Method and apparatus that improves the technique by which a plurality of agents process information distributed over a network through by way of a contract net protocol

• US 6,557,025 B1
• Filed: 09/03/1998
• Issued: 04/29/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 09/05/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Nagai, Yasuo, Ohsuga, Akihiko, Hattori, Masanori, Irie, Yutaka, Honiden, Shinichi
• Primary Examiner(s): Harrell, Robert B.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Vaughn, Jr., William C.
• Application Number:
  US09/146,669
• Time in Patent Office: 1,699 Days
• Field of Search: 709/200, 709/249, 709/201, 709/224, 709/202, 709/223, 709/317, 709/205, 709/238, 707/10, 714/1, 714/4, 714/26, 706/15, 706/49, 706/46
• US Class Current: 709/202
• 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 section 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 section 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 section 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:

an agent generation section which generates an agent corresponding to a request;

a planning section which generates a plan which satisfies said request;

a determination section which determines a reliability of a communication line in the case where an uncertain knowledge is used for generation of said plan by said planning section, wherein the uncertain knowledge is processed by other nodes than the information processing apparatus;

a selecting section which selects one of a processing of a movement of the agent and a processing based on a contract net protocol in accordance with said reliability; and

an execution section which executes the plan after the processing of said uncertain knowledge by said other nodes.

2. An information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a replanning section configured to generate another plan by said planning section in the case where said first plan fails to be executed.

3. An information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said determination section 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 a determination section 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 section 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 a recording section configured to record usage history of an uncertain knowledge in said planning section, and

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

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

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,

at least one of said remote nodes and said local nodes comprising;

a section configured to input a request;

a section configured to generate an agent corresponding to the request inputted from said input section;

a planning section configured to generate a plan which satisfies said request;

a section configured to determine a reliability of a communication line in the case where an uncertain knowledge is used for generation of said plan by said planning section, wherein the uncertain knowledge is processed by other nodes than the at least one of said remote nodes;

a selecting section configured 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; and

an executing section configured to execute the plan after said other nodes process said uncertain knowledge.

9. An agent processing system according to claim 8, further comprising a replanning section configured to generate another plan by said planning section in the case where said plan fails to be executed.

10. An agent processing system according to claim 8, wherein said determination section 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 section 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 section 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:

a planning section configured to generate a plan to be executed by said agents;

a section configured to judge the reliability of a communication line connecting a node generating said plan and the network in the case where said plan generated includes a plan requiring processing in other nodes;

a section configured to move the agent for executing said plan to another node in the case where the reliability of said communication line is low;

a cooperation section configured to request at least one agent of other nodes to execute said plan in the case where said reliability is high; and

a section configured to execute the plan generated.

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

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

a section configured to realize a cooperation protocol between the agents based on the information exchanged between the agents through said blackboard section 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 a field management section configured to use 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 section is configured to use a contract net protocol.

19. An information processing apparatus according to claim 15, further comprising a communication section configured to exchange 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:

a first instruction section configured to cause a computer to input a request;

a second instruction section configured to cause a computer to generate an agent corresponding to the request;

a third instruction section configured to cause a computer to generate a plan which satisfies said request;

a fourth instruction section configured to cause a computer to determine a reliability of a communication line in the case where an uncertain knowledge is used for said third instruction section, wherein the uncertain knowledge is processed by other nodes than the node containing the computer readable memory;

a fifth instruction section configured to cause a computer to select one of a processing of a movement of the agent and a processing based on a contract net protocol in accordance with said reliability; and

a sixth instruction section configured to cause a computer to execute the plan after the processing of said uncertain knowledge by said other nodes.

28. A computer-readable memory according to claim 27, further comprising an instruction section configured to cause a computer to generate another plan in the case where the plan fails to be executed.

29. A computer-readable memory according to claim 27, wherein said fourth instruction section 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 section 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 section 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 an instruction section configured to cause a computer to record usage history of an uncertain knowledge in said planning, and

wherein said fourth instruction section 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 section causes a computer to detect usage of said uncertain knowledge by searching for contents of a plan generated by said planning.

34. An information processing apparatus in which information distributed over a network is processed by an agent, the apparatus comprising:

a planning section configured to generate a plan of the agent which is to be executed by the agent based on a user input request;

a determination section configured to determine a reliability of a communication line connected between the apparatus and the network when said plan includes uncertain knowledge, wherein the uncertain knowledge is processed by other nodes than the information processing apparatus;

an uncertain knowledge processing section configured to selectively perform one of a movement of the agent and a contract net protocol based on the reliability of the communication line; and

an execution section configured to execute the plan after said uncertain knowledge processing section performs one of the movement of the agent and the contract net protocol.

35. An information processing apparatus according to claim 34, further comprising a replanning section configured to generate another plan when said execution section fails to execute the plan.

36. An information processing apparatus according to claim 34, wherein said determination section determines whether the reliability of the communication line is high or low according to a line type included in a network configuration information.

37. An information processing apparatus according to claim 34, wherein said determination section determines whether the reliability of the communication line is high or low according to a history information of a communication error or a link establishment error occurred in the local node.

38. An information processing apparatus according to claim 34, wherein said uncertain knowledge processing section performs the movement of the agent when the reliability of said communication line is low, and the contract net protocol when the reliability of said communication line is not low.

39. An information processing apparatus according to claim 34, further comprising a recording section configured to record usage history of the uncertain knowledge, and

wherein said determination section detects that said plan includes said uncertain knowledge on the basis of the usage history recorded in said recording section.

40. An information processing apparatus according to claim 34, wherein said determination section detects that said plan includes said uncertain knowledge by searching for contents of the plan.