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Design and implementation of a game theory application toolkit for handheld devices

Peres-Hernandes-Sanches Juliana

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Summary

In this thesis we developed two game-theoretic applications (applets) for Android-compatible handheld computer devices. Game Theory, a widely studied research domain, offers the formal tools for the analysis of the strategic interactions within a multiagent environment. Android is one of the most popular operating systems for handheld devices, and, with an 80% market share, it dominates the smartphones market worldwide. Moreover, it is an open platform, which means that it is constantly under improvement.The first applet we developed is a variant of the well-known Prisoner’s Dilemma game. This game contains the necessary features to play with another online player, or play against pre-devised strategies. These strategies mirror those that appear in Robert Axelrod’s book “The evolution of cooperation”. The second applet offers the ability to the users to invite their online friends to go out by choosing and rating the places to go. How can a user go to the place he likes but also certifies that he will have company to go out? This is interesting from a game-theoretic perspective, since all Nash equilibria of the game are problematic in some way. Moreover, the game requires player coordination, since they are aware that not choosing the same place with their opponent will result to mutual loss. Thus, it is not a foregone conclusion that a player should actually select her most preferred outcome. This applet was based on the famous “Battle of the Sexes” game. Our work here resulted to a better understanding of important game theoretic concepts, and to the gaining of experience in developing fully-fledged Android applications. We believe that this thesis serves as a step towards popularizing game theory, and introducing it to a young generation that uses handheld computer devices and smartphones on a daily basis, for purposes ranging from recreation to business.

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