Last modified: 05 Dec 2025 15:16
The global autonomous systems market is expected to be valued at over £13 billion by 2025, involving both software systems and robots. Such autonomous systems act to achieve goals with no human intervention, and are already found in Tesla's self-driving cars, NASA space probes and systems such as Amazon's Echo. This course provides the student with a solid grounding in the theory and tools which underpin such systems, teaching them both how to develop such systems, and use them effectively as part of a larger product.
| Study Type | Postgraduate | Level | 5 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Term | Second Term | Credit Points | 15 credits (7.5 ECTS credits) |
| Campus | Aberdeen | Sustained Study | No |
| Co-ordinators |
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This course will present the theory and practice of software agents and multi-agent systems. Lectures will cover core concepts, while practicals will allow students to implement and use these techniques. Example topics covered in this course include agent architectures, reasoning techniques, communication and coordination, and individual and group decision making.
Information on contact teaching time is available from the course guide.
| Assessment Type | Summative | Weighting | 20 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assessment Weeks | Feedback Weeks | |||
| Feedback |
Duration: 1 hour |
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| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Conceptual | Analyse | Students will be able to compare and differentiate agents from other software paradigms. |
| Conceptual | Understand | Students will be able to define the concept of a software agent and explain how it can be represented within a multi-agent system. |
| Procedural | Create | Understand main application areas for multi-agent systems and how to implement a multi-agent system utilising various techniques, platforms and protocols. |
| Assessment Type | Summative | Weighting | 60 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assessment Weeks | Feedback Weeks | |||
| Feedback |
Word count: 1,500 |
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| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Conceptual | Analyse | Students will be able to compare and differentiate agents from other software paradigms. |
| Conceptual | Understand | Students will be able to define the concept of a software agent and explain how it can be represented within a multi-agent system. |
| Factual | Understand | Understand how societies of agents can be constructed with the utilisation of various key concepts of multi-agent interaction. |
| Procedural | Create | Understand main application areas for multi-agent systems and how to implement a multi-agent system utilising various techniques, platforms and protocols. |
| Assessment Type | Summative | Weighting | 20 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assessment Weeks | Feedback Weeks | |||
| Feedback |
Duration: 1 hour |
|||
| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Conceptual | Analyse | Students will be able to compare and differentiate agents from other software paradigms. |
| Factual | Understand | Understand how societies of agents can be constructed with the utilisation of various key concepts of multi-agent interaction. |
| Procedural | Create | Understand main application areas for multi-agent systems and how to implement a multi-agent system utilising various techniques, platforms and protocols. |
There are no assessments for this course.
| Assessment Type | Summative | Weighting | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assessment Weeks | Feedback Weeks | |||
| Feedback | ||||
| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
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| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Conceptual | Understand | Students will be able to define the concept of a software agent and explain how it can be represented within a multi-agent system. |
| Conceptual | Analyse | Students will be able to compare and differentiate agents from other software paradigms. |
| Factual | Understand | Understand how societies of agents can be constructed with the utilisation of various key concepts of multi-agent interaction. |
| Procedural | Create | Understand main application areas for multi-agent systems and how to implement a multi-agent system utilising various techniques, platforms and protocols. |
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