Manipulating conventions in a particle-based topology

Abstract

Coordination is essential to the effective operation of multiagent systems. Convention emergence offers a low-cost and decentralised method of ensuring compatible actions and behaviour, without requiring the imposition of global rules. This is of particular importance in environments with no centralised control or where agents belong to different, possibly conflicting, parties. The timely emergence of robust conventions can be facilitated and manipulated via the use of fixed strategy agents, who attempt to influence others into adopting a particular strategy. Although fixed strategy agents have previously been investigated, they have not been considered in dynamic networks. In this paper, we explore the emergence of conventions within a dynamic network, and examine the effectiveness of fixed strategy agents in this context. Using established placement heuristics we show how such agents can encourage convention emergence, and we examine the impact of the dynamic nature of the network. We introduce a new heuristic, Life-Degree, to enable this investigation. Finally, we consider the ability of fixed strategy agents to manipulate already established conventions, and investigate the effectiveness of placement heuristics in this domain.