MULTIFACTORIAL OPTIMIZATION SYSTEM AND METHOD

• US 20130080307A1
• Filed: 03/26/2012
• Published: 03/28/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 10/04/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Steven Mark Hoffberg
• Original Assignee: Steven Mark Hoffberg
• Inventors: Hoffberg, Steven M.
• Granted Patent: US 9,615,264 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/35
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0631 Resource planning, allocation, distributing or scheduling for enterprises or organisations
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0635 Risk analysis of enterprise or organisation activities
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06375 Prediction of business process outcome or impact based on a proposed change
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/103 Workflow collaboration or project management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/065 using e-cash
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/22 Payment schemes or models
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/40 Authorisation, e.g. identification of payer or payee, verification of customer or shop credentials; Review and approval of payers, e.g. check credit lines or negative lists
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0201 Market modelling; Market analysis; Collecting market data
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/08 Auctions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/00 Finance; Insurance; Tax strategies; Processing of corporate or income taxes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/04 Trading; Exchange, e.g. stocks, commodities, derivatives or currency exchange
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/188 Electronic negotiation
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 16/28 using beam steering
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/003 locating network equipment
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/541 using the level of interference
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/18 Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks

Abstract

A method for providing unequal allocation of rights among agents while operating according to fair principles, comprising assigning a hierarchal rank to each agent; providing a synthetic economic value to a first set of agents at the a high level of the hierarchy; allocating portions of the synthetic economic value by the first set of agents to a second set of agents at respectively different hierarchal rank than the first set of agents; and conducting an auction amongst agents using the synthetic economic value as the currency. A method for allocation among agents, comprising assigning a wealth generation function for generating future wealth to each of a plurality of agents, communicating subjective market information between agents, and transferring wealth generated by the secure wealth generation function between agents in consideration of a market transaction. The method may further comprise the step of transferring at least a portion of the wealth generation function between agents.

Claims

14. A networking system comprising:

a network model, said model comprising a set of stored values representing estimates of a dynamically changing automated communication network;

a communication control, configured to automatically control communications through the dynamically changing automated communication network in dependence on said network model; and

an arbitrage agent, comprising at least one automated processor, configured to engage in an automatic arbitrage transaction with respect to a risk that said set of stored values representing estimates of the dynamically changing communication network are incorrect.

15. The networking system according to claim 14, wherein the arbitrage agent is configured to automatically negotiate with external sources to receive information adapted to improve the network model in consideration of payment of economic value, and to automatically negotiate with external sinks to transmit information dependent on the network model in consideration of receipt of economic value, wherein the arbitrage agent negotiates to achieve an economic profit, based on at least payments of economic value, the receipt of economic value, and a cost of communications.

16. The networking system according to claim 14, wherein the network model comprises information describing a risk factor and an inclusion cost of a set of available intermediary nodes which engage in the communications.

17. The networking system according to claim 14, wherein the dynamically changing communication network comprises a mobile ad hoc network.

18. The networking system according to claim 14, wherein the arbitrage agent is configured to engage in the automatic arbitrage transaction with a participant in a communication that has an risk tolerance with respect to the communication, wherein the arbitrage transaction reduces the risk incurred by the participant in the communication from a level above its risk tolerance to a level below its risk tolerance.

19. The networking system according to claim 14, wherein the communication control is configured to select one of a plurality of future configurations of the dynamically changing communication network, wherein at least one of said future configurations has an associated risk of failure, and wherein the arbitrage agent automatically reduces a predicted risk of failure of the at least one future configuration in consideration of an economic transaction.

20. A method of routing a communication, comprising:

defining a source node, a destination node, and at least two intermediate nodes;

estimating a network state of at least one of the intermediate nodes;

arbitraging a risk with respect to an accuracy of the estimate of network state with an automated arbitrage agent, wherein the automated arbitrage agent automatically receives an economic payment to at least one of reduce the risk and better define the risk; and

communicating between said source and said destination in dependence on the estimated network state, wherein the communication has an economic value which is statistically increased by the at least one of reduced risk and better defined risk, and the economic payment to the automated arbitrage agent is less than the increase in the economic value of the communication.

21. A method of optimizing an allocation of resources within members of a community, comprising:

(a) determining subjective resource value functions for a plurality of resources for members of the community;

(b) selecting an allocation of resources, optimized within an error limit to maximize an aggregate economic surplus of the community;

(c) charging members of the community in accordance with the allocation of resources and respective subjective resource value functions of respective members receiving an allocation; and

(d) distributing at least a portion of the economic surplus to members who defer receiving an allocation of resources as a result of the selecting.

22. A method of optimizing a market, comprising:

(a) providing at least four parties comprising at least one buyer, at least one seller, and at least one deferring party with respect to a transaction;

(b) matching bidders with offerors to maximize a surplus of the transaction; and

(c) automatically determining the surplus and allocating a portion of the determined surplus to at least one of the at least one deferring party using at least one automated processor, to motivate deference.

1. An arbitrage agent, comprising:

at least one memory storing system condition information representing an estimate of a system condition;

at least one memory storing accounting information representing an estimate of a system condition;

an interface port to an automated communication network; and

at least one automated processor, configured to automatically engage in a transaction with an automated remote agent, negotiated by communications through the interface port to the automated communication network,

wherein the transaction comprises at least a communication of the system condition information, and a compensation for the communicated system condition information based on at least a portion of the economic surplus resulting from a decrease in uncertainty risk as a result of the communicated system condition information, which results in a change in the stored accounting information.

2. The arbitrage agent according to claim 1, wherein the system condition represents a state of the automated communication network.

3. The arbitrage agent according to claim 1, wherein the compensation comprises at least a portion of a value of the decrease in uncertainty risk over a transaction cost.

4. The arbitrage agent according to claim 1, wherein the arbitrage agent is configured to receive the system condition information through the interface port and to store the received system condition information in the at least one memory, to transmit accounting information to compensate for the received system condition information, and to produce at least one output selectively dependent the stored system condition information having an associated economic value and having an associated risk of uncertainty that affects the associated economic value, wherein the received system condition information is adapted to reduce an estimated uncertainty risk and to increase an economic surplus associated with the at least one output.

5. The arbitrage agent according to claim 1, wherein the system condition defines a condition of the automated communication network, the arbitrage agent further comprises a communication system model which estimates an optimum set of communication parameters which are responsive to a communication system topology and risks associated with elements of the communication system topology, and the system condition information comprises information which define at least one of a portion of a communication system topology and a risk associated with at least one element of the communication system topology, wherein the arbitrage agent negotiates with the automated remote agent to receive relevant information to improve its communication system model and thereby decrease its uncertainty risk, wherein the at least one automated processor is further configured to conduct a communication distinct from the transaction through the communication network dependent on the communication system model.

6. The arbitrage agent according to claim 5, wherein the communications comprise packets of information, and are conducted through a packet router.

7. The arbitrage agent according to claim 1, wherein the arbitrage agent senses system condition information, and communicates the sensed system condition information to the automated remote agent as a result of the transaction.

8. The arbitrage agent according to claim 1, wherein the automated communication network comprises a multihop communication network, wherein the uncertainty risk relates to an availability of at least one node in the multihop communication network, and wherein the arbitrage agent is further configured to serve as a node of the multihop network.

9. The arbitrage agent according to claim 1, wherein the communication network comprises a mobile ad hoc communication network, wherein the uncertainty risk relates to a function of at least one mobile node, and wherein the arbitrage agent is further physically associated with at least one mobile node.

10. The arbitrage agent according to claim 1, wherein the automated communication network changes dynamically, the arbitrage agent is configured to receive system condition information from at least one automated remote agent in at least one first transaction for a first compensation, and to transmit system condition information in at least one second transaction for a second compensation, and the at least one automated processor is configured to negotiate the at least one first transaction and the at least one second transaction to product an economic profit based on an excess of the second compensation over the first compensation and a transactional cost.

11. The arbitrage agent according to claim 1, wherein the system condition information comprises a description of a respective uncertainty risk and an inclusion cost for members of a set of available intermediary nodes in a multinode communication.

12. The arbitrage agent according to claim 1, wherein the at least one automated processor is configured to negotiate the transaction with a participant in a communication that has an associated risk tolerance, wherein the transaction reduces the risk incurred by the participant and the arbitrage agent receives a payment of the compensation from the participant dependent on an amount of the reduction in risk.

13. The arbitrage agent according to claim 1, the arbitrage agent competes with other arbitrage agents for the transaction, and the compensation for the transaction is competitively determined based on the competition.

23. The method according to claim 22, wherein the transaction comprises an auction transaction, the allocating being adapted to encourage recruitment of entities into an auction, comprising:

said matching comprising defining a set of prevailing parties from amongst the at least four parties as a result of receiving respective bids in accordance with a set of auction rules; and

said automatically determining comprising automatically computing a distribution a portion of the determined economic surplus to the at least one of the at least one deferring party, in relation to a magnitude of a respective bid of a respective deferring party, wherein the portion is computed to be less than an economic surplus to the deferring party, to thereby incentivize the respective deferring party to participate in the auction.

23-1. The method according to claim 22, wherein the transaction is an automatically conducted combinatorial auction.