Adaptive collaborative intelligent network system

• US 6,513,059 B1
• Filed: 08/24/2000
• Issued: 01/28/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 08/24/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Cambira Corporation
• Original Assignee: Cambira Corporation
• Inventors: Gupta, Pradeep, Kondratiev, Dmitri
• Primary Examiner(s): Eng, David Y.
• Application Number:
  US09/648,299
• Time in Patent Office: 887 Days
• Field of Search: 709/202, 709/203, 709/249
• US Class Current: 709/202
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/954 Navigation, e.g. using categorised browsing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/4862 the task being a mobile agent, i.e. specifically designed to migrate
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management

Abstract

System and method for facilitating exchange of information on a computer network, such as the Internet. The system provides one or more context trees, with each tree including two or more connected nodes, each node being associated with one or more selected node objects. Associated with each node is a blackboard for receiving and making available for reading, messages concerning the node object, a knowledge base containing information, facts, constraints and-or rules (Rules) concerning the node object, and an inference engine providing at least one logical rule that can be used to infer a logical conclusion based on at least one Rule in the knowledge base. A tree has a collection of at least two mobile intelligent agents that are configured to facilitate exchange of information on a node object, between two agents or between a node and an agent. An agent may migrate from a first node to a second node connected to the first node. An agent, by subscribing to the Rules of a node, is permitted to post a message on, and to read a message posted on, a blackboard for the subscribed node. The collection of agents has at least one tree agent that has knowledge of nodes that are directlz connected to each node in the tree.

Claims

1. A system for facilitating exchange of information on a computer network, the system comprising:

a context tree having at least first and second connected context nodes, with each node being associated with at least one selected node object and including a knowledge base containing at least one of information, a fact, a constraint and a rule, referred to collectively as “

Rules,”

concerning the node object; and

a collection of at least first and second mobile intelligent agents that are configured to exchange information concerning a node object between the agents and between a node and at least one or the first agent and the second agent, where the first agent, by subscribing to the Rules of a node, is permitted to post a message for the second agent at, and to read a message from the second agent at, the subscribed node, the collection of agents having at least one tree agent that has knowledge of structure of the tree and of all nodes that are directly connected to each node of the tree, and where at least one of the first agent and the second agent may migrate from the first node to a node directly connected to the first node, and where at least one of the first node and the second node, and an agent that subscribes to the at least one node, serve as a hub and a spoke, respectively, in communication within the tree.

2. The system of claim 1, further comprising a node change mechanism that receives and implements a change of at least one of said Rules at at least one of said nodes at a selected time.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein said change mechanism implements said change of at least one of said Rules at a time said change is received by at least one of said nodes.

4. The system of claim 2, wherein at least one of said change mechanism and said node at which said change is implemented implements a change, at a second selected time, in at least one of said agents that subscribes to said node.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein said collection of agents includes at least one controller agent that ensures that, if one of said agents subscribes to said Rules at said at least one node, said subscribing agent takes no action at said at least one node that is inconsistent with any of said Rules.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein first and second subscribing agents at said at least one node are assigned first and second tasks, respectively, concerning said node object, and the first and second subscribing agents collaborate to perform the first and second tasks.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein at least one of said first agent and said second agent has a capability of replicating at least one of said nodes.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein at least one of said subscribing agents posts a semantic message at said subscribed node.

9. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

a blackboard mechanism for receiving and making available for reading one or more messages concerning said node object; and

an inference mechanism providing at least one logical rule that can be used to infer a logical conclusion based on at least one Rule in said knowledge base.

10. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

a second context tree having at least first and second connected nodes, with each of the nodes being associated with at least one second tree node object and including a knowledge base containing at least one of information, a fact, a constraint and a rule, referred to collectively as “

Rules”

for the second tree, concerning the second tree node object; and

a second collection of at least third and fourth mobile intelligent agents that are configured to exchange information concerning a second tree node object between the third and fourth agents and between a node and at least one of the third and fourth agents, where the third agent, by subscribing to the Rules of the second tree node, is permitted to post a message for the fourth agent at, and to read a message from the fourth agent at, the subscribed second tree node, the collection of second tree agents having at least one second tree agent that has knowledge of structure of the second tree and of all nodes that are directly connected to each node of the second tree, and where at least one of the third agent and the fourth agent may migrate from the third node to a node directly connected to the third node, and where at least one of the third node and the second fourth and an agent that subscribes to the at least one node of the second tree serve as a hub and a spoke, respectively, in communication within the second tree.

11. The system of claim 2, wherein said at least one agent that serves as said spoke receives and implements a change of at least one of said Rules from said at least one changed node, which serves as said hub and which has received and implemented the change in the at least one of said Rules from said node change mechanism at said changed node.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein said at least one agent that serves as said spoke that has received and implemented said change of at least one of said Rules from said changed node delivers information concerning said change of at least one of said Rules to at least one node other than said changed node.

13. The system of claim 7, wherein, when at least one of said first and second agents replicates one of said nodes, the replicated node has a knowledge base with the same Rules as said node from which the replicated node was replicated.

14. The system of claim 8, wherein said subscribing agent expresses said semantic message in a language that is shared by said subscribed node and at least one other node.

15. The system of claim 9, wherein said first and second agents communicate with each other by posting and reading messages on said blackboard mechanism associated with at least one of said nodes.

16. The system of claim 10, further comprising a change mechanism that receives and implements a change of at least one of said Rules at at least one of said nodes of said second context tree at a selected time.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein said second context tree node communicates with at least one of said first and second nodes on said first context tree, and said second tree change mechanism implements a change of at least one of said Rules at said second context tree node in response to receipt of selected information from at least one of said first and second nodes on said first context tree.

18. The system of claim 1, wherein said context tree has at least a third context tree node, said first node serves as a parent node for and is directly connected to said second node, said second node serves as a child node for said first node, said second node serves as a parent node for and is directly connected to the third node, and the third node serves as a child node for said second node.

19. The system of claim 18, further comprising a node change mechanism, associated with said second node, that receives and implements a change of at least one of said Rules at said second node, wherein said second node communicates the information on the change in at least one of said Rules to at least one of said first node and the third node using at least one of said first and second agents.

20. The system of claim 19, further comprising a node change mechanism, associated with at least one of said first and third nodes, that receives and implements a change of at least one of said Rules at said first node and said third node, in response to receipt from said second node of information on said change of at least one of said Rules at said second node.

21. The system of claim 1, further comprising a runtime framework mechanism that receives and implements a change of said context tree by at least one of the following actions:

(1) transport at least one selected information item from said first node to said second node;

(2) add to said context tree a selected added group of one or more context nodes, connected to at least one of said first and second nodes, with each node in the selected added group being associated with at least one of said selected node objects and including a knowledge base containing at least one of said Rules concerning at least one node in the selected added group of nodes;

(3) delete a selected deleted group of one or more context nodes from said context tree;

(4) encrypt selected information exchanged by at least one of said agents;

(5) decrypt information exchanged by at least one of said agents;

(6) grant access by a selected agent to a selected node for a selected interval of time;

(7) receive a statement of a selected lifetime for at least one of said agents and enforce the selected lifetime for the at least one of said agents; and

(8) delete at least one information item associated with the at least one of said agents that has been terminated because of end of the lifetime for the at least one of said agents.

22. The system of claim 1, wherein at least one of said first agent and said second agent has a capability of replicating at least one of said first agent and said second agent.

23. The system of claim 1, wherein said first and second agents are configured to communicate with each other in at least one agent communication language drawn from a group of languages consisting of CORBA, XML and WAP.

24. The system of claim 1, wherein said first and second agents are configured to be transported from said first node to said second node in at least one agent communication language drawn from a group of languages consisting of CORBA, XML and WAP.

25. The system of claim 1, wherein at least one of said first and second agents is configured to be addressable by specifying said node at which said at least one agent has subscribed to said Rules of said node.

26. The system of claim 1, wherein at least one of said first and second agents provides at least one run time service, introduced at at least one of said first and second context nodes at run time and drawn from a group of services, associated with said context tree, consisting of garbage collection, leasing, encryption, security, access control and discovery.

27. The system of claim 26, wherein at least one of said first and second agents has a capability of upgrading said at least one provided run time service without affecting another of said run time services.

28. The system of claim 26, wherein said at least one provided run time service is implemented automatically.

29. The system of claim 1, wherein each of said first node and said second node is associated with a computer and a computer protocol, and the first node computer protocol is different from the second node computer protocol.

30. The system of claim 1, wherein each of said first node and said second node is associated with a computer and a computer protocol, and the first node computer is different from the second node computer.

31. The system of claim 1, wherein said first and second agents cooperate to perform a selected task at at least one of said first and second nodes.

32. The system of claim 1, wherein at least one of said first and second agents performs context wiring by transferring knowledge of an information item from said first node to said second node, where said at least one agent subscribes to said first and second nodes.

33. The system of claim 1, wherein at least one of said first and second agents is a tree that performs at least one of the following tasks:

(1) passing of at least one message between said first and second nodes;

(2) addition of at least one node to said context tree;

(3) deletion of at least one node from said context tree;

(4) negotiation of at least one of said Rules at at least one of said first and second nodes;

(5) modification of at least one of said Rules at at least one of said first and second nodes; and

(6) modification of said knowledge base associated with at least one of said first and second nodes.

34. The system of claim 1, wherein at least one of said first and second nodes receives and incorperates a change in said knowledge base of the receiving node and creates at least a third mobile intelligent agent that subscribes to the recieving node after the change in said knowledge base and that is permitted to post a message for at least one of said first and second agents at, and to read a message from at least one of said first and second agents at, the receiving node.