Goldsmiths - University of London

Prof Mark d'Inverno

Research interests

Interdisicplinary Research: The appplication of intelligent agents in biology, music, art and design. For example, agent-based modelling and simulation of the self-organising system of adult stem cells. I'm really interested in how you build and sustain interdisicplinary teams to tackle current local and global problems.

Computer Science: The theory and practice of Intelligent agent and multi-agent systems. Social modelling. Formal methods specifying the design and architecture of software systems.

Current research

The richness of the agent metaphor that leads to many different uses of the term has also caused a situation where there is no commonly accepted notion of what it is that constitutes an agent. In response, we have developed a framework that precisely and unambiguously provides meanings for common concepts and terms, enables alternative models of particular classes of system to be described within it, and provides a foundation for subsequent development of increasingly more refined concepts. Our concern has been to develop well-defined formal concepts that can be used both as the basis of implementation, and also as a general framework for further research. This project has been in collaboration with Southampton University and, most notably with Professor Michael Luck

Agent Systems Specification
Complementing other strands of research, this work aims to start with implemented systems and formalise their architectures and operation in specifications that may then be used to inform more conceptual work. The benefits include better understanding and description of these systems, and the closer integration of agent theory and practice.

Electronic Institutions for E-Commerce

With the Artificial Intelligence Research Institute in Spain, we are building a definitive, operational model of an electronic institution. Electronic Institutions are the intelligent agentsÂ’ counterpart of human organisations, and are designed to provide support, trust and legitimacy in electronic commerce applications.

Design for the 21st Century

Designing Physical Artefacts from Computational Simulations

Collaborating with the artist Jane Prophet, as well as the international community of members of our the research cluster at interdisciplinary.co.uk, we are designing and building the installation Net Work, a floating network of interacting LEDs modelled as individual autonomous agents. There is a meta-investigation to this project, mapping the processes as they arise when artists, scientists, designers and engineers come together in collaboration. If you are interested in interdisciplinary research please check out our website and join the cluster if you would like to.

Modelling Adult Stem Cells using Multi-Agent Systems

Modelling Adult Stem Cells. In collaboration with several European, Australian and American partners, we are applying agent-based modelling to understand stem cell behaviour. As experiments with stem cells are fundamentally limited in several significant ways, the modelling and simulation of stem cell models becomes a critical means to investigate cell mechanisms. Through this work, we have recognised the importance of visualisation almost as a Trojan Horse for theoretical modelling in stem cell biology, and are working to understand how best to map simulations to visual interpretations for different communities.This project is part of a larger interdisciplinary project entitled CELL that was funded by the Wellcome Trust and includes the artist Jane Prophet, the stem cell researcher Neil Theise, the ALife programmer Rob Saunders and the curator Peter Ride.

Intelligent Responsive Sound

The Intelligent Street in collaboration John Eacott, Fredrik Oloffson, and with the Interactive Institute in Sweden, and Vodafone UK and Vodafone Sweden. In this project, users in a public space could text a range of commands such as chill, energise and dance to control music output that is written solely as algorithmic processes (ie no samples). There is potentially an infinite amount of flexibility of such systems and we built a system that enabled users to collaborate in order to build their collectively desired sonic soundscape. We are now developing an online generative music system that we allow users to collaborate in real-time musical composition, and exploring how agent-systems can be used as mechanisms to conceptualise and design music output.

Selected publications

2007

Jon Bird, Mark d’Inverno and Jane Prophet, Net Work: An Interactive Artwork Designed Using an Interdisciplinary Collaborative Approach, Special Issue on Computational Models of Creativity in the Arts, Journal of Digital Creativity, Digital Creativity, Vol. 18, No. 1, pp. 11–23.

Emanuela Merelli, Giuliano Armano, Nicola Cannata, Flavio Corradini, Mark dInverno, Andreas Doms, Phillip Lord, Andrew Martin, Luciano Milanesi, Steffen Moller, Michael Schroeder and Michael Luck, Agents in bioinformatics, computational and systems biology, Briefings in Bioinformatics, 8(1), 45-59, 2007.

Mark d’Inverno and Jane Prophet, Designing physical artefacts from computational simulations and building computational simulations of physical systems, Design for the 21st Century, Editor Tom Innes, Gower Publishing, to appear 2007.
2006

Jon Bird, Mark d’Inverno and Jane Prophet, Net Work: Lessons from collaboratively designing an interactive artwork, International Conference on Generative Art, Milan , 2006.

Fabiola Lopez y Lopez, Michael Luck and Mark d’Inverno, A normative framework for agent-based systems, Computational & Mathematical Organization Theory, Volume 12, Issue 2 - 3, ages 227-250, 2006.
J. Prophet and Mark d’Inverno. Transdisciplinary research in CELL. In Paul Fishwick, editor, Aesthetic Computing. MIT Press.

Mark d’Inverno, Neil Theise and Jane Prophet, Mathematical modelling of stem cells: a complexity primer for the stem cell biologist, In Christopher Potten, Jim Watson, Robert Clarke, and Andrew Renehan, editors, Tissue Stem Cells: Biology and Applications, pages 1-15, Taylor and Francis, 2006.

Mark d’Inverno and Rob Saunders, Agent-based modelling of Stem Cell organisation in a Niche, Engineering Self-Organising Systems : Methodologies and Applications, LNAI, Sven A. Brueckner, Giovanna Di Marzo, Serugendo, Anthony Karageorgos and Radhika Nagpal (Editors), LNAI, Springer, 2006

Mark d’Inverno and Jane Prophet. Biology, Computer Science and Bioinformatics: Multidisciplinary Models, Metaphors and Tools, chapter Multidisciplinary Investigation into Adult Stem Cell Behaviour. LNCS Transactions on Computational System Biology. Springer, Emanuela Merelli, Pablo Gonzalez and Andrea Omicini (editors), LNAI, 2006.

Mark d’Inverno and Michael Luck, Formal Methods and Agent-Based Systems, Agent Technology from a Formal Perspective, NASA Monographs in Systems and Software Engineering Rouff, C.; Hinchey, M.; Rash, J.; Truszkowski, W.; Gordon-Spears, D. (Eds.), 2006

2005

R. Ashri, M. Luck and Mark d’Inverno, From SMART to agent systems development, Engineering, Applications of Artificial Intelligence, 18(2), 129-140, 2005.

Mark d’Inverno and Rob Saunders, Agent-based modelling of Stem Cell organisation in a Niche, Engineering Self-Organising Systems : Methodologies and Applications, LNAI, Sven A. Brueckner, Giovanna Di Marzo, Serugendo, Anthony Karageorgos and Radhika Nagpal (Editors), LNAI, Springer, 2005.

F. Lopez y Lopez, M. Luck, and Mark d’Inverno, A Normative Framework for Agent-Based Systems, in Proc. 1st International Symposium on Normative Multiagent Systems, 2005.

Mark d’Inverno, John Eacott and Fredrik Olofsson, Towards Intelligent Responsive Sound, EVA Conference. University College London , London , 2005.
2004

Michael Luck, Ronald Ashri, and Mark d’Inverno. Agent-Based Software Development. Artech House, 2004.
Mark d’Inverno and M. Luck. Understanding Agent Systems (Second Edition). Springer, 2004.

Mark dInverno and Jane Prophet. Creative conflict in Interdisciplinary Collaboration: interpretation, scale and emergence. In Ernest Edmonds and Ross Gibson, editors, Interaction: Systems, Theory and Practice, pages 251–270. ACM, 2004.
Mark d’Inverno, M. Luck, M. Georgeff, D. Kinny, and M. Wooldridge. The dMARS architechure: A specification of the distributed multi-agent reasoning system. Autonomous Agents and Multi-Agent Systems, 9(1–2):5–53, 2004.

R. Ashri, M. Luck, and Mark d’Inverno. Identifying opportunities and constraints for goal achievement through relationship analysis. In Proceedings of the Third International Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multi-Agent Systems, pages 1452-1453, 2004.

S. Munroe, M. Luck, and Mark d’Inverno. Negotiation-Based Partner Selection. In Proceedings of the Third International Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multi-Agent Systems, 1520-1521, 2004.

Mark d’Inverno, Henrik Lorstad, John Eacott, and Fredrik Oloffson. The intelligent street: Responsive sound environments for social interaction. ACM SIGCHI International Conference on Advances in Computer Entertainment Technology (ACE 02), pages 155-162, ACM.

F. Lopez y Lopez, M. Luck, and Mark d’Inverno. Normative agent reasoning in dynamic societies. In Proceedings of the Third International Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multi-Agent Systems, 732-737, 2004.

R. Ashri, M. Luck, and Mark d’Inverno. A typology of relationships and goals for regulation and coordination. In Proceedings of the ECAI Workshop in Coordination in Emerging Agent Societies, 2004.
2003

N. D. Theise and Mark d’Inverno. Understanding cell lineages as complex adaptive systems. Blood, Cells, Molecules and Diseases, 32:17–20, 2003
Mark d’Inverno and John Eacott. Embedded intelligent music or “ihifi” the intelligent hifi. Digital Creativity, 14(2):67–73, 2003.

F. Lopez y Lopez, M. Luck, and Mark d’Inverno. A framework for norm-based inter-agent dependence. In C. Zozaya, M. Mejia, P. Noriega, and A. Sanchez, editors, Proceedings of The Third Mexican International Conference on Computer Science, pages 31–40. SMCC-INEGI, 2001.

N. Griffiths , M. Luck, and M d’Inverno. Annotating cooperative plans with trusted agents. In R. Falcone, S. Barber, L. Korba, and M. Singh, editors, In Trust, Reputation, and Security: Theory and Practice, LNAI 2631. Springer, 2003.
Mark d’Inverno and M. Luck. Practical and theoretical innovations in multi-agent systems research. Knowledge Engineering Review, 17(3):295–301, 2003.

R. Ashri, M. Luck, and Mark d’Inverno. On identifying and managing relationships in multi-agent systems. In in Proceedings of
the Eighteenth International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence, pages 743–748, 2003.
M. Luck and Mark d’Inverno, Unifying Agent Systems, Annals of Mathematics and Artificial Intelligence , Special Issue on Computational Logic in Multi-Agent Systems, 37(1-2): 131-167.

M. Luck, Mark d’Inverno, and S. Munroe. Autonomy: Variable and generative. In H. Hexmoor, C. Castelfranchi, and R. Falcone,editors, Agent Autonomy, pages 9–22. Kluwer, 2003

S. Munroe , M. Luck, and Mark d’Inverno. Towards a motivation-based approach for evaluating goals. In Proceedings of the Second International Joint Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multi-Agent Systems, pages 1074–1075, 2003.
Mark d’Inverno and M.Luck, The Current State of Multi-Agent Systems Research, The Knowledge Engineering Review, Cambridge University Press, 17:3, 295-301.

S. Munroe, M. Luck, and Mark d’Inverno. Towards motivation-based decisions for worth goals. In Multi-Agent Systems and Applications III, volume 2691 of LNAI, pages 17–28. Springer, 2003
2002

N. Griffiths , M. Luck, and Mark d’Inverno. Annotating cooperative plans with trusted agents. In L. Korba and Falcone. R., editors, in Proceedings of the Fifth International Workshop on Decepetion, Fraud and Trust in Agent Societies, pages 76–87.
R. Ashri, M. Luck and Mark d’Inverno, Infrastructure Support for Agent-based Development, in Foundations and Applications of Multi-Agent Systems, Mark d’Inverno, M. Luck, M. Fisher and C. Preist (eds.), Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence 2403, Springer-Verlag, 73-88.

Mark d’Inverno, M. Luck, M. Fisher and C. Preist, Foundations and Applications of Multi-Agent Systems, Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence 2403, Springer-Verlag, 261pp.

F. Lopez y Lopez, M. Luck, and Mark d’Inverno. Constraining autonomy through norms. In C. Castelfranchi and W.L. Johnson, editors, Proceedings of The First International Joint Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multi Agent Systems AAMAS’02, pages 674–681. ACM Press, 2002
Mark d’Inverno, M. Hu, P. Howells and M. Luck, Soft-Link Hypertext for Information Retrieval, Information and Software Technology, 44(2), 101-112.

Mark d’Inverno and J. Eacott, {On Intelligent Embedded Ambient Music}, Cybersonica, First Sympoisium on digital music and technology , Instuiture for Contemporary Arts, London , UK .

2001

Mark d’Inverno and M. Luck, Multi-Agent Systems Research into the 21st Century, The Knowledge Engineering, 16(3), 271-275, 2001.

Mark d’Inverno and M. Luck. Formal agent development: Framework to system. In J. Rash, C. Rouff, W. Truszkowski, D. Gordon, and M. Hinchey, editors, in Formal Approaches to Agent-Based Systems: First International Workshop FAABS 2000, LNAI 1871, pages 133–147. Springer, 2001.

E. Alonso, Mark d’Inverno, D. Kudenko. M. Luck and Jason Noble, Learning in Multi-Agent Systems, The Knowledge Engineering Review, 16(3), 277-284.

M. Luck and Mark d’Inverno, A Conceptual Framework for Agent Definition and Development The Computer Journal, , 44(1), 1-20, 2001. pdf

F. Lopez y Lopez, M. Luck and Mark d’Inverno, A Framework for Norm-based Inter-Agent Dependence, In Proceedings of the Third Mexican International Conference on Computer Science , 2001.

M. Luck and Mark d’Inverno, Autonomy: A Nice Idea in Theory, In Intelligent Agents VII: Proceedings of the Seventh International Workshop on Agent Theories, Architectures and Languages, Castelfranchi and Lesperance (eds.), Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence, 1986, Springer-Verlag, 2001.

M. Luck and Mark d’Inverno, Plan Analysis for Autonomous Sociological Agents, In Intelligent Agents VII: Proceedings of the Seventh International Workshop on Agent Theories, Architectures and Languages, Castelfranchi and Lesperance (eds.), Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence, 1986, Springer-Verlag, 2001.

Mark d’Inverno and M. Luck. Understanding Agent Systems , Springer-Verlag, 191 pp, 2001.

2000

M. Luck and Mark d’Inverno, Plan Analysis for Autonomous Sociological Agents, In Proceedings of the Seventh International Workshop On Agent Theories, Architectures and Languages , Boston, 2000. pdf

Mark d’Inverno and M.Luck, Autonomy - A Nice Idea in Theory, In Proceedings of the Seventh International Workshop On Agent Theories, Architectures and Languages, Boston, 2000.

M. Luck and Mark d’Inverno, Sociological Agents for Effective Social Action, Proceedings of the Fifth International Conference on Multi-Agent Systems , 379-380, IEEE Computer Society, 2000. pdf

K. Hindriks, Mark d’Inverno and M. Luck, Architecture for Agent Programming Languages, Proceedings of the 14th European Conference on Artificial Intelligence W. Horn (ed.) , 363-367, IOS Press, 2000. pdf

Mark d’Inverno, K. Hindriks, and M. Luck, A Formal Architecture for the 3APL Agent Programming Language, ZB2000: Formal Specification and Development in Z and B - 1st International Conference of Z and B Users, Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 1878, 168-187, Springer, 2000. pdf


1999

M. Beer, Mark d’Inverno, N. Jennings, M. Luck, C. Preist and M. Schroeder, Negotiation in Multi-Agent Systems, The Knowledge Engineering Review , 14(3), 285-289, 1999. pdf

G. Justo, P. Howells and Mark d’Inverno, Formalising high-performance systems methodologies, Systems Architecture , 45, 441-464. pdf

Mark d’Inverno and M. Luck, Agent Models and Plans, Agents Everywhere: Proceedings of the First Hungarian National Conference on Agent Based Computing , G. Tatai and L. Gulyas (eds.), 44-58, Springer Hungarica, 1999.

M. Luck and Mark d’Inverno, Motivated Behaviour for Goal Adoption, Multi-Agent Systems: Theories, Languages and Applications, Proceedings of the Fourth Australian Workshop on Distributed Artificial Intelligence , Zhang and Lukose (eds.), Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence, 1544, 58-73, Springer-Verlag, 1998. pdf

1998

Mark d’Inverno and Michael Luck, Engineering AgentSpeak(L): A Formal Computational Model, Journal of Logic and Computation, 8(3), 1998. pdf

Mark d’Inverno, D. Kinny and Michael Luck, Interaction Protocols in Agentis, In ICMAS'98, Third International Conference on Multi-Agent Systems, Paris, France, IEEE Computer Society, 112-119, 1998. pdf

Mark d’Inverno, D. Kinny, M. Luck and M. Wooldridge, A Formal Specification of dMARS, In Intelligent Agents IV In Proceedings of the Fourth International Workshop on Agent Theories, Architectures and Languages, Singh, Rao and Wooldridge (eds.), Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence, 1365, Springer-Verlag, 1998. pdf

M. Luck, Mark d’Inverno, M. Fisher and Fomas Contributors, Foundations of Multi-agent Systems: Techniques, Tools and Theory, The Knowledge Engineering Review, 13(3), 297-302, 1998. pdf

1997

Mark d’Inverno, M. Fisher, A. Lomuscio, M. Luck, M. de Rijke, M. Ryan and M. Wooldridge. Formalisms for Multi-Agent Systems, The Knowledge Engineering Review, 12(3), 1997. pdf

Mark d’Inverno and M. Luck, Development and Application of an Agent Based Framework, In Proceedings of the First IEEE International Conference on Formal Engineering Methods, Hinchey and Shaoying (eds), 222-231, Hiroshima, Japan, 1997. pdf

Mark d’Inverno, M. Luck and M. Wooldridge, Cooperation Structures, In Fifteenth International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence, 600-605, Nagoya , Japan , 1997. pdf

Mark d’Inverno, M. Priestley and M. Luck, A Formal Framework for Hypertext Systems, IEE Procs on Software Engineering, 175--184, 144(3), June 1997. pdf

Mark d’Inverno and M. Luck, Making and Breaking Engagements: An Operational Analysis of Agent Relationships, In Multi Agent Systems: Methdologies and Applications, Zhang and Lukose (eds.), Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence, 48-62, Springer-Verlag. pdf

M. Luck, N. Griffiths and Mark d’Inverno, From Agent Theory to Agent Construction: A Case Study. In Intelligent Agents III: Proceedings of the Third International Workshop on Agent Theories, Architectures and Languages, Mueller, Wooldridge and Jennings (eds.), Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence, 1193, 49-63, Springer-Verlag. pdf

Mark d’Inverno and M. Hu, A Z Specification of the Soft-Link Hypertext Model, In ZUM'97: 10th International Conference of Z Users, Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 215-230, Springer Verlag. pdf

1996

Mark d’Inverno, G. R. Justo and P. Howells, A Formal Framework for Specifying Design Methodologies Sofware Process, Improvement and Practice, John Wiley & Sons, Volume 2:3, 181-195.

Mark d’Inverno and M. Luck, Understanding Autonomous Interaction, In ECAI '96: Proceedings of the 12th European Conference on Artificial Intelligence, W. Wahlster (ed.), 529-533, John Wiley and Sons. pdf

Mark d’Inverno and M. Luck, Formalising the Contract Net as a Goal-Directed System, In Agents Breaking Away: Proceedings of the Seventh European Workshop on Modelling Autonomous Agents in a Multi-Agent World, Van de Velde and Perram (eds.), Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence, 1038, 72-85, Springer-Verlag. pdf

J. Crowcroft and Mark d’Inverno. Languages and Formal Methods , Open Distributed Systems, J. Crowcroft, UCL Press.

Mark d’Inverno, G. R. Justo and P. Howells, A Formal Framework for Specifying Design Methodologies, In 29th Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, H. El-Rewini and B. D. Shriver (eds.), IEEE Computer Society Press 741-750. pdf

M. Luck and Mark d’Inverno, Engagement and Cooperation in Motivated Agent Modelling, In Distributed Artificial Intelligence Architecture and Modelling: Proceedings of the First Australian Workshop on Distributed Artificial Intelligence , Zhang and Lukose (eds.), Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence, 1087, 70-84, Springer-Verlag. pdf

Mark d’Inverno and M. Luck, A Formal View of Social Dependence Networks, In Distributed Artificial Intelligence Architecture and Modelling: Proceedings of the First Australian Workshop on Distributed Artificial Intelligence , Zhang and Lukose (eds.), Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence, 1087, 115-129, Springer-Verlag. pdf

1995

Mark d’Inverno and M.Priestly, Structuring a Z Specification to Provide a Formal Framework for Hypertext Systems, In ZUM'95: The Z Formal Specification Notation, 9th International Conference of Z Users, Jonathan Bowen and Mike Hinchey (eds.), Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 967, 15-31, Springer-Verlag, Heidelberg. pdf

M. Luck and Mark d’Inverno, Structuring a Z Specification to Provide a Formal Framework for Autonomous Agent Systems, In ZUM'95: The Z Formal Specification Notation, 9th International Conference of Z Users , Jonathan Bowen and Mike Hinchey (eds.), Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 967, 47-62, Springer-Verlag, Heidelberg. pdf

M. Luck and Mark d’Inverno, A Formal Framework for Agency and Autonomy, In Proceedings of the First International Conference on Multi-Agent Systems , 254-260, AAAI Press / MIT Press, pdf

M. Luck and Mark d’Inverno, Goal Generation and Adoption in Hierarchical Agent Models, In Proceedings of the Eighth Australian Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence, World Scientific Press.