Price-comparison agents for MAGICS

Price comparison is an important step in a consumer buying process. In this paper, we present a mobile agent-based Internet Commerce System (MAGICS) and discuss how it can be used to facilitate price comparison. We formulate a mathematical model to determine the optimum number of mobile agents to be dispatched if the price distribution is known. The mathematical model is solved with both the uniform price distribution and the normal price distribution. The results are useful for designing price comparison services in general and MAGICS in particular.