Abstract
In the recent years, game engines have been increasingly used as a basis for agent-based applications and multi-agent systems, alongside traditional, more dedicated, simulation platforms. In this paper, we test and compare different control strategies for specified high-level maneuvers in aircraft within a gaming simulation environment, each aircraft represented by an independent agent, focusing on communication necessities and maneuver effectiveness. An overview of the simulation environment's capabilities, with focus on the structured experiences system, shows the potentials of this platform as a basis for the more comprehensive goals of our project, allowing for the definition and execution of cooperative missions, such as surveillance and search & rescue operations.

Abstract
Ecological models may be very complex due to the large number of physical, chemical, biological processes and variables and their interactions, leading to long simulation times. These models may be used to analyse different management scenarios providing support to decision-makers. Thus, the simultaneous simulation of different scenarios can make the process of analysis and decision quicker, provided that there are mechanisms to accelerate the generation of new scenarios and optimization of the choices between the results presented. This paper presents a new simulation platform - EcoSimNet - specially designed for environmental simulations, which allows the inclusion of intelligent agents and the introduction of parallel simulators to speed Lip and optimize the decision-making processes. Experiments were performed using EcoSimNet computational platform with an agent controlling several simulators and implementing a parallel version of the simulated annealing algorithm for optimizing aquaculture production. These experiments showed the capabilities of the framework, enabling a fast optimization process and making this work it step forward towards an agent based decision support system to optimize complex environmental problems.

Abstract
The Airline Operations Control Centre (AOCC) tries to solve unexpected problems during the airline operation. Problems with aircraft, crew members and passengers are common and very hard to solve due to the several variables involved. This paper presents the implementation of a real-world multi-agent system for operations recovery in an airline company. The analysis and design of the system was done following a GAIA based methodology. We present the system specification as well as the implementation using JADE. A case Study is included, where we present how the system solved a real problem.

Abstract
This paper describes the strategy and implementation details of a cooperative agent team for the CiberMouse@RTSS08, a, robotics simulation competition. The paper introduces several concepts concerning cooperative robotics, giving all overview of its applications and challenges. It also presents the CiberMouse@RTSS08 competition rules and the associated simulation system. The proposed approach is based oil a deliberative architecture, thus providing an autonomous intelligent behaviour. A probabilistic mapping procedure, based on the Bayes' theorem, is used to maintain all internal world state. Quadtrees and A* are used for path planning and plan execution. A specific methodology was developed for beacon finding. The agents cooperate oil exchanging world and beacon information. In order to overcome the simulator's broadcasting distance limitation, a communication network between the agents was, created. The paper analyses the impact; of cooperation on this particular problem, by comparing the team's performance in four different situations: communication with network and beacon exchanging, communication without network, communication without beacon exchanging and no communication at all.

Abstract
Controlling a biped robot with several degrees of freedom is a challenging task that takes the attention of several researchers in the fields of biology, physics, electronics, computer science and mechanics. For a humanoid robot to perform in complex environments, fast;, stable and adaptive behaviors are required. This paper proposes a solution for automatic generation of a walking gait using genetic algorithms (CA). A method based oil partial Fourier series was developed for joint; trajectory planning. GAs Were then used for off-line generation of the parameters that define the gait. GAs proved to be a powerful method for automatic generation of humanoid behaviors resulting Oil a walk forward velocity of 0.51m/s which is a good result considering the results of the three best teams of RoboCup 3D simulation league for the same movement.

Abstract
Audience complete action immersion sensation is still the ultimate goal of the multimedia industry. In spite of the significant technical audiovisual advances that enable more realistic contents, coping with individual audience needs and desires is still an incomplete achievement. The proposed project's intention is to contribute for solving this issue through enabling real-time dynamic multimedia storylines with emotional subconscious audience interaction. Individual emotional state assessment is accomplished by direct access to online biometric information. Recent technologic breakthroughs have enabled the usage of minimal invasive biometric hardware devices that no longer interfere with the audience immersion feeling. Other key module of the project is the conceptualization of a dynamic storyline multimedia content system with emotional metadata, responsible for enabling discrete or continuous storyline route options. The unifying component is the definition of the full-duplex communication protocol. The current stage of research has already produced a spin-off product capable of providing computer mouse control through electromyography and has identified key factors in human emotions through experiments conducted in the developed system's architecture that have enabled semi-automatic emotion assessment.