systems with nature-inspired coordination

“…Research activities in the field of natural models reveal some common characteristics that nature-inspired coordination models for pervasive systems should feature: autonomy, at the component level to preserve openness; spontaneous context-aware triggering of interactions between components; supporting situated behaviour; and leading to an overall self-organising and self-adaptive behavior at the system level [45]. In spite of the fact that tuplebased coordination is definitely not a nature-inspired model per se [23], it exhibits the characteristics that make it suitable as a basic building block to transpose natural coordination models in computational terms.…”

A coordination model of pervasive service ecosystems

“…For instance: the path towards a given area of interest, suggested by dynamic signs appearing on deployed displays, could be automatically computed by self-organisation so as to dynamically avoid overcrowded streets, or alternative locations may be selected if one cannot be reached quickly. Adaptivity is often achieved by designing coordination rules that by acting locally (namely, on a given network neighbourhood) make global properties emerge by self-organisation [24]-following a natural inspiration [22].…”

Coordination models and languages: from parallel computing to self-organisation

“…As such, they are seemingly the most intuitive sources for abstractions and mechanisms around which selforganising artificial systems could be designed and built. Generally speaking, self-organising coordination can be defined as the management of system interactions featuring self-organising properties-namely, where interactions are local, and global desired effects of coordination appear by emergence (Viroli et al, 2009). Although in most classical coordination models the environment is filled with coordination media enacting coordination laws that are typically reactive, (essentially) deterministic and global, in self-organising systems coordination patterns typically Coordination models and languages: from parallel computing to self-organisation appear at the global level by emergence from probabilistic, time-dependent coordination laws, based on local criteria.…”