Information processing apparatus and method and information processing program recording medium

• US 20040044737A1
• Filed: 03/21/2003
• Published: 03/04/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 09/05/1997
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaishi Toshiba
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaishi Toshiba
• Inventors: Nagai, Yasuo, Ohsuga, Akihiko, Hattori, Masanori, Irie, Yutaka, Honiden, Shinichi
• Granted Patent: US 6,925,486 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols

Abstract

A planning means generates a plan to be executed by agents on a node. In the case where the plan generated uses an uncertain knowledge required to be processed in other nodes, a judging means judges the communication line connecting the node and a network is low or high in reliability. In the case where the reliability of the communication line is low, an agent management unit moves the agent for executing the plan to another node for processing the uncertain knowledge. In the case where the reliability of the communication line is high, on the other hand,. a cooperation protocol realization means requests an agent on another node to process the uncertain knowledge. An agent execution means executes the plan generated.

Claims

1. An information processing apparatus comprising:

means for inputting a request;

means for generating an agent corresponding to the request inputted from said input means;

planning means for generating a plan which satisfies said request;

means for determining a reliability of a communication line in the case where an uncertain knowledge is used for generation of said plan by said planning means;

selecting means for selecting one of a processing of a movement of the agent and a processing of a contract net protocol in accordance with said reliability;

uncertain knowledge processing means for processing said uncertain knowledge on the basis of the processing selected by said selecting means; and

executing means for executing the plan after said uncertain knowledge processing means processes said uncertain knowledge.

2. An information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising replanning means for generating another plan by said planning means in the case where said first plan fails to be executed.

3. An information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said determination means determines whether the reliability of the communication line between a local node and a network is high or low according to the line type included in an information on a network configuration.

4. An information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein determination means determines whether or not the reliability of the communication line between a local node and a network is high or low according to a history information including a communication error and a link establishment error occurred in a local node.

5. An information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said selecting means selects the processing of a movement of the agent in the case where the reliability of said communication line is low, and selects the processing of the contract net protocol in the case where the reliability of said communication line is high.

6. An information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising recording means for recording usage history of an uncertain knowledge in said planning, and

wherein said determination means detects usage of said uncertain knowledge on the basis of the usage history recorded in said recording means.

7. An information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said determination means detects usage of said uncertain knowledge by searching for contents of a plan generated by said planning means.

8. An agent processing system for processing agents, comprising:

a network; and

a plurality of nodes interconnected via said network, said plurality of nodes being each capable of becoming a remote node or a local node with respect to other nodes,

said remote node and/or said local node comprising;

means for inputting a request;

means for generating an agent corresponding to the request inputted from said input means;

planning means for generating a plan which satisfies said request;

means for determining a reliability of a communication line in the case where an uncertain knowledge is used for generation of said plan by said planning means;

selecting means for selecting one of a processing of a movement of the agent and a processing of a contract net protocol in accordance with said reliability;

uncertain knowledge processing means for processing said uncertain knowledge on the basis of the processing selected by said selecting means; and

executing means for executing the plan after said uncertain knowledge processing means processes said uncertain knowledge.

9. An agent processing system according to claim 8, further comprising replanning means for generating another plan by said planning means in the case where said first plan fails to be executed.

10. An agent processing system according to claim 8, wherein said determination means determines whether the reliability of the communication line between a local node and said network is high or low according to the line type included in an information on a network configuration.

11. An agent processing system according to claim 8, wherein said determination means determines whether the reliability of the communication line between a local node and said network is high or low according to a history information including a communication error and a link establishment error caused in a local node.

12. An agent processing system according to claim 8, wherein said selecting means selects the processing of the movement of the agent in the case where the reliability of said communication line is low, and selects the processing of contract net protocol in the case where the reliability of said communication line is high.

13. An agent processing system according to claim 8, wherein said processing of a movement of the agent moves the agent from said local node to said remote node via said network.

14. An agent processing system according to claim 8, wherein said processing of a contract net protocol comprises process of task announcement of a request via said network conducted by an agent of said local node, process of tender submission conducted by a plurality of said remote nodes desiring to accept the task, and process of requesting a successful agent to execute the task, conducted by said requesting agent.

15. An information processing apparatus with a plurality of agents cooperating by information exchange on a network including a plurality of nodes, comprising:

planning means for generating a plan to be executed by said agents;

means for judging the reliability of the communication line connecting a node generating said plan and the network in the case where said plan generated includes a plan requiring the processing in other nodes;

means for moving the agent for executing said plan to another node in the case where the reliability of said communication line is low;

cooperation means for requesting at least one agent of other nodes to execute said plan in the case where said reliability is high; and

means for executing the plan generated.

16. An information processing apparatus according to claim 15, further comprising:

blackboard means including a plurality of hierarchical levels for storing the information exchanged between agents in the order of priority thereof; and

means for realizing a cooperation protocol between the agents based on the information exchanged between the agents through said blackboard means so that the information stored at a high hierarchical level is processed in priority over the information stored at a low hierarchical level.

17. An information processing apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the area for agent activity in at least one node is segmented into a plurality of fields corresponding to a given object, and the knowledge used for plan generation is segmented in accordance with the fields,

said apparatus further comprising field management means for using the segmented fields and the segmented knowledge for the agents having corresponding objects.

18. An information processing apparatus according to claim 15, wherein said cooperation means is configured to use a contract net protocol.

19. An information processing apparatus according to claim 15, further comprising communication means for exchanging information directly between agents.

20. An information processing method comprising:

inputting a request;

generating an agent corresponding to the request inputted at said inputting step;

planning a plan which satisfies said request;

determining a reliability of a communication line in the case where an uncertain knowledge is used for said planning step;

selecting one of a processing of a movement of the agent and a processing of a contract net protocol in accordance with said reliability;

processing said uncertain knowledge on the basis of the processing selected in said selecting step; and

executing the plan after said processing step processes said uncertain knowledge.

21. An information processing method according to claim 20, further comprising the step of replanning for generating another plan at said planning step in the case where said first plan fails to be executed.

22. An information processing method according to claim 20, wherein said determining step comprises the step of determining whether the reliability of the communication line between a local node and the network is high or low according to the line type included in an information on a network configuration.

23. An information processing method according to claim 20, wherein said determining step comprises the step of determining whether the reliability of the communication line between a local node and the network is high or low according to a history information including a communication error and a link establishment error caused in a local node.

24. An information processing method according to claim 20, wherein said executing step comprises the steps of:

executing the processing of movement said agent in the case where the reliability of said communication line is low; and

executing the processing of the contract net protocol in the case where the reliability of said communication line is high.

25. An information processing method according to claim 20, further comprising the step of recording for recording usage history of an uncertain knowledge in said planning, and

wherein said determining step comprises the step of detecting usage of said uncertain knowledge on the basis of the usage history recorded at said recording step.

26. An information processing method according to claim 20, wherein said determining step comprises the step of detecting usage of said uncertain knowledge by searching for contents of a plan generated at said planning step.

27. A computer-readable memory comprising:

first instruction means for causing a computer to input a request;

second instruction means for causing a computer to generate an agent corresponding to the request inputted by said first instruction means;

third instruction means for causing a computer to generate a plan which satisfies said request;

fourth instruction means for causing a computer to determine a reliability of a communication line in the case where an uncertain knowledge is used for said third instruction means;

fifth instruction means for causing a computer to select one of a processing of a movement of the agent and a processing of a contract net protocol in accordance with said reliability;

sixth instruction means for causing a computer to process said uncertain knowledge on the basis of the processing selected by said fifth instruction means; and

seventh instruction means for causing a computer to execute the plan after said sixth instruction means processes said uncertain knowledge.

28. A computer-readable memory according to claim 27, further comprising instruction means for causing a computer to generate another plan in the case where the first plan fails to be executed.

29. A computer-readable memory according to claim 27, wherein said fourth instruction means causes a computer to determine whether the reliability of the communication line between a local node and a network is high or low according to the line type included in an information on a network configuration.

30. A computer-readable memory according to claim 27, wherein said fourth instruction means causes a computer to determine whether or not the reliability of the communication line between a local node and a network is high or low according to a history information including a communication error and a link establishment error occurred in a local node.

31. A computer-readable memory according to claim 27, wherein said fifth instruction means causes a computer to select the processing of a movement of the agent in the case where the reliability of said communication line is low, and selects the processing of the contract net protocol in the case where the reliability of said communication line is high.

32. A computer-readable memory according to claim 27, further comprising instruction means for causing a computer to record usage history of an uncertain knowledge in said planning, and

wherein said fourth instruction means causes a computer to detect usage of said uncertain knowledge on the basis of the usage history recorded.

33. A computer-readable memory according to claim 27, wherein said fourth instruction means causes a computer to detect usage of said uncertain knowledge by searching for contents of a plan generated by said planning.