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Factors such as the massive increase in information available via electronic networks and the advent of virtual distributed workgroups for commerce are placing severe burdens on traditional methods of information sharing and retrieval. Matchmaking proposes an intelligent facilitation agent that accepts machinereadable requests and advertisements from information consumers and providers, and determines potential information sharing paths. We argue that matchmaking permits large numbers of dynamic consumers and providers, operating on rapidly-changing data, to share information more effectively than via current methods. This paper introduces matchmaking, as enabled by knowledge sharing standards like KQML, and describes the SHADE and COINS matchmaker implementations. The utility and initial results of matchmaking are illustrated via example scenarios in engineering and consumer information retrieval. 1

Abstract. In this paper, we discuss how multiple input modalities may be combined to produce more natural user interfaces. To illustrate this technique, we present a prototype map-based application for a travel planning domain. The application is distinguished by a synergistic combination of handwriting, gesture and speech modalities; access to existing data sources including the World Wide Web; and a mobile handheld interface. To implement the described application, a hierarchical distributed network of heterogeneous software agents was augmented by appropriate functionality for developing synergistic multimodal applications. 1

This paper describes the KRAFT architecture which supports the fusion of knowledge from multiple, distributed, heterogeneous sources. The architecture uses constraints as a common knowledge interchange format, expressed against a common ontology. Knowledge held in local sources can be tranformed into the common constraint language, and fused with knowledge from other sources. The fused knowledge is then used to solve some problem or deliver some information to a user. Problem-solving in KRAFT typically exploits pre-existing constraint solvers. KRAFT uses an open and flexible agent architecture in which knowledge sources, knowledge fusing entities, and users are all represented by independent KRAFT agents, communicating using a messaging protocol. Facilitator agents perform matchmaking and brokerage services between the various kinds of agent. KRAFT is

Global competition and rapidly changing customer requirements are forcing major changes in the production styles and configuration of manufacturing organizations. Traditional centralised manufacturing systems are not able to meet such requirements. This paper proposes an agent-based approach for dynamically creating and managing agent communities in such widely distributed and ever-changing manufacturing environments. After reviewing the research literature, an adaptive multi-agent manufacturing system architecture called MetaMorph is presented and its main features are described. Such architecture facilitates multi-agent coordination by minimising communication and processing overheads. Adaptation is facilitated through organizational structural change and two learning mechanisms: learning from past experiences and learning future agent interactions by simulating future dynamic, emergent behaviours. The MetaMorph architecture also addresses other specific requirements for next generat...

Knowledge fusion refers to the process of locating and extracting knowledge from multiple, heterogeneous on-line sources, and transforming it so that the union of the knowledge can be applied in problem-solving. The KRAFT project has defined a generic agent-based architecture to support fusion of knowledge in the form of constraints expressed against an object data model. KRAFT employs three kinds of agent: facilitators locate appropriate on-line sources of knowledge; wrappers transform heterogeneous knowledge to a homogeneous constraint interchange format; mediators fuse the constraints together with associated data to form a dynamically-composed constraint satisfaction problem, which is then passed to an existing constraint solver engine to compute solutions. The paper presents the KRAFT architecture and the three kinds of agent, and includes a description of a demonstration KRAFT application in the domain of telecommunications service provision.

The massive increase in information available via electronic networks is placing severe burdens on traditional methods of information sharing and retrieval. Matchmaking proposes an intelligent facilitation agent that accepts machine-readable requests and advertisements from information consumers and providers, and determines potential information sharing paths. Matchmaking permits large numbers of dynamic consumers and providers, operating on rapidly-changing data, to locate and share information effectively. This paper introduces matchmaking, as enabled by knowledge sharing standards like KQML, and gives a brief description of the the SHADE and COINS matchmakers. In addition, several applications are described to illustrate the utility of matchmaking for information retrieval. Introduction There has been a phenomenal explosion of information on electronic bitways such as corporate networks, the Internet, personal computer networks, and even television cable networks. This has led not...

Manufacturing enterprises are now moving towards open architectures for integrating their activities with those of their suppliers, customers and partners within wide supply chain networks. Agent-based technology provides a natural way to design and implement such environments. This paper presents an agent-based manufacturing enterprise infrastructure. After a brief review of recent advancements in this domain, we describe the main features of the proposed infrastructure and the functions of its components. A machine-centered dynamic scheduling/rescheduling mechanism is then detailed and a prototype implementation is presented.

Manufacturing enterprises are now moving towards open architectures for integrating their activities with those of their suppliers and customers within wide supply chain networks. Traditional knowledge engineering approaches with large scale or very large scale knowledge bases are not suited for such widely distributed systems. Agent-based technology provides a natural way for resolving this problem. This paper presents a hybrid agent-oriented infrastructure for modeling manufacturing enterprises so as to integrate design, planning, scheduling, simulation, execution, material supply, and marketing services into a distributed intelligent open environment. In this paper, we discuss the requirements for next generation of manufacturing enterprises, and describe the main features of the proposed general infrastructure and the functions of its components. A machine-centered dynamic scheduling and rescheduling mechanism is then detailed and a prototype implementation is presented. Keywords:...