Main Research Topics Electronic Institution for agent-based B2B operations Research in the context of this issue aims at developing an Electronic Institution for safe and trustable agent-based business operations. This objective includes the development of appropriate models for B2B Negotiation and Monitoring processes as well as to provide platforms, tools and frameworks enabling Agents’ interoperability in the context of Virtual Enterprises Life Cycle. MAS-based Electronic Institutions Agents’ Adaptation, Learning and Emotions Agents’ intelligent processes mostly rely on learning capabilities and sophisticated architectures. Through this research line we aim at studying both agent and multi-agent learning on one hand, and emotion-like features driven architectures, on the other hand. Learning in Multi-Agent Systems Multi-Agent teams’ Coordination and Simulation Coordinating teams of autonomous (or semi-autonomous) agents that perform in rich, dynamic, both cooperative and adversarial environments is a major aim of this work line. For this objective, we are exploring several research directions that can be seen as complementary: new coordination protocols; methodologies for analyzing team behavior; implementation of agent-based common framework suitable for controlling teams of cooperative robots for robosoccer; design of realistic multi-agent simulators (Coastal Ecosystems Simulator); generalizating these methods to other domains. Information Extraction and Intelligent Text Mining We are working on unsupervised and supervised Machine Learning techniques for information extraction from text (factoid and relation extraction). We are also developing a Q&A system for Portuguese. Verbatim (is a system that automatically extracts and classifies quotes from online news) Sylvester (encompasses a set of tools aiming at twitter content analysis) Multi-agent Systems applications Moreover we also aim at applying agent and multi-agent architectures, negotiation protocols and learning algorithms to specific application domains. Research Projects ABSES: Agent Based Simulation of Ecological Systems (FCT/POSC/EIA/57671/2004) ACORD Adaptative Coordination of Robotic Teams (FCT/PTDC/EIA/70695/2006) Control Strategies: Control Strategies Characterization for Heterogeneous Multi-Agent Systems (4.1.3/CAPES/GRICES) Electronic Institution: Trust-aware Automatic E-Contract Negotiation in Agent-based Adaptive Normative Environments (PTDC/EIA-EIA/104420/2008) FCP RESCUE: Coordination of Heterogeneous Teams in Search and Rescue Scenarios (FCT/POSC/EIA/63240/2004) MASDIMA: Multi-Agent System for Disruption Management Former Research Agents and Multi-Agent Systems Applications ARCHON: Architecture for Cooperative Heterogeneous on-line Systems ARCoS: Hybrid and Adaptive Control Architectures for Mobile Robots ARTOR: Simulating Organizations which Learn through interaction Conflict Resolution in Multi-Agent Systems Electronic Commerce FCPortugal: Coordination in Multi-Agent Systems - RoboSoccer MACIV-Multi-Agent Systems for Resources Management SUD - An Intelligent Tutoring System UNIPS- A Multi-Agent based University Planning and Scheduling System UPShell: Tools for Generating Cooperative Expert Systems X-MAS: Exchanging Multi-Agent Systems Technology