COLLABORATIVE MULTI-AGENT SYSTEM FOR DYNAMIC MANAGEMENT OF ELECTRONIC SERVICES IN A MOBILE GLOBAL NETWORK ENVIRONMENT

• US 20090112608A1
• Filed: 10/29/2007
• Published: 04/30/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 10/29/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Genasys, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Kenneth E. Grigg, Suhayya Abu-Hakima
• Inventors: GRIGG, Kenneth E., ABU-HAKIMA, Suhayya
• Granted Patent: US 8,065,173 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/345
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/4868 with creation or replication
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/063 Operations research, analysis or management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/067 Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/101 Collaborative creation, e.g. joint development of products or services
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/109 Time management, e.g. calendars, reminders, meetings or time accounting
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/1097 Task assignment
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0211 Determining the effectiveness of discounts or incentives
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0242 Determining effectiveness of advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1813 for computer conferences, e.g. chat rooms instant messaging H04L51/04; protocols for multimedia communication H04L65/1101; arrangements for multi-party communication H04L65/403; telephonic conference arrangements H04M3/56; television conference systems H04N7/15
• 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 67/14 Session management for real-time applications in data packet communications networks H04L65/1066
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/148 Migration or transfer of sessions
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/34 involving the movement of software or configuration parameters network booting or remote initial program loading [RIPL] G06F9/4416
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/56 Provisioning of proxy services store-and-forward switching systems in data switching networks H04L12/54
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/566 Grouping or aggregating service requests, e.g. for unified processing
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/00 Supervisory, monitoring or testing arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/12 Messaging; Mailboxes; Announcements

Abstract

A computer-readable electronic services management system for a mobile communications network, comprising a distributed network of agents in the form of collaborative autonomous software agents wherein the agents are configured to represent and act on behalf of a user and to communicate with each other to manage, for the user, one or more electronic services (e.g. electronic messages, a purchase etc.) via the user'"'"'s communications devices. Multiple types of agents include a primary personal agent, a primary creation agent for creating other agents and subordinate agents, and a primary destruction agent for destroying agents meeting pre-determined criteria based on a threshold value in relation to an agent value coefficient. Collaboration between agents is by a private user whiteboard facility whereby collaborating agents post to the whiteboard addressed electronic services, including service tasks to be performed for the user, and extract from the whiteboard electronic services addressed to them.

Claims

1. A computer-readable electronic services management system for a mobile communications network, said system comprising a distributed network of agents in the form of collaborative autonomous software agents, said agents being configured to represent and act on behalf of a user wherein said agents communicate with each other to manage for said user one or more electronic services comprising one or more of electronic messages, services and/or requests received by and/or forwarded to and/or generated by one or more communications devices of said user, said agents comprising multiple types of agents comprising at least one primary personal agent, a primary creation agent configured for creating others of said agents including one or more subordinate agents and a primary destruction agent configured for destroying an agent meeting pre-determined criteria comprising a threshold value in relation to an agent value coefficient, said agents being configured for collaboration together using a private user whiteboard facility whereby collaborating agents post addressed electronic services, including service tasks to be performed for said user, to said whiteboard and extract electronic services from said whiteboard which are addressed to them, to share content and information, to request and/or receive services from the other agents and to deliver services to the other agents and/or to said user.

2. A computer-readable electronic services management system according to claim 1 wherein said creation agents endow to each type of agent knowledge specific that type of agent and processes for that type of agent to perform, to learn, and/or to make valuation decisions.

3. A computer-readable electronic services management system according to claim 1 and further comprising discovery agents configured for monitoring said user'"'"'s actions for service level usage, for reviewing third party information useful for identifying new needs and/or interests of said user and for determining a prospective new service for said user, wherein said prospective new service is presented to said user as one or more prospective new service agents once a predetermined threshold level for a relevancy value attributed to said prospective new service agent(s) is reached based on relevancy factors to said user.

4. A computer-readable electronic services management system according to claim 1 and further comprising a primary professional agent, wherein each said personal and professional agent comprises an agent value facility for determining said agent value coefficient whereby a value calculation process is performed to assign to that agent a numeric value based on the importance of that agent in completing a task, said value coefficient being increased with each such task said agent is called upon to complete.

5. A computer-readable electronic services management system according to claim 4 wherein said primary personal agent is an intelligent agent acting as a central controller for said user and collaborating with the other agents and components of said system, and said primary professional agent is an intelligent agent acting cooperatively with said primary personal agent as said central controller and collaborating with the other agents and components of said system;

and further comprising a plurality of specialist, subordinate agents configured to perform specialized tasks and/or functions for said user.

6. A computer-readable electronic services management system according to claim 1 and further comprising a primary identity agent and one or more subordinate identity agents configured to share identity information personal to said user wherein said identity information is distributed over a plurality of said identity agents whereby no single identity agent holds all of said user'"'"'s identity information, and said destruction agents monitor said identity agents for activities indicating corruption and/or violating terms of contracts between said identify agents and other said agents.

7. A computer-readable electronic services management system according to claim 6 wherein each said identity agent is created by a creation agent which maintains security information pertaining to said identity agent including said identity agent'"'"'s required processes and/or said identity agent'"'"'s rights and/or said identity agent'"'"'s encryption keys.

8. A computer-readable electronic services management system according to claim 1 and further comprising a primary police agent and one or more subordinate police agents, wherein said police agents are subordinate to said destruction agents and monitor agents'"'"' activities performed using said private whiteboard and report any process step taken by one or more agents which is not permitted by said agent(s) or is otherwise non-conforming with pre-determined permitted processes of said agent(s).

9. A computer-readable electronic services management system according to claim 4 wherein each said agent operates collaboratively with one or more others of said agents in providing a service for said user and said agent value coefficient is further based on that agent'"'"'s contribution to said collaborative agent network.

10. A computer-readable electronic services management system according to claim 4 and further comprising specialized subordinate professional agents having expertise in, and configured for providing user services pertaining to, specialized professional interests of said user.

11. A computer-readable electronic services management system according to claim 4 wherein said personal and professional agents compete to provide services to said user and said agent value facility is configured to cause said agent value coefficient to represent said agent'"'"'s relative performance measured against other agents.

12. A computer-readable electronic services management system according to claim 1 wherein each said agent has a sensing engine configured to accept and analyse electronic services input to the system, a reasoning engine configured to receive said input services from said sensing engine and combine said input services with knowledge obtained from other input services and/or knowledge obtained from a knowledge base of rules and facts, a learning engine configured to compare said input services to existing knowledge in said knowledge base and to add said input services to said knowledge base if it is not already contained in said knowledge base, and a communication engine configured to output electronic services from said agent and input electronic services to said agent.

13. A computer-readable electronic services management system according to claim 9 wherein inter-agent collaboration comprises communication and negotiation between agents, and is performed directly with said primary personal and professional agents and indirectly for said primary personal and professional agents by subordinate agents with which said primary personal and professional agents communicate and negotiate.

14. A computer-readable electronic services management system according to claim 9 wherein said system comprises a user/agent feedback facility configured for providing feedback to said system in respect of services provided by one said agent to said user or to another said agent acting for said user, said user/agent feedback represented by positive and/or negative values applied in relation to said value coefficient of said one agent which provided said services.

15. A computer-readable electronic services management system according to claim 9 wherein said agents are configured to collaborate to learn how to decide what is relevant to said user, whereby a relevancy value is calculated and associated with an item of electronic information being processed by the system based on content and/or the personal or professional context of said user.

16. A computer-readable electronic services management system according to claim 14 wherein said user/agent feedback facility is configured to perform feedback analysis for an agent assigned a user/agent feedback value, to determine the nature and/or cause of such feedback value and to identify and implement a change that may be made by that agent in performing a valuated service to improve that agent'"'"'s service to said user/agent.

17. A computer-readable electronic services management system according to claim 6 wherein said network of agents includes one or more mobile agents configured to protect said user'"'"'s personal identity information while said mobile agent is in transit using encryption.

18. A computer-readable electronic services management system according to claim 6 configured to apply two distinct agent security layers to an agent seeking to access and/or use personal identity information, including verifying said agent'"'"'s right to access and/or use said personal identity information and verifying said personal identity information'"'"'s source'"'"'s right to make such access and/or use available to said agent.

19. A computer-readable electronic services management system according to claim 9, and further comprising a bidding component configured for use by said agents for collaborating through said private whiteboard to obtain competing service results, to provide said competing service results to said user for said user'"'"'s selection and to accept on behalf of said user a user-selected service result, for acting on behalf of said user to obtain a competitive service result for said user.