During the last several years, the ?eld of agent and multi-agent s- tems has experienced tremendous growth, i.e., the topic has gained - precedented popularity. Meanwhile, the ?eld of formal methods has also blossomed and has proven its importance in substantial industrial and government applications. Thus, in 2000 it was quite timely to pursue a workshop to merge the concerns of the two ?elds. The need for such a workshop was particularly compelling given the growing concerns of agent-basedsystemsusersthattheirsystemsshouldbeaccompaniedby behavioral assurances. The Formal Approaches toAgent-Based Systems (FAABS'00) workshop was the ?rst step in trying to address this need. The overwhelming response to FAABS'00 motivated subsequent FAABS ('02and'04)workshops, aswellasthisbook, whichisdesignedtoprovide amorein-depthtreatmentofthetopic. This book is organized into four parts. Part I provides introductory backgroundmaterialonthetwocentraltopicsofthebook, namely, agents andformalmethods. Chapter1, byTruszkowski, isanoverviewofagents.Thechapter- gins by introducing the basic concept of an agent from a very simple, abstractperspective.Itthengraduallyre?nesthisnotionintoadetailed agent architecture, using the Goddard agent architecture as an ex- ple model. First, the major architectural components (e.g., percepts, - fectors, communications, reasoning, planning, execution)arede?nedand described. Then, agent behaviors are de?ned and related to the arc- tecturalcomponentsthatgeneratethem.Thechapterconcludeswithan intriguingdiscussionofmulti-agentcommunities.

In the early 1990s, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center started researching and developing autonomous and autonomic ground and spacecraft control systems for future NASA missions. This research started by experimenting with and developing expert systems to automate ground station software and reduce the number of people needed to control a spacecraft. This was followed by research into agent-based technology to develop autonomous ground c- trol and spacecraft. Research into this area has now evolved into using the concepts of autonomic systems to make future space missions self-managing and giving them a high degree of survivability in the harsh environments in which they operate. This book describes much of the results of this research. In addition, it aimstodiscusstheneededsoftwaretomakefutureNASAspacemissionsmore completelyautonomousandautonomic.Thecoreofthesoftwareforthesenew missions has been written for other applications or is being applied gradually in current missions, or is in current development. It is intended that this book should document how NASA missions are becoming more autonomous and autonomic and should point to the way of making future missions highly - tonomous and autonomic. What is not covered is the supporting hardware of these missions or the intricate software that implements orbit and at- tude determination, on-board resource allocation, or planning and scheduling (though we refer to these technologies and give references for the interested reader).

In the early 1990s, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center started researching and developing autonomous and autonomic ground and spacecraft control systems for future NASA missions. This research started by experimenting with and developing expert systems to automate ground station software and reduce the number of people needed to control a spacecraft. This was followed by research into agent-based technology to develop autonomous ground c- trol and spacecraft. Research into this area has now evolved into using the concepts of autonomic systems to make future space missions self-managing and giving them a high degree of survivability in the harsh environments in which they operate. This book describes much of the results of this research. In addition, it aimstodiscusstheneededsoftwaretomakefutureNASAspacemissionsmore completelyautonomousandautonomic.Thecoreofthesoftwareforthesenew missions has been written for other applications or is being applied gradually in current missions, or is in current development. It is intended that this book should document how NASA missions are becoming more autonomous and autonomic and should point to the way of making future missions highly - tonomous and autonomic. What is not covered is the supporting hardware of these missions or the intricate software that implements orbit and at- tude determination, on-board resource allocation, or planning and scheduling (though we refer to these technologies and give references for the interested reader).

During the last several years, the ?eld of agent and multi-agent s- tems has experienced tremendous growth, i.e., the topic has gained - precedented popularity. Meanwhile, the ?eld of formal methods has also blossomed and has proven its importance in substantial industrial and government applications. Thus, in 2000 it was quite timely to pursue a workshop to merge the concerns of the two ?elds. The need for such a workshop was particularly compelling given the growing concerns of agent-basedsystemsusersthattheirsystemsshouldbeaccompaniedby behavioral assurances. The Formal Approaches toAgent-Based Systems (FAABS'00) workshop was the ?rst step in trying to address this need. The overwhelming response to FAABS'00 motivated subsequent FAABS ('02and'04)workshops, aswellasthisbook, whichisdesignedtoprovide amorein-depthtreatmentofthetopic. This book is organized into four parts. Part I provides introductory backgroundmaterialonthetwocentraltopicsofthebook, namely, agents andformalmethods. Chapter1, byTruszkowski, isanoverviewofagents.Thechapter- gins by introducing the basic concept of an agent from a very simple, abstractperspective.Itthengraduallyre?nesthisnotionintoadetailed agent architecture, using the Goddard agent architecture as an ex- ple model. First, the major architectural components (e.g., percepts, - fectors, communications, reasoning, planning, execution)arede?nedand described. Then, agent behaviors are de?ned and related to the arc- tecturalcomponentsthatgeneratethem.Thechapterconcludeswithan intriguingdiscussionofmulti-agentcommunities.

This book constitutes the thoroughly refereed post-proceedings of the Second International Workshop on Formal Approaches to Agent-Based Systems, FAABS 2002, held in Greenbelt, MD, in October 2002. The 18 revised full papers and 5 poster papers presented together with 9 panel statements and summaries were carefully selected for presentation during two rounds of reviewing and improvement. Among the topics addressed are formal models for agent communication, communication protocols, logic-based agents, statechart frameworks, formal specification of agent interaction, space shuttle applications, automated satellite ground operations, formal verification, agent control, multi-agent coordination, agent languages, mobile agent testing, battlefield agents, XML, autonomous agents, etc.

This book provides a novel perspective on the concept of memetics as applied to the development and evolution of intelligent robots and robotic communities/cultures. It provides a framework for the emergence of a hybrid community of people and intelligent robots collaborating to realize mutual benefits and scientific objectives. It aims to show that as the hybrid community emerges, so does its culture. Once this foundational work is done, the book illustrates the robot memetic ideas in the context of a space exploration scenario based on the development and operation of a human/robot settlement on Mars.

Autonomous systems will soon be ubiquitous in our society, saving us time, performing tasks we do not want to do, caring for us and keeping us safe. Autonomous robots in homes and businesses are already cleaning floors, mowing lawns, delivering meals and packages, and the technology is now driving cars and trucks. Though they will soon be common occurrences in everyday life, assuring their safety, privacy and security is still a huge challenge. A number of autonomous car accidents have occurred after millions of miles of testing, and injuries regularly occur from other types of autonomous systems. Assuring the proper behavior and safety of autonomous systems is an important endeavor to reduce risks in using them. This monograph discusses assurance for autonomous systems, the different approaches to assuring autonomy, formal analysis, cybersecurity, certification and research challenges. The monograph starts with a brief introduction to assured autonomy, providing definitions and key terms. Thereafter, an overview of assured autonomy and different aspects of system and software assurances are provided, and Section 3 discusses governance, trust, ethics and privacy of autonomous systems. Section 4 covers assuring the correct operation of autonomous systems, which can be done through techniques such as formal verification, testing and monitoring. The monograph then describes certification of current systems and proposals for certifying autonomous systems, providing an example of the certification of aircraft software and multiple proposals for how autonomous systems could be certified. Lastly, areas of research in assuring autonomous systems are covered.