This book contains three well-written research tutorials that inform the graduate reader about the forefront of current research in multi-agent optimization. These tutorials cover topics that have not yet found their way in standard books and offer the reader the unique opportunity to be guided by major researchers in the respective fields. Multi-agent optimization, lying at the intersection of classical optimization, game theory, and variational inequality theory, is at the forefront of modern optimization and has recently undergone a dramatic development. It seems timely to provide an overview that describes in detail ongoing research and important trends. This book concentrates on Distributed Optimization over Networks; Differential Variational Inequalities; and Advanced Decomposition Algorithms for Multi-agent Systems. This book will appeal to both mathematicians and mathematically oriented engineers and will be the source of inspiration for PhD students and researchers.

This book offers a detailed investigation of breakdowns in traffic and transportation networks. It shows empirically that transitions from free flow to so-called synchronized flow, initiated by local disturbances at network bottlenecks, display a nucleation-type behavior: while small disturbances in free flow decay, larger ones grow further and lead to breakdowns at the bottlenecks. Further, it discusses in detail the significance of this nucleation effect for traffic and transportation theories, and the consequences this has for future automatic driving, traffic control, dynamic traffic assignment, and optimization in traffic and transportation networks. Starting from a large volume of field traffic data collected from various sources obtained solely through measurements in real world traffic, the author develops his insights, with an emphasis less on reviewing existing methodologies, models and theories, and more on providing a detailed analysis of empirical traffic data and drawing consequences regarding the minimum requirements for any traffic and transportation theories to be valid. The book - proves the empirical nucleation nature of traffic breakdown in networks - discusses the origin of the failure of classical traffic and transportation theories - shows that the three-phase theory is incommensurable with the classical traffic theories, and - explains why current state-of-the art dynamic traffic assignments tend to provoke heavy traffic congestion, making it a valuable reference resource for a wide audience of scientists and postgraduate students interested in the fundamental understanding of empirical traffic phenomena and related data-driven phenomenology, as well as for practitioners working in the fields of traffic and transportation engineering.

Nonlinear Dynamics, Volume 1. Proceedings of the 34th IMAC, A Conference and Exposition on Dynamics of Multiphysical Systems: From Active Materials to Vibroacoustics, 2016, the fi rst volume of ten from the Conference, brings together contributions to this important area of research and engineering. Th e collection presents early fi ndings and case studies on fundamental and applied aspects of Structural Dynamics, including papers on: * Nonlinear Oscillations * Nonlinear Modal Analysis * Nonlinear System Identifi cation * Nonlinear Modeling & Simulation * Nonlinearity in Practice * Nonlinearity in Multi-Physics Systems * Nonlinear Modes and Modal Interactions

This book introduces and discusses the analysis of interacting many-body complex systems exhibiting spontaneous synchronization from the perspective of nonequilibrium statistical physics. While such systems have been mostly studied using dynamical system theory, the book underlines the usefulness of the statistical physics approach to obtain insightful results in a number of representative dynamical settings. Although it is intractable to follow the dynamics of a particular initial condition, statistical physics allows to derive exact analytical results in the limit of an infinite number of interacting units. Chapter one discusses dynamical characterization of individual units of synchronizing systems as well as of their interaction and summarizes the relevant tools of statistical physics. The latter are then used in chapters two and three to discuss respectively synchronizing systems with either a first- or a second-order evolution in time. This book provides a timely introduction to the subject and is meant for the uninitiated as well as for experienced researchers working in areas of nonlinear dynamics and chaos, statistical physics, and complex systems.

This book introduces readers to essential tools for the measurement and analysis of information loss in signal processing systems. Employing a new information-theoretic systems theory, the book analyzes various systems in the signal processing engineer's toolbox: polynomials, quantizers, rectifiers, linear filters with and without quantization effects, principal components analysis, multirate systems, etc. The user benefit of signal processing is further highlighted with the concept of relevant information loss. Signal or data processing operates on the physical representation of information so that users can easily access and extract that information. However, a fundamental theorem in information theory-data processing inequality-states that deterministic processing always involves information loss. These measures form the basis of a new information-theoretic systems theory, which complements the currently prevailing approaches based on second-order statistics, such as the mean-squared error or error energy. This theory not only provides a deeper understanding but also extends the design space for the applied engineer with a wide range of methods rooted in information theory, adding to existing methods based on energy or quadratic representations.

This volume, which is dedicated to Heinz Langer, includes biographical material and carefully selected papers. Heinz Langer has made fundamental contributions to operator theory. In particular, he has studied the domains of operator pencils and nonlinear eigenvalue problems, the theory of indefinite inner product spaces, operator theory in Pontryagin and Krein spaces, and applications to mathematical physics. His works include studies on and applications of Schur analysis in the indefinite setting, where the factorization theorems put forward by Krein and Langer for generalized Schur functions, and by Dijksma-Langer-Luger-Shondin, play a key role. The contributions in this volume reflect Heinz Langer's chief research interests and will appeal to a broad readership whose work involves operator theory.

The book outlines selected projects conducted under the supervision of the author. Moreover, it discusses significant relations between Interactive Granular Computing (IGrC) and numerous dynamically developing scientific domains worldwide, along with features characteristic of the author's approach to IGrC. The results presented are a continuation and elaboration of various aspects of Wisdom Technology, initiated and developed in cooperation with Professor Andrzej Skowron. Based on the empirical findings from these projects, the author explores the following areas: (a) understanding the causes of the theory and practice gap problem (TPGP) in complex systems engineering (CSE);(b) generalizing computing models of complex adaptive systems (CAS) (in particular, natural computing models) by constructing an interactive granular computing (IGrC) model of networks of interrelated interacting complex granules (c-granules), belonging to a single agent and/or to a group of agents; (c) developing methodologies based on the IGrC model to minimize the negative consequences of the TPGP. The book introduces approaches to the above issues, using the proposed IGrC model. In particular, the IGrC model refers to the key mechanisms used to control the processes related to the implementation of CSE projects. One of the main aims was to develop a mechanism of IGrC control over computations that model a project's implementation processes to maximize the chances of its success, while at the same time minimizing the emerging risks. In this regard, the IGrC control is usually performed by means of properly selected and enforced (among project participants) project principles. These principles constitute examples of c-granules, expressed by complex vague concepts (represented by c-granules too). The c-granules evolve with time (in particular, the meaning of the concepts is also subject of change). This methodology is illustrated using project principles applied by the author during the implementation of the POLTAX, AlgoTradix, Merix, and Excavio projects outlined in the book.

Nonlinear Dynamics, Volume 1: Proceedings of the 35th IMAC, A Conference and Exposition on Structural Dynamics, 2017, the first volume of ten from the Conference brings together contributions to this important area of research and engineering. The collection presents early findings and case studies on fundamental and applied aspects of Nonlinear Dynamics, including papers on: Nonlinear System Identification Nonlinear Modeling & Simulation Nonlinear Reduced-order Modeling Nonlinearity in Practice Nonlinearity in Aerospace Systems Nonlinearity in Multi-Physics Systems Nonlinear Modes and Modal Interactions Experimental Nonlinear Dynamics

This book thoroughly investigates the underlying theoretical basis of membrane computing models, and reveals their latest applications. In addition, to date there have been no illustrative case studies or complex real-life applications that capitalize on the full potential of the sophisticated membrane systems computational apparatus; gaps that this book remedies. By studying various complex applications - including engineering optimization, power systems fault diagnosis, mobile robot controller design, and complex biological systems involving data modeling and process interactions - the book also extends the capabilities of membrane systems models with features such as formal verification techniques, evolutionary approaches, and fuzzy reasoning methods. As such, the book offers a comprehensive and up-to-date guide for all researchers, PhDs and undergraduate students in the fields of computer science, engineering and the bio-sciences who are interested in the applications of natural computing models.

This book develops original results regarding singular dynamic systems following two different paths. The first consists of generalizing results from classical state-space cases to linear descriptor systems, such as dilated linear matrix inequality (LMI) characterizations for descriptor systems and performance control under regulation constraints. The second is a new path, which considers descriptor systems as a powerful tool for conceiving new control laws, understanding and deciphering some controller's architecture and even homogenizing different-existing-ways of obtaining some new and/or known results for state-space systems. The book also highlights the comprehensive control problem for descriptor systems as an example of using the descriptor framework in order to transform a non-standard control problem into a classic stabilization control problem. In another section, an accurate solution is derived for the sensitivity constrained linear optimal control also using the descriptor framework. The book is intended for graduate and postgraduate students, as well as researchers in the field of systems and control theory.

This book addresses several important aspects of complex automated negotiations and introduces a number of modern approaches for facilitating agents to conduct complex negotiations. It demonstrates that autonomous negotiation is one of the most important areas in the field of autonomous agents and multi-agent systems. Further, it presents complex automated negotiation scenarios that involve negotiation encounters that may have, for instance, a large number of agents, a large number of issues with strong interdependencies and/or real-time constraints.

This book reports on cutting-edge research into innovative system interfaces, highlighting both lifecycle development and human-technology interaction, especially in virtual, augmented and mixed-reality systems. It describes advanced methodologies and tools for evaluating and improving interface usability and discusses new models, as well as case studies and good practices. The book addresses the human, hardware, and software factors in the process of developing interfaces for optimizing total system performance, while minimizing their costs. It also highlights the forces currently shaping the nature of computing and systems, such as: the importance of portability and technologies for reducing power requirements; the necessity of a better assimilation of computation in the environment; as well as solutions to promote accessibility to computers and systems for people with special needs. The book, which is based on the AHFE 2019 International Conference on Human Factors and Systems Interaction, held on July 24-28, 2019, in Washington D.C., USA, offers a timely survey and practice-oriented guide for systems interface users and developers alike.

This contributed volume offers a collection of papers presented at the 2016 Network Games, Control, and Optimization conference (NETGCOOP), held at the University of Avignon in France, November 23-25, 2016. These papers highlight the increasing importance of network control and optimization in many networking application domains, such as mobile and fixed access networks, computer networks, social networks, transportation networks, and, more recently, electricity grids and biological networks. Covering a wide variety of both theoretical and applied topics in the areas listed above, the authors explore several conceptual and algorithmic tools that are needed for efficient and robust control operation, performance optimization, and better understanding the relationships between entities that may be acting cooperatively or selfishly in uncertain and possibly adversarial environments. As such, this volume will be of interest to applied mathematicians, computer scientists, engineers, and researchers in other related fields.

This book provides recent theoretical developments in and practical applications of fault diagnosis and fault tolerant control for complex dynamical systems, including uncertain systems, linear and nonlinear systems. Combining adaptive control technique with other control methodologies, it investigates the problems of fault diagnosis and fault tolerant control for uncertain dynamic systems with or without time delay. As such, the book provides readers a solid understanding of fault diagnosis and fault tolerant control based on adaptive control technology. Given its depth and breadth, it is well suited for undergraduate and graduate courses on linear system theory, nonlinear system theory, fault diagnosis and fault tolerant control techniques. Further, it can be used as a reference source for academic research on fault diagnosis and fault tolerant control, and for postgraduates in the field of control theory and engineering.

The book offers an interdisciplinary perspective on finance, with a special focus on stock markets. It presents new methodologies for analyzing stock markets' behavior and discusses theories and methods of finance from different angles, such as the mathematical, physical and philosophical ones. The book, which aims at philosophers and economists alike, represents a rare yet important attempt to unify the externalist with the internalist conceptions of finance.

One of the most important routes to chaos is the chaotic intermittency. However, there are many cases that do not agree with the classical theoretical predictions. In this book, an extended theory for intermittency in one-dimensional maps is presented. A new general methodology to evaluate the reinjection probability density function (RPD) is developed in Chapters 5 to 8. The key of this formulation is the introduction of a new function, called M(x), which is used to calculate the RPD function. The function M(x) depends on two integrals. This characteristic reduces the influence on the statistical fluctuations in the data series. Also, the function M(x) is easy to evaluate from the data series, even for a small number of numerical or experimental data. As a result, a more general form for the RPD is found; where the classical theory based on uniform reinjection is recovered as a particular case. The characteristic exponent traditionally used to characterize the intermittency type, is now a function depending on the whole map, not just on the local map. Also, a new analytical approach to obtain the RPD from the mathematical expression of the map is presented. In this way all cases of non standard intermittencies are included in the same frame work. This methodology is extended to evaluate the noisy reinjection probability density function (NRPD), the noisy probability of the laminar length and the noisy characteristic relation. This is an important difference with respect to the classical approach based on the Fokker-Plank equation or Renormalization Group theory, where the noise effect was usually considered just on the local Poincare map. Finally, in Chapter 9, a new scheme to evaluate the RPD function using the Perron-Frobenius operator is developed. Along the book examples of applications are described, which have shown very good agreement with numerical computations.

This book contains the proceedings as well as invited papers for the first annual conference of the UNESCO Unitwin Complex System Digital Campus (CSDC), which is an international initiative gathering 120 Universities on four continents, and structured in ten E-Departments. First Complex Systems Digital Campus World E-Conference 2015 features chapters from the latest research results on theoretical questions of complex systems and their experimental domains. The content contained bridges the gap between the individual and the collective within complex systems science and new integrative sciences on topics such as: genes to organisms to ecosystems, atoms to materials to products, and digital media to the Internet. The conference breaks new ground through a dedicated video-conferencing system - a concept at the heart of the international UNESCO UniTwin, embracing scientists from low-income and distant countries. This book promotes an integrated system of research, education, and training. It also aims at contributing to global development by taking into account its social, economic, and cultural dimensions. First Complex Systems Digital Campus World E-Conference 2015 will appeal to students and researchers working in the fields of complex systems, statistical physics, computational intelligence, and biological physics.

The overall aim of this book, an outcome of the European FP7 FET Open NESS project, is to contribute to the ongoing effort to put the quantitative social sciences on a proper footing for the 21st century. A key focus is economics, and its implications on policy making, where the still dominant traditional approach increasingly struggles to capture the economic realities we observe in the world today - with vested interests getting too often in the way of real advances. Insights into behavioral economics and modern computing techniques have made possible both the integration of larger information sets and the exploration of disequilibrium behavior. The domain-based chapters of this work illustrate how economic theory is the only branch of social sciences which still holds to its old paradigm of an equilibrium science - an assumption that has already been relaxed in all related fields of research in the light of recent advances in complex and dynamical systems theory and related data mining. The other chapters give various takes on policy and decision making in this context. Written in nontechnical style throughout, with a mix of tutorial and essay-like contributions, this book will benefit all researchers, scientists, professionals and practitioners interested in learning about the 'thinking in complexity' to understand how socio-economic systems really work.

This book reports on innovative research and developments in the broad field of transportation. It covers solutions relating to intelligent vehicles and infrastructure, energy and combustion management, vehicle dynamics and control, as well as research on human factors, logistics and security. Contributions are based on peer-reviewed papers presented at the 12th international scientific conference "Transbaltica: Transportation Science and Technology", held virtually from Vilnius Gediminas Technical University, Lithuania, on September 16-17, 2021. All in all, this book offers extensive information on modern transport systems, with a good balance of theory and practice.

This monograph presents new algorithms for formation control of multi-agent systems (MAS) based on principles of continuum mechanics. Beginning with an overview of traditional methods, the author then introduces an innovative new approach whereby agents of an MAS are considered as particles in a continuum evolving in n whose desired configuration is required to satisfy an admissible deformation function. The necessary theory and its validation on a mobile-agent-based swarm test bed are considered for two primary tasks: homogeneous transformation of the MAS and deployment of a random distribution of agents on a desired configuration. The framework for this model is based on homogeneous transformations for the evolution of an MAS under no inter-agent communication, local inter-agent communication, and intelligent perception by agents. Different communication protocols for MAS evolution, the robustness of tracking of a desired motion by an MAS evolving in n, and the effect of communication delays in an MAS evolving under consensus algorithms or homogeneous maps are also explored. Featuring appendices which introduce the requisite concepts from continuum kinematics and graph theory, this monograph will provide advanced graduate students and researchers with the necessary background to understand and apply the methods presented.

This book contains all refereed papers that were accepted to the seventh edition of the international conference " Complex Systems Design & Management Paris" (CSD&M Paris 2016) which took place in Paris (France) on the December 13-14, 2016 These proceedings cover the most recent trends in the emerging field of complex systems sciences & practices from an industrial and academic perspective, including the main industrial domains (aeronautic & aerospace, defense & security, electronics & robotics, energy & environment, healthcare & welfare services, software & e-services, transportation), scientific & technical topics (systems fundamentals, systems architecture & engineering, systems metrics & quality, system is modeling tools) and system types (artificial ecosystems, embedded systems, software & information systems, systems of systems, transportation systems). The CSD&M Paris 2016 conference is organized under the guidance of the CESAMES non-profit organization, address: CESAMES, 8 rue de Hanovre, 75002 Paris, France.

This book is dedicated to Professor Selim G. Akl to honour his groundbreaking research achievements in computer science over four decades. The book is an intellectually stimulating excursion into emergent computing paradigms, architectures and implementations. World top experts in computer science, engineering and mathematics overview exciting and intriguing topics of musical rhythms generation algorithms, analyse the computational power of random walks, dispelling a myth of computational universality, computability and complexity at the microscopic level of synchronous computation, descriptional complexity of error detection, quantum cryptography, context-free parallel communicating grammar systems, fault tolerance of hypercubes, finite automata theory of bulk-synchronous parallel computing, dealing with silent data corruptions in high-performance computing, parallel sorting on graphics processing units, mining for functional dependencies in relational databases, cellular automata optimisation of wireless sensors networks, connectivity preserving network transformers, constrained resource networks, vague computing, parallel evolutionary optimisation, emergent behaviour in multi-agent systems, vehicular clouds, epigenetic drug discovery, dimensionality reduction for intrusion detection systems, physical maze solvers, computer chess, parallel algorithms to string alignment, detection of community structure. The book is a unique combination of vibrant essays which inspires scientists and engineers to exploit natural phenomena in designs of computing architectures of the future.

This book develops an innovative system, in the form of an "app", that harnesses the power of the internet to predict which sorts of people will prefer which policy in ANY planning situation. It chronicles the accumulated research wisdom behind the system's reasoning, along with several less successful approaches to policy making that have been found wanting in the past - including the myth, usually peddled by strategic planners, that it is possible to find a "best" plan which optimally satisfies everybody. The book lays out an entirely new kind of Planning Support System (PSS). It will facilitate decision-making that is far more community-sensitive than previously, and it will drastically improve the performance of anyone who needs to plan within socially-sensitive contexts - which is all of us. A standout feature of the system is its commitment to "scientific rigour", as shown by its predicted plan scores always being graphically presented within error margins so that true statistical significance is instantly observable. Moreover, the probabilities that its predictions are correct are always shown - a refreshing change from most, if not all other Decision Support Systems (DSS) that simply expect users to accept their outputs on faith alone.

This book highlights cutting-edge research in the field of network science, offering scientists, researchers and graduate students a unique opportunity to catch up on the latest advances in theory and a multitude of applications. It presents the peer-reviewed proceedings of the fifth International Workshop on Complex Networks & their Applications (COMPLEX NETWORKS 2016), which took place in Milan during the last week of November 2016. The carefully selected papers are divided into 11 sections reflecting the diversity and richness of research areas in the field. More specifically, the following topics are covered: Network models; Network measures; Community structure; Network dynamics; Diffusion, epidemics and spreading processes; Resilience and control; Network visualization; Social and political networks; Networks in finance and economics; Biological and ecological networks; and Network analysis.

This book presents up-to-date research developments and novel methodologies on semi-Markovian jump systems (S-MJS). It presents solutions to a series of problems with new approaches for the control and filtering of S-MJS, including stability analysis, sliding mode control, dynamic output feedback control, robust filter design, and fault detection. A set of newly developed techniques such as piecewise analysis method, positively invariant set approach, event-triggered method, and cone complementary linearization approaches are presented. Control and Filtering for Semi-Markovian Jump Systems is a comprehensive reference for researcher and practitioners working in control engineering, system sciences and applied mathematics, and is also a useful source of information for senior undergraduates and graduates in these areas. The readers will benefit from some new concepts, new models and new methodologies with practical significance in control engineering and signal processing.