Design of Intelligent Multi-Agent Systems : Springer : 9783540229131 : 3540229132 : 05 Oct 2004 : There is a tremendous interest in the design and applications of agents in virtually every area including avionics, business, internet, engineering, health sciences and management. There is no agreed one definition of an agent but we can define an agent as a computer program that autonomously or semi-autonomously acts on behalf of the user. In the last five years transition of intelligent systems research in general and agent based research in particular from a laboratory environment into the real world has resulted in the emergence of several phenomenon. These trends can be placed in three catego­ ries, namely, humanization, architectures and learning and adapta­ tion. These phenomena are distinct from the traditional logic­ centered approach associated with the agent paradigm. Humaniza­ tion of agents can be understood among other aspects, in terms of the semantics quality of design of a