Generic distributed processing unit for multi-agent systems

• US 9,378,070 B2
• Filed: 02/03/2014
• Issued: 06/28/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 02/01/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Introspective Power, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Introspective Power, Inc.
• Inventors: Thompson, Anthony Scott
• Primary Examiner(s): Sall, El Hadji
• Application Number:
  US14/171,375
• Publication Number:
  US 20140222887A1
• Time in Patent Office: 876 Days
• Field of Search: 709/201, 709/200, 709/229, 709/224
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/541 via adapters, e.g. between incompatible applications
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/542 Event management; Broadcasting; Multicasting; Notifications
• 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 67/51 Discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services

Abstract

Generic Distributed Processing Unit (DPU) for Multi-Agent Systems (MAS) is disclosed. The DPU based system is a Machine 2 Machine (M2M) interface that is fast, flexible, redundant and scalable. It allows the handling of unlikely edge cases that Human Machine Interfaces (HMI) can not. It also allows the processing of excessive amounts of ancillary data that are not processed easily with an HMI arrangement. In the digital ecosystem, any like DPU can back up any other making the system exceedingly robust.

Claims

1. A distributed, control system comprising:

a plurality of system agents configured to send events, the plurality of system agents each being further configured to select between a plurality of distributed processors;

a transformer connected to receive events sent by the system agents, the transformer being configured to transform received agent specific events into a common format for processing by the plurality of distributed processors;

said plurality of distributed processors each including an event reactor that reacts to events sent by the system agents, the event reactor using a reactor design pattern to enable a distributed processor to register for events;

said plurality of distributed processors each further including an event processor, the event reactor brokering events to be evaluated and potentially acted upon by the event processors;

the plurality of distributed processors supplying commands to the plurality of system agents for action and response to thereby control and automate reactions to the events while providing redundancy and automatic fail-over.

2. The process of claim 1 wherein the system agent(s) send system events to those particular distributed processors registered to receive said system events, the distributed processors sending responses that the system agents are configured to evaluate the timing of to enable the system agents to select the use of more optimal distributed processors based on which distributed processors respond earlier.