Skip to main content

NegMAS: A Platform for Situated Negotiations

  • Conference paper
  • First Online:
Recent Advances in Agent-based Negotiation (ACAN 2019)

Part of the book series: Studies in Computational Intelligence ((SCI,volume 958))

Included in the following conference series:

Abstract

Most research in automated negotiation focuses on strategy development in preset scenarios where decisions about what to negotiate about, whom to negotiate with, and on which issues are given to the agents. Moreover, in many cases, the agents’ utility functions are predefined, static, and independent of other negotiations. NegMAS (Negotiations Managed by Agent Simulations/Negotiation Multiagent System) was developed to facilitate the research and development of autonomous agents that operate in a rich multiagent system where negotiations are paramount, such as a supply chain. The richness of the setting creates what we call situated negotiations, where negotiations naturally interdepend and agents’ utility functions arise endogenously from system dynamics. This paper introduces NegMAS—a platform for autonomous negotiation within a rich simulated multiagent system—and evaluates its use in a sample application.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. 1.

    NegMAS is available from https://www.github.com/yasserfarouk/negmas.

  2. 2.

    Available at https://www.github.com/yasserfarouk/uneg.

References

  1. Aydoğan, R., Festen, D., Hindriks, K.V., Jonker, C.M.: Alternating offers protocols for multilateral negotiation. In: Modern Approaches to Agent-based Complex Automated Negotiation, pp. 153–167. Springer (2017)

    Google Scholar 

  2. Baarslag, T., Gerding, E.H.: Optimal incremental preference elicitation during negotiation. In: IJCAI, pp. 3–9 (2015)

    Google Scholar 

  3. Baarslag, T., Hindriks, K., Jonker, C.: A tit for tat negotiation strategy for real-time bilateral negotiations. In: Complex Automated Negotiations: Theories, Models, and Software Competitions, pp. 229–233. Springer (2013)

    Google Scholar 

  4. Baarslag, T., Kaisers, M.: The value of information in automated negotiation: a decision model for eliciting user preferences. In: Proceedings of the 16th Conference on Autonomous Agents and MultiAgent Systems, pp. 391–400. International Foundation for Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems (2017)

    Google Scholar 

  5. Chatterjee, K., Samuelson, W.: Bargaining under incomplete information. Oper. Res. 31(5), 835–851 (1983)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Contract room platform (2019), https://www.contractroom.com/

  7. Faratin, P., Sierra, C., Jennings, N.R.: Negotiation decision functions for autonomous agents. Robot. Auton. Syst. 24(3–4), 159–182 (1998)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Fatima, S.S., Wooldridge, M., Jennings, N.R.: Multi-issue negotiation under time constraints. In: Proceedings of the First International Joint Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems: Part 1, pp. 143–150 (2002)

    Google Scholar 

  9. Fishburn, P.C.: Interdependence and additivity in multivariate, unidimensional expected utility theory. Int. Econ. Rev. 8(3), 335–342 (1967)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Fukui, T., Ito, T.: A proposal of automated negotiation simulator “jupiter” for negotiating agents using machine learning. In: The 11th International Workshop on Automated Negotiations (2018)

    Google Scholar 

  11. Güth, W., Schmittberger, R., Schwarze, B.: An experimental analysis of ultimatum bargaining. J. Econ. Behav. Organ. 3(4), 367–388 (1982)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Inotsume, H., Aggarewal, A., Higa, R., Nakadai, S.: Path negotiation for self-interested multirobot vehicles in shared space. In: Proceedings of the 2020 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS) (2020)

    Google Scholar 

  13. Ito, T., Hattori, H., Klein, M.: Multi-issue negotiation protocol for agents: exploring nonlinear utility spaces. IJCAI 7, 1347–1352 (2007)

    Google Scholar 

  14. Jonker, C.M., Aydoğan, R., Baarslag, T., Broekens, J., Detweiler, C.A., Hindriks, K.V., Huldtgren, A., Pasman, W.: An introduction to the pocket negotiator: a general purpose negotiation support system. In: Multi-Agent Systems and Agreement Technologies, pp. 13–27. Springer (2016)

    Google Scholar 

  15. Kersten, G.E.: Are procurement auctions good for society and for buyers? In: Joint International Conference on Group Decision and Negotiation, pp. 30–40. Springer (2014)

    Google Scholar 

  16. Kersten, G., Noronha, S.: Negotiation via the world wide web: a cross-cultural study of decision making. Group Decis. Negot. 8(3), 251–279 (1999)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Klein, M., Faratin, P., Sayama, H., Bar-Yam, Y.: Negotiating complex contracts. Group Decis. Negot. 12(2), 111–125 (2003)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Klein, M., Faratin, P., Sayama, H., Bar-Yam, Y.: Protocols for negotiating complex contracts. IEEE Intell. Syst. 18(6), 32–38 (2003)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Li, C., Giampapa, J., Sycara, K.: Bilateral negotiation decisions with uncertain dynamic outside options. IEEE Trans. Syst. Man Cybern. Part C (Applications and Reviews) 36(1), 31–44 (2006)

    Google Scholar 

  20. Lin, R., Kraus, S., Baarslag, T., Tykhonov, D., Hindriks, K., Jonker, C.M.: Genius: an integrated environment for supporting the design of generic automated negotiators. Comput. Intell. 30(1), 48–70 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8640.2012.00463.x

    Article  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  21. Mohammad, Y., Nakadai, S.: Fastvoi: efficient utility elicitation during negotiations. In: International Conference on Principles and Practice of Multi-Agent Systems (PRIMA), pp. 560–567. Springer (2018)

    Google Scholar 

  22. Mohammad, Y., Nakadai, S.: Optimal value of information based elicitation during negotiation. In: Proceedings of the 18th International Conference on Autonomous Agents and MultiAgent Systems, pp. 242–250. AAMAS ’19, International Foundation for Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems (2019)

    Google Scholar 

  23. Mohammad, Y., Nakadai, S.: Utility elicitation during negotiation with practical elicitation strategies. In: IEEE SMC (2018)

    Google Scholar 

  24. Mohammad, Y., Viqueira, E.A., Ayerza, N.A., Greenwald, A., Nakadai, S., Morinaga, S.: Supply chain management world. In: Baldoni, M., Dastani, M., Liao, B., Sakurai, Y., Zalila Wenkstern, R. (eds.) PRIMA 2019: Principles and Practice of Multi-Agent Systems, pp. 153–169. Springer International Publishing, Cham (2019)

    Google Scholar 

  25. Nash Jr., J.F.: The bargaining problem. Econometrica: Journal of the Econometric Society pp. 155–162 (1950)

    Google Scholar 

  26. Robu, V., Somefun, D., La Poutré, J.A.: Modeling complex multi-issue negotiations using utility graphs. In: Proceedings of the Fourth International Joint Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems, pp. 280–287 (2005)

    Google Scholar 

  27. Rubinstein, A.: Perfect equilibrium in a bargaining model. Econometrica: Journal of the Econometric Society pp. 97–109 (1982)

    Google Scholar 

  28. Williams, C.R., Robu, V., Gerding, E.H., Jennings, N.R.: Negotiating concurrently with unknown opponents in complex, real-time domains. In: Proceedings of the Twentieth European Conference on Artificial Intelligence, pp. 834–839 (2012)

    Google Scholar 

  29. Wurman, P.R., Wellman, M.P., Walsh, W.E.: A parametrization of the auction design space. Games Econ. Behav. 35(1–2), 304–338 (2001)

    Article  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  30. Zeng, D., Sycara, K.: Bayesian learning in negotiation. Int. J. Hum. Comput. Stud. 48(1), 125–141 (1998)

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

Amy Greenwald was supported in part by NSF Award CMMI-1761546.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yasser Mohammad .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2021 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

About this paper

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this paper

Mohammad, Y., Nakadai, S., Greenwald, A. (2021). NegMAS: A Platform for Situated Negotiations. In: Aydoğan, R., Ito, T., Moustafa, A., Otsuka, T., Zhang, M. (eds) Recent Advances in Agent-based Negotiation. ACAN 2019. Studies in Computational Intelligence, vol 958. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-0471-3_4

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics