Inter-agent communication
First Claim
1. A method of communicating between software agents in a multi-agent system, comprising the steps of:
- (i) receiving, at a software agent of said system, a conversation model defining a sequence of executable tasks for implementing a role in a conversation between agents;
(ii) identifying ontology items used in the conversation model in respect of said role;
(iii) determining, for each identified ontology item, whether the software agent is operable to provide or to process the identified ontology item; and
(iv) in the event that the result of said determining step (iii) is positive, executing the conversation model to implement said role in the conversation.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method is provided for communicating between software agents in a multi-agent system. Communication between agents is defined by means of a conversation model comprising a sequence of defined tasks which, when executed by a software agent, implement one or more roles in an inter-agent conversation. A software agent is provided which, when executed on a computer, is arranged to implement the method, in particular to receive a conversation model, for example one not previously known to the agent, to identify the ontology items used in the conversation model with respect to a defined role to be implemented by the software agent, to determine whether the agent is capable of providing or processing each of the identified ontology items, and if capable, to execute the tasks defined in the conversation model to implement the role.
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Citations
25 Claims
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1. A method of communicating between software agents in a multi-agent system, comprising the steps of:
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(i) receiving, at a software agent of said system, a conversation model defining a sequence of executable tasks for implementing a role in a conversation between agents;
(ii) identifying ontology items used in the conversation model in respect of said role;
(iii) determining, for each identified ontology item, whether the software agent is operable to provide or to process the identified ontology item; and
(iv) in the event that the result of said determining step (iii) is positive, executing the conversation model to implement said role in the conversation. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 22, 23, 24)
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10. A software agent for use in a multi-agent system, which when executed on a computer provides:
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means for receiving a conversation model defining a sequence of executable tasks for implementing a role in a conversation between software agents in said multi-agent system;
means for identifying ontology items used in a received conversation model in respect of said role;
determining means arranged, in respect of each identified ontology item, to determine whether the software agent is operable to provide or to process the identified ontology item; and
means for executing the conversation model to implement said role in the conversation in the event that the result of said determination is positive. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 25)
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Specification