Abstract

In earlier work we proposed a framework for agents negotiating for resources. The framework was based on abductive logic programming. Agents had knowledge bases, goals and plans for achieving their goals. The plans required resources, and each agent did not necessarily own at the start all the resources it required. Agents had to negotiate with each other to obtain the resources that they needed. In this paper we extend the earlier work by providing the agents with richer knowledge and more sophisticated negotiation capabilities so that they can negotiate periods of time during which they would have use of resources, thus allowing for the sharing of resources. We explore a sequence of stages of negotiation such that in the earlier stages agents need to do little \thinking" and disclose very little about their plans and constraints, but as they step through the sequence they will have to do more \thinking" and disclose more about themselves. If one stage fails to produce a deal amongst the agents they may agree to move to the next stage where there is a better chance of a mutually agreeable deal.

Citations