The Laboratory for Robotics and Intelligent Control Systems (LARICS) (projects IFROS and AeroSTREAM) hosted a lecture:
"Applications of Multi-Agent Consensus Protocols for Social Network Opinion Dynamics" delivered by FER alumnus Assoc. Prof. Kristian Hengster-Movrić, Czech Technical University, Prague.
The lecture was held on Thursday, January 4th, 2024, at 9:00 a.m. in room A204 at FER. It was conducted in English and was open to all interested parties. The duration of the lecture was 90 minutes. The speaker's biography and lecture abstract were provided in the invitation.
Kristian Hengster-Movrić, an associate professor of technical cybernetics, specializes in the mathematical theory of distributed control, consensus problems, and optimal control. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Texas Arlington, USA, in 2013, under the guidance of Prof. Frank Lewis, and received the N.M. Stelmakh Prize for his outstanding thesis. Currently, at the Czech Technical University in Prague (CTU), Kristian teaches graduate courses on network dynamics and control, and a doctoral course on distributed control. He supervises several doctoral and master students and administers the CTU's involvement in the Spacemaster (Erasmus Mundus) program.
Abstract:
Consensus protocols are frequently utilized in scenarios requiring decentralized agreement among agents (or robots) over a communication network. The seminar provided an overview of discrete consensus protocols and an analysis of the prerequisites for consensus achievement. Special emphasis was placed on the applications of consensus in analyzing opinion dynamics within social networks. By employing consensus models, predictions, analyses, and controls of information and decision processes, including opinion formation, are feasible. The seminar discussed key models utilized in such systems, including the French-Harary-deGroot model (1969) and the Friedkin-Johnsen permanent disagreement model (1990).