This paper presents a brief overview of the DDM algorithms, systems, applications, and the emerging research directions. The structure of the paper is organized as follows. We first present the related research of DDM and illustrate data distribution scenarios. Then DDM algorithms are reviewed. Subsequently, the architectural issues in DDM systems and future directions are discussed

In our research, we explore the role of negotiation for conflict resolution in distributed search among heterogeneous and reusable agents. We present negotiated search, an algorithm that explicitly recognizes and exploits conflict to direct search activity across a set of agents. In negotiated search, loosely coupled agents interleave the tasks of 1) local search for a solution to some subproblem; 2) integration of local subproblem solutions into a shared solution; 3) information exchange to define and refine the shared search space of the agents; and 4) assessment and reassessment of emerging solutions. Negotiated search is applicable to diverse application areas and problem-solving environments. It requires only basic search operators and allows maximum flexibility in the distribution of those operators. These qualities make the algorithm particularly appropriate for the integration of heterogeneous agents into application systems. The algorithm is implemented in a multi-agent framew...

Abstract: We propose constraints as the appropriate computational constructs for the design of agents with the task of selecting, merging and managing electronic information coming from such services as Internet access, digital libraries, E-mail, or on-line information repositories. Speci cally, weintroduce the framework of Constraint-Based Knowledge Brokers, which are concurrent agents that use so-called signed feature constraints to represent partially speci ed information and can exibly cooperate in the management of distributed knowledge. We illustrate our approach by several examples, and we de ne application scenarios based on related technology such asTelescript and work ow management systems. Key Words: multiagent coordination, agent-interaction, distributed problem solving, signed feature constraints, negotiation, cooperation strategies.

Abstract. This paper presents some of the key techniques for reaching agreements in multi-agent environments. It discusses game-theory and economics based techniques: strategic negotiation, auctions, coalition formation, market-oriented programming and contracting. It also presents logical based mechanisms for argumentations. The focus of the survey is on negotiation of self-interested agents, but several mechanisms for cooperative agents who need to resolve conflicts that arise from conflicting beliefs about different aspects of their environment are also mentioned. For space reasons, we couldn’t cover all the relevant works, and the papers that are mentioned only demonstrate the possible approaches. We present some of the properties of the approaches using our own previous work. 1

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Design Expert Systems can be built using many small, cooperating, limited function expert systems called Single Function Agents. Using this approach we will be able to investigate and discover primitive problem-solving and interaction patterns, specific for multi-agent design systems, and should gain a deeper understanding of the types of knowledge involved. This paper presents some categories of conflicts that have been studied using the SiFA approach, and makes a brief presentation of the SINE implementation of SiFAs. 1.0 Introduction The premise of this research is that Design Expert Systems can be built using many small, cooperating, limited function expert systems. We have called these expert systems Single Function Agents (SiFAs), for reasons which will become obvious later in this paper. The belief is that by using this approach we will be able to investigate and discover primitive problem-solving and interaction patterns, specific for design using multi-agent systems. The app...

For achieving interoperability among heterogeneous computing systems, the Object Management Group (OMG) has adapted the Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA) and the use of an Interface Definition Language (IDL) for specifying object properties and operations which encapsulate the data and programs of heterogeneous systems. This paper describes a common language which is an enhancement of IDL to include: 1) the semantic richness of EXPRESS, an information modeling language adapted by the ISO/STEP community for achieving product model and data exchange; and 2) the extensibility features and knowledge rule specification offered by the Object-oriented Semantic Association Model (OSAM*). This common language, named the NIIIP Common Language (NCL), is a part of the R&D effort of a project entitled the National Industrial Information Infrastructure Protocols (NIIIP). The design of NCL is standards-based, incorporating the semantic features of the two standard languages, IDL and E...

A basic ingredient of Concurrent Engineering (CE) is that all aspects of the product 's life-cycle should be considered as early as possible during design. A key idea that has been adopted for the implementation of CE is the use of a team, in which each member is an expert on some aspect of the product in a phase of its life-cycle. In our work, we use a team of software agents. Our goal is to study in detail the interactions, conflicts and conflict resolution that is possible with such a multi-agent system. The approach is to use Single Function Agents (SiFAs), each of which can perform a very specialized task, from a single point of view. The ability to represent expertise with different points of view is very important in design. These different points of view usually cause conflicts among agents, and these conflicts need to be resolved in order for the design process to be successful. Therefore, agents need to be capable of detecting and resolving these conflicts. This pa...

In this article, a framework to integrate negotiation capabilities { particularly components implementing a negotiation strategy { into mobile agents is described. This approach isconceptually based on the notion of an actor system which decomposes an application component into autonomously executing subcomponents cooperating with each other. Technically, the framework is based on a plug-in mechanism enabling a dynamic composition of negotiating agents. Additionally, thiscontribution describes how interaction-oriented rule mechanisms can be deployed to control the behavior of strategy actors.

Introduction Our premise is that Design Expert Systems can be built using many small, cooperating, limited function expert systems, called Single Function Agents (SiFAs). We expect to be able to investigate and discover specific design-related primitive problem-solving and interaction patterns. The approach should also lead to a deeper understanding of the types of knowledge involved. In contrast to other multi-agent approaches, which are based on powerful agents with relatively unconstrained functionality and knowledge, we try to start with elementary components and add structure and functionality as necessary. The research goals are: Definition of a Domain Independent Set of Agents; Investigation of Agent Negotiation for Conflict Resolution; Analysis of Communication Patterns between Agents; Identification of Appropriate Agent Knowledge and its Representation; and Classification of Conflicts. The work is motivated by the fact that in Concurrent Engineering (CE), participan