The Web is growing at an astounding pace surpassing the 8 billion page mark. However, most pages are still designed for human consumption and cannot be processed by machines. This book provides a well-paced introduction to the Semantic Web. It covers a wide range of topics, from new trends (ontologies, rules) to existing technologies (Web Services and software agents) to more formal aspects (logic and inference). It includes: real-world (and complete) examples of the application of Semantic Web concepts; how the technology presented and discussed throughout the book can be extended to other application areas.

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.

The Web is growing at an astounding pace surpassing the 8 billion page mark. However, most pages are still designed for human consumption and cannot be processed by machines. This book provides a well-paced introduction to the Semantic Web. It covers a wide range of topics, from new trends (ontologies, rules) to existing technologies (Web Services and software agents) to more formal aspects (logic and inference). It includes: real-world (and complete) examples of the application of Semantic Web concepts; how the technology presented and discussed throughout the book can be extended to other application areas.

This book constitutes the thoroughly refereed post-proceedings of the Second International Workshop on Radical Agent Concepts, WRAC 2005, held in Greenbelt, MD, USA in September 2005. The 27 full papers presented are fully revised to incorporate reviewers' comments and discussions at the workshop. Topics addressed are social aspects of agents, agent architectures, autonomic systems, agent communities, and agent intelligence.

This book constitutes the thoroughly refereed post-proceedings of the First International Workshop on Radical Agent Concepts, WRAC 2002, held in McLean, VA, USA in January 2002. The 32 revised full papers presented together with an invited article, 6 poster papers, and 2 panel reports were carefully reviewed and selected for inclusion in the book. The papers are organized in topical sections on adaptation and learning, agent-based software engineering, agent architectures, agent communication and coordination, and innovative applications.

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.