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Multi-Agent Systems and Blockchain: Results from a Systematic Literature Review

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Advances in Practical Applications of Agents, Multi-Agent Systems, and Complexity: The PAAMS Collection (PAAMS 2018)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNAI,volume 10978))

Abstract

Multi-Agent Systems (MAS) technology is widely used for the development of intelligent distributed systems that manage sensitive data (e.g., ambient assisted living, healthcare, energy trading). To foster accountability and trusted interactions, recent trends advocate the use of blockchain technologies (BCT) for MAS. Although most of these approaches have only started exploring the topic, there is an impending need for establishing a research road-map, as well as identifying scientific and technological challenges in this scope. As a first necessary step towards this goal, this paper presents a systematic literature review of studies involving MAS and BCT as reconciling solutions. Aiming at providing a comprehensive overview of their application domains, we analyze motivations, assumptions, requirements, strengths, and limitations presented in the current state of the art. Moreover, discussing the future challenges, we introduce our vision on how MAS and BCT could be combined in different application scenarios.

D. Calvaresi and A. Dubovitskaya—These authors share an equal contribution.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Smart contract and chaincode logic concepts are quite close, therefore, we use the former when talking about programmable contract, or a set of rules, when discussing BCT in general.

  2. 2.

    https://solidity.readthedocs.io/en/develop/.

  3. 3.

    EC Data Protection Directive 95/46/EC; Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Applied Sciences and Arts Western Switzerland, Sierre, Switzerland

    Davide Calvaresi, Alevtina Dubovitskaya, Jean Paul Calbimonte & Michael Schumacher

  2. Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, Pisa, Italy

    Davide Calvaresi

  3. Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Lausanne, Switzerland

    Alevtina Dubovitskaya

  4. Tallinn University of Technology, Tallinn, Estonia

    Kuldar Taveter

Authors
  1. Davide Calvaresi
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  2. Alevtina Dubovitskaya
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  3. Jean Paul Calbimonte
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  4. Kuldar Taveter
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  5. Michael Schumacher
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Davide Calvaresi .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Grenoble, France

    Yves Demazeau

  2. Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore

    Bo An

  3. Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain

    Javier Bajo

  4. Universidad de Castilla La Mancha, Albacete, Spain

    Antonio Fernández-Caballero

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Calvaresi, D., Dubovitskaya, A., Calbimonte, J.P., Taveter, K., Schumacher, M. (2018). Multi-Agent Systems and Blockchain: Results from a Systematic Literature Review. In: Demazeau, Y., An, B., Bajo, J., Fernández-Caballero, A. (eds) Advances in Practical Applications of Agents, Multi-Agent Systems, and Complexity: The PAAMS Collection. PAAMS 2018. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 10978. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-94580-4_9

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