Workshop Description

Distributed Constraint Reasoning (DCR) problems arise when pieces of information about variables, constraints or both are relevant to independent but communicating agents. They provide a promising framework to deal with the increasingly diverse range of distributed real-world problems emerging from the evolution of computation and communication technologies.

The new challenges posed by solving Distributed Constraint Reasoning Problems include dealing with resource restrictions (such as limits on time and communication), privacy requirements, exploiting opportunities for cooperation, and designing conflict resolution strategies.

The workshop addresses modeling, formulation and solution of Distributed Constraint Reasoning problems, including both Distributed Constraint Satisfaction and Optimization Problems. The workshop encourages submissions on all topics related to Distributed Constraint Reasoning, including (but not limited to) the following:

• unified frameworks for distributed constraint reasoning
• complete and incomplete algorithms for solving distributed constraint reasoning problems
• privacy issues in distributed constraint reasoning
• problem solving in systems with self-interested agents
• negotiation among self-interested agents
• distributed constraint propagation and consistency
• generation and formulation/modeling of distributed constraint reasoning
• applications of distributed constraint reasoning

Workshop Motivation

The goal of the DCR workshop series is to bring together researchers from the many different areas that are relevant to distributed constraint reasoning so that commonalities and relationships can be discovered and understanding improved. DCR is an inter-disciplinary research area involving the Constraint Programming, Artificial Intelligence and Multi-agent Systems communities.

As such, this workshop has historically rotated its location between the three major conferences in each of these areas: IJCAI (in 2001, 2003, 2005, and 2007), CP (in 2000, 2004, and 2007) and AAMAS (in 2002 and 2006, 2008).

Workshop Format

At least one author of each accepted submission must attend the workshop. The workshop will emphasize group discussion so presentations will be balanced with discussion time. Proposals for panels/discussion groups during the workshop are welcome.

Workshop Attendance

The workshop is open to all members of the AI community but the number of participants is strictly limited to 75 participants.

Program Committee

• Christian Bessiere (bessiere@lirmm.fr), LIRMM, France
• Boi Faltings (boi.faltings@epfl.ch), EPFL, Switzerland
• Rachel Greenstadt (greenie@eecs.harvard.edu), Drexel University, USA
• Youssef Hamadi (youssefh@microsoft.com), Microsoft Research Cambridge, UK
• *Katsutoshi Hirayama (hirayama@maritime.kobe-u.ac.jp), Kobe University, Japan
• Amnon Meisels (am@cs.bgu.ac.il), Ben-Gurion University, Israel
• Pedro Meseguer (pedro@iiia.csic.es), IIIA, Spain
• Adrian Petcu (adrian.petcu@epfl.ch), EPFL, Switzerland
• Marius Silaghi (msilaghi@fit.edu), Florida Institute of Technology, USA
• *William Yeoh (wyeoh@usc.edu), University of Southern California, USA
• Makoto Yokoo (yokoo@is.kyushu-u.ac.jp), Kyushu University, Japan
• *Roie Zivan (zivanr@cs.cmu.edu), Carnegie Mellon University, USA

* denotes the workshop co-chairs.