Distributed Algorithms for Cooperating Agents ∗ Eric Werner and Alexander Reinefeld † University of Hamburg Distributed Systems Research Group Bodenstedtstr. 16, D-2000 Hamburg 50 E-Mail: werner@rz.informatik.uni-hamburg.dbp.de ‡ Abstract Distributed algorithms are presented that describe various degrees of cooperation between autonomous agents. The algorithms generate styles of cooperation that cover a whole spectrum, from total cooperation, to complete self-interest, to absolute antagonism, to complete self-destruction and every mixture of these. A classification of cooperation styles is described. The algorithms act on the intentional states of the agents. To resolve goal conflicts, three compromise methods are considered: rank-based compromise using a simple ranking of goals, value-optimal compromise using costs and values with the branch-and-bound procedure, and a more efficient value-optimal compromise using a zero-one integer programming method that exploits goal dependencies. * Cite as: Werner, E. and Reinefeld, A., ’Distributed Algorithms for Cooperating Agents’, DAI-90, Proceedings of the 10th International Workshop on Distributed Artificial Intelligence, Bandera, Texas, 1990. † c Werner and Reinefeld 1990. All rights reserved. ‡ Address and email no longer valid. Use: eric.werner@oarf.org See also: https://www. ericwerner.com 1