IEEE Expert

For pt.1 see ibid., p.64-70 (1996). The Archon software framework integrated seven heterogeneous agents-some preexisting systems and some custom built-into a functional real world application. This DAI approach provides economy, robustness, reliability and a natural representation of the domain. The article discusses the use of Archon by Iberdrola, a Spanish electric utility. To ensure that Iberdr... View full abstract»

For pt.2 see ibid., p.71-9 (1996). The Archon distributed AI software framework integrated two preexisting standalone systems into a consistent, flexible application. The integrated systems provide useful information to each other and improve each other's performance through cooperation. The authors describe the use of the Archon framework to build a distributed AI application for controlling, and... View full abstract»

Computers currently respond only to what interface designers call direct manipulation. Nothing happens unless a person gives commands from a keyboard, mouse or touch screen. The computer is merely a passive entity waiting to execute specific, highly detailed instructions: it provides little help for complex tasks or for carrying out actions (such as searches for information) that may take an indef... View full abstract»

Nausicaa and the Sirens, mythological characters from Homer's Odyssey, have totally different characters. Nausicaa, an intelligent and modest princess, helps Odysseus on his journey to Alcinolis's city. The Sirens, however, are sea creatures who use their beautiful voices to lure mariners onto the rocks surrounding their island. These characters gave me inspiration on how to design and deploy agen... View full abstract»

A high-performance software system provides the necessary facilities to experiment with various multiagent-coordination choices at different abstraction levels. The authors discuss these abstractions and empirically evaluate their usefulness for the construction of distributed systems View full abstract»

In Retsina, the authors have developed a distributed collection of software agents that cooperate asynchronously to perform goal-directed information retrieval and integration for supporting a variety of decision-making tasks. Examples for everyday organizational decision making and financial portfolio management demonstrate its effectiveness View full abstract»

There have been substantial changes in the technology available to support executive decision making. Perhaps the most visible change has been the rapid development of the Internet and the World Wide Web. In addition, this network infrastructure has facilitated and promoted the growth of enabling technologies, such as databases and artificial intelligence. These changes in technology have led to a... View full abstract»

Archon provides a software framework that assists interaction between the subcomponents of a distributed AI application, and a design methodology that helps structure these interactions. The Archon project has been applied to several real world industrial applications. Two of these applications, electricity transportation management and particle accelerator control, have run online in the organiza... View full abstract»

The explosion of the Web raises many difficult legal and economic issues. One of the most controversial is this: how can we protect the intellectual property embedded in the computer software that gets distributed over the Internet? The Web hypertext platform, particularly hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) and Java, should encourage the quick and ubiquitous delivery of novel, ground breaking idea... View full abstract»

In 1935, to combat an infestation of sugar cane beetles, well intentioned growers along Australia's North Queensland coast introduced a variety of Central American toad (Bufo marinus) to their canefields. The reality, however, has been different. The beetles, unfortunately, live high in the cane stalks, beyond the reach of the ground dwelling toad, which promptly set off on a 60-year march across ... View full abstract»

After years of promised prototypes, the first intelligent agents are hitting the streets, and cash registers are starting to ring. The first wave of prime time agents, as exemplified by Firefly from Firefly Networks Inc. (formerly Agents Inc.), are personal assistants that simplify Web surfing. Firefly has became a media darling-everyone from Time magazine to local TV stations is featuring the lit... View full abstract»

Web based agents show great potential for design and engineering applications. To integrate engineering agents into the Web, researchers must resolve the conflict between HTTP's client server protocol and the peer to peer protocol required by agents. The author surveys the types and definitions of agents, eventually focusing on those useful for engineering, and on how they can be integrated with t... View full abstract»