Functional integrity of MAS through the dynamics of the agents' population

In open multi-agent systems, i.e. systems in which agents of different kinds may join or leave the system, the problem of functional integrity seems to be of vast importance. The thesis discussed in this paper is that the number of agents in a multi-agent system can be an important characteristic of its dynamics and, in particular, constitute a base for evaluation of its functional integrity at a population level. Certain mechanisms which allow for controlling the number of agents- preserving their autonomy-have been also proposed.