CAIRO: a concurrent engineering meeting environment for virtual design teams

This paper presents the software architecture for a next generation concurrent engineering environment that helps geographically separated designers and engineers to collaborate effectively. The paper highlights research in computer-supported collaboration work (CSCW) based on various models of group interaction, social communication theory, negotiation theory and distributed artificial intelligence concepts. The paper describes CAIRO (Collaborative Agent Interaction and synchROnization) system, a distributed conferencing architecture for managing designers and engineers in a distributed design meeting. The CAIRO system allows designers and engineers to work together in virtual teams by supporting multi-media interactions over computer networks. CAIRO aids the concurrent engineering effort by relaxing the physical, temporal and organizational constraints experienced in traditional design meeting environments. CAIRO provides both media synchronization, i.e. ensuring that all information exchanged between users is synchronized, and agent synchronization, i.e. ensuring effective structuring and control of a distributed conference. This paper also details the prototype CAIRO system with a detailed example, illustrating its use in concurrent design settings.     

基于多Agent的会议制订系统MSS/MAS

MSS/MAS系统是一种基于多Agent的分布式会议自动制订系统。它的协商方式是基于非终止主动合作计算模型,具有良好的理论背景。我们利用多Agent间的合作关系设计系统并实现高效的会议制定功能,因此MSS/MAS系统是一种具有较强应用价值的多Agent系统。     

A personal meeting scheduling agent

When setting up a meeting, meeting participants need to reach a mutual agreement to hold the meeting subject to their personal constraints and preferences. It is a time-consuming process, and a variety of calendaring applications are in use assisting users to schedule meetings. Software applications failed to overcome the constraints of the traditional-scheduling process and works as a supporting tool for managing meeting information. One of the main constraints in automated scheduling is the unavailability of a standard structured communication protocol. In addition, automated scheduling requires other issues to be considered such as automated decision-making paradigm, negotiation strategy selection mechanism, etc. This paper proposes a personal meeting scheduling agent (PMSA) and a personal meeting scheduling protocol (PMSP). PMSP is embedded in the PMSA for handling bilateral and multilateral negotiations. PMSA is designed using model-based, goal-based methodology. Additionally, PMSP is designed following a structured negotiation protocol influenced by simultaneous response protocol. To evaluate all meeting invitations and to make decisions subject to users’ preferences, participants’ profiles, and the schedule availability, this paper utilizes the naïve Bayes model of maximum likelihood Estimation. The PMSP goal is to automatically make decisions and select the appropriate negotiation strategies to avoid or resolve possible meeting conflicts. To demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed PMSP, a simulation environment with experimental results is presented.     

Multi-agent negotiation based on price schedules algorithm for distributed collaborative design

Collaborative design is a common practice in modern product development. Companies specializing in different disciplines, which are often geographically separated, work together to develop solutions for the benefit of overall design. In such inter-organizational collaboration, participants hiding individual skills and design rationales is highly desirable. To fulfill this requirement, this study proposes a negotiation mechanism based on a price schedules decomposition algorithm originally developed in economics. The mechanism searches for globally optimal designs, where no participant is necessary to own full knowledge of the entire design space. This paper also applies multi-agent system technologies to realize a secure environment for automating distributed collaborative design. A test scenario of distributed tolerance allocation in assembly design validates the proposed mechanism.     

Self-organization of interorganizational process design

Interorganizational process design is challenged by a number of factors: There is no central governance, processes change over time and the stakeholders from the different organizations can hardly meet physically to agree on a mutually acceptable process. A process modeling session in the traditional way can therefore not be executed. In this paper we try to overcome the problems by offering an approach that allows for distributed process modeling and negotiation. Complemented by video or telephone conferencing the whole design can be done without any physical meeting. Much of the design work can even be done offline at the stakeholders’ discretion.     

Optimizing agent-based meeting scheduling through preference estimation

Meeting scheduling is a routine task that needs to be performed quite regularly and frequently within any organization. Unfortunately, this task can be quite tedious and time-consuming, potentially requiring a several rounds of negotiations among many people on the meeting date, time and place before a meeting can finally be confirmed. The objective of our research is to create an agent-based environment within which meeting scheduling can be performed and optimized. For meeting scheduling, we define optimality as the solution that has the highest average preference level among all the possible choices. Our model tries to mimic real life in that an individual's preferences are not made public. Without complete information, traditional optimal algorithms, such as A^* will not work. In this paper, we present a novel “preference estimation” technique that allows us to find optimal solutions to negotiations problems without needing to know the exact preference models of all the meeting participants beforehand. Instead, their preferences are “estimated” and built on the fly based on observations of their responses during negotiation. Another unique contribution is the use of “preference rules” that allow preferences to change dynamical as scheduling decisions are made. This mimics changing preferences as schedule gets filled. This paper uses two negotiation algorithms to compare the effect of “preference estimation”—one that is based on negotiation through relaxation and the other that extends this with preference estimations. Simulations were then performed to compare these algorithms.     

Collaborative assignment using belief-desire-intention agent modeling and negotiation with speedup strategies

In this paper, we propose a distributed agent model that applies belief-desire-intention (BDI) reasoning and negotiation for addressing the linear assignment problem (LAP) collaboratively. In resource allocation, LAP is viewed as seeking a concurrent allocation of one different resource for every task to optimize a linear sum objective function. The proposed model provides a basic agent-based foundation needed for efficient resource allocation in a distributed environment. A distributed agent algorithm that has been developed based on the BDI negotiation model is examined both analytically and experimentally. To improve performance in terms of average negotiation speed and solution quality, two initialization heuristics and two different reasoning control strategies are applied, with the latter yielding different variants of the basic algorithm. Extensive simulations suggest that all the heuristic-algorithm combinations can produce a near optimal solution soon enough in some specific sense. The significance and applicability of the research work are also discussed.     

Fair multi-agent task allocation for large datasets analysis

MapReduce is a design pattern for processing large datasets distributed on a cluster. Its performances are linked to the data structure and the runtime environment. Indeed, data skew can yield an unfair task allocation, but even when the initial allocation produced by the partition function is well balanced, an unfair allocation can occur during the reduce phase due to the heterogeneous performance of nodes. For these reasons, we propose an adaptive multi-agent system. In our approach, the reducer agents interact during the job and the task reallocation is based on negotiation in order to decrease the workload of the most loaded reducer and so the runtime. In this paper, we propose and evaluate two negotiation strategies. Finally, we experiment our multi-agent system with real-world datasets over heterogeneous runtime environment.     

Service-oriented architecture for ontologies supporting multi-agent system negotiations in virtual enterprise

This paper offers a service-oriented architecture (SOA) for ontology-based multi-agent system (MAS) negotiations in the context of virtual enterprises (VEs). The objective of this paper is fourfold. First, it is to design a SOA which utilizes ontology and MAS to provide a distributed and interoperable environment for automated negotiations in VE. In this architecture, individual ontologies for both the VE initiator and its potential partners are constructed to describe and store resources and service knowledge. Second, a series of semantic ontology matching methods are developed to reach agents’ interoperability during the negotiation process. Third, correspondence-based extended contract net protocol is presented, which provides basic guidelines for agents’ reaching mutual understandings and service negotiation. Last, a fuzzy set theory based knowledge reuse approach is proposed to evaluate the current negotiation behaviors of the VE partners. A walkthrough example is presented to illustrate the methodologies and system architecture proposed in this paper.     

Towards a web services and intelligent agents-based negotiation system for B2B eCommerce

With the explosive growth of the number of transactions conducted via electronic channels, there is a pressing need for the development of intelligent support tools to improve the degree and sophistication of automation for eCommerce. With reference to the BBT business model, negotiation is one of key steps for B2B eCommerce. Nevertheless, classical negotiation models are ineffective for supporting multi-agent multi-issue negotiations often encountered in eBusiness environment. The first contribution of this paper is the exploitation of Web services and intelligent agent techniques for the design and development of a distributed service discovery and negotiation system to streamline B2B eCommerce. In addition, an effective and efficient integrative negotiation mechanism is developed to conduct multi-party multi-issue negotiations for B2B eCommerce. Finally, an empirical study is conducted to evaluate our intelligent agents-based negotiation mechanism and to compare the negotiation performance of our software agents with that of their human counterparts. Our research work opens the door to the development of the next generation of intelligent system solutions to support B2B eCommerce.     

基于标签树的自动信任协商策略分析

网络实体间的信任建立是彼此进行安全交互的前提,自动信任协商为分布式环境下陌生实体的信任建立提供了方法.但现有的信任协商默认协商中访问控制策略正确,而策略本身很可能存在某些问题,导致协商失败.重点分析协商策略的性质,首先针对可能存在的冲突策略、平凡策略等策略不一致问题,构建了一种基于标签树的逻辑证明方法,进行策略一致性的检测,并证明了此证明方法的可靠性、完备性;其次,通过对策略树进行化简以求得最小证书集,并对其进行一次性披露和匹配,尽快达成成功协商,从而避免策略环问题,提高协商效率及成功率.     

On the Need for Mixed Media in Distributed Requirements Negotiations

Achieving agreement with respect to software requirements is a collaborative process that traditionally relies on same-time, same-place interactions. As the trend toward geographically distributed software development continues, colocated meetings are becoming increasingly problematic. Our research investigates the impact of computer-mediated communication on the performance of distributed client/developer teams involved in the collaborative development of a requirements specification. Drawing on media-selection theories, we posit that a combination of lean and rich media is needed for an effective process of requirements negotiations when stakeholders are geographically dispersed. In this paper, we present an empirical study that investigates the performance of six educational global project teams involved in a negotiation process using both asynchronous text-based and synchronous videoconferencing-based communication modes. The findings indicate that requirement negotiations were more effective when the groups conducted asynchronous structured discussions of requirement issues prior to the synchronous negotiation meeting. Asynchronous discussions were useful in resolving issues related to uncertainty in requirements, thus allowing synchronous negotiations to focus more on removing ambiguities in the requirements.     

A Dynamic Multiagent System Based on a Negotiation Mechanism for Product Family Design

Many organizations are expending enormous efforts to minimize cost and time when developing new products by sharing and reusing distributed design knowledge and information. Multiagent systems provide an ideal mechanism to develop various products efficiently and cost-effectively by integrating distributed design knowledge and information. Product family design entails developing a set of differentiated products around a platform, while targeting individual products to distinct market segments. This paper presents a mathematical model reflecting the tradeoffs inherent in having a platform and introduces a dynamic multiagent system (DMAS) based on negotiation mechanisms to address the model effectively. The negotiation protocol to design a platform is developed using market-based auction mechanisms. In the proposed system, specific design tasks are assigned to agents by decomposing tasks for product family design, and an optimal platform is determined by negotiations between agents. We apply the DMAS to design a platform for a family of power tools.     

Negotiation on Data Allocation in Multi-Agent Environments

In this paper, we consider the problem of data allocation in environments of self-motivated servers, where information servers respond to queries from users. New data items arrive frequently and have to be allocated in the distributed system. The servers have no common interests, and each server is concerned with the exact location of each of the data items. There is also no central controller. We suggest using a negotiation framework which takes into account the passage of time during the negotiation process itself. Using this negotiation mechanism, the servers have simple and stable negotiation strategies that result in efficient agreements without delays. We provide heuristics for finding the details of the strategies which depend on the specific settings of the environment and which cannot be provided to the agents in advance. We demonstrate the quality of the heuristics, using simulations. We consider situations characterized by complete, as well as incomplete, information and prove that our methods yield better results than the static allocation policy currently used for data allocation for servers in distributed systems.     

A distributed problem-solving approach to collaborative facility engineering

A framework for collaborative facility engineering is presented. The framework is based on a distributed problem-solving approach to collaborative facility engineering and employs an integration approach called Agent-Based Software Engineering as an implementation vehicle of this approach. The focal entity of this framework is a Multiagent Design Team (MDT) that comprises a collection of software agents (e.g. design software applications with a certain standard communication interface) and a design specialist, which together perform specific design tasks. Multiagent design teams are autonomous and form an organizational structure based on a federation architecture. Every multiagent design team surrenders its autonomy to a system program called facilitator, which coordinates the interaction among software agents in the federation architecture. Facilitators can be viewed as representatives of one or more teams that facilitate the exchange of design information and knowledge in support of the design tasks they perform. In the federation architecture, design specialists collaborate by exchanging design information with others via their software agents, and by identifying and resolving design conflicts by negotiation. In addition to a discussion of the framework's primary components, its realization in an integrated distributed environment for collaborative building engineering is described.     

基于团队合作博弈的自动协商模型

企业在联盟方式下运营,有利于提高供应链的协同运作能力.为进一步发挥其在与需求方进行协商时的群体协作报价优势,将协商团队、合作博弈和自动协商理论进行融合,以供应链典型生产和物流企业结成产运纵向联盟为背景,提出基于团队合作博弈的纵向联盟成员协同报价自动协商模型,并基于Shapley值对报价方案按照成员报价的贡献对联盟收益进行分配.研究表明,产运纵向联盟集中定价的情况下,团队成员采取完全合作的方式进行报价,可以在团队收益最大化的同时,实现自身收益最佳,且有利于维持激烈市场竞争环境下产运纵向联盟的稳定合作关系.     

An Integrated Telepresence Environment for Collaboration in Construction

For construction projects involving transient ‘virtual organisations’ composed of non-collocated team-members, the adoption of concurrent engineering principles is seen as vital. An important aspect of concurrent engineering in construction is the need for an effective communications infrastructure between team members. Traditionally, such communication has been handled through person-to-person meetings, however the complexity of construction projects has grown and, as a result, reliance on new information and communications technologies is becoming increasingly necessary. Hence, within a concurrent engineering setting, there is the need for an integrated information and collaboration environment that will create a persistent space to support interaction between project personnel throughout all phases of construction projects. This joint initiative between the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Loughborough University, British Telecommunications plc. (BT) and Kajima Corporation explores computer-supported mechanisms for enhancing distributed engineering collaboration. The goal of this paper is to develop a set of requirements, a system architecture and a system prototype to facilitate computer-supported collaboration among distributed teams. The prototype consists of a comprehensive working collaborative system built from the integration of complementary standalone applications. These applications are the CAIRO system, developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Telepresence system developed by Loughborough University and BT.     

Fuzzy e-negotiation agents

 The paper presents a prototype of Fuzzy e-Negotiation Agents (FeNAs) for autonomous multi-issue negotiation in e-commerce. It considers negotiation as a form of distributed decision making in the presence of limited common knowledge and imprecise/soft constraints that can be modeled as a distributed fuzzy constraint satisfaction problem (DFCSP). FeNAs incorporate the principles of utility theory within DFCSPs and use fuzzy constraint-based reasoning in order to find a consensus that maximizes the agent's utility and the level of its fuzzy constraint satisfaction subject to its acceptability by other agents. The paper presents aspects of problem representation and negotiation mechanisms used by FeNAs in the context of DFCSPs. An overview of FeNAs is provided and some capabilities for automated multi-issue negotiation are illustrated with two scenarios of e-commerce trading.     

入侵检测系统在分布式环境下的协作协议

分布式入侵检测系统在网络安全技术领域中占据重要地位 ,为使系统各组成模块通过网络进行的相互协作对管理员尽可能透明 ,需要公共的协商协议 ,本文介绍这种协商协议的几个关键问题     

Negotiation within a multi-agent system for the collaborative design of light industrial buildings

This paper is a review of intelligent agents with respect to their use within the Agent-Based Support for The Collaborative Design of Light Industrial Buildings (ADLIB) project. In the ADLIB project, the core objective is to develop a multi-agent system (MAS) framework for the representation of activities and processes involved in collaborative design of light industrial buildings. This includes the planning and fabrication of steel structural components. ADLIB intelligent agents are concerned with modelling action and knowledge in a collaborative environment. The design process that ADLIB's agents are trying to automate is the interaction and negotiation between specialist design team members. Each team member with a different area of expertise will be primarily concerned with his own area of interest. This paper starts with an introduction to intelligent agents. It then moves on to a discussion of agent classification systems and negotiation theories and their applications in MAS. The last section analyses the needs of agents within the ADLIB project. A negotiation protocol and strategy are then presented.