Research

Computer systems with decentralized control structures, such as the internet or peer-to-peer and grid computing, are of growing importance. Their key characteristics are not only those of computer systems, but also those of economic systems: A large number of actors, each pursuing their individual goals, must collaborate in an efficient manner to perform shared tasks, e.g. routing messages. The design of algorithms and protocols for these systems must therefore account for these diversified characteristics.

Algorithmic Mechanism Design (AMD) combines research on algorithms with the fields of game theory and micro economy. It provides a general framework allowing non-cooperative agents reaching efficient joint decisions. Moreover, AMD explores the algorithmic properties of these algorithms and protocols.

This project was carried out at the Algorithms and Data Structures group at the University of Freiburg (Prof. Dr. Thomas Ottmann).