Abstract
AbstractIn order to expand the domain of problems addressable by expert systems, co‐operation is required. To enable this co‐operation, a free exchange of ‘thoughts’ between individual expert systems must be provided. A transparent, modularized communication system, called Backtalk, consisting of a router process and an incoming and outgoing message process pair associated with each expert system has been developed. All messages are sent to the router, which is responsible for determining the exact address of the destination agent and passing the message to the agent. The system uses Unix pipes to pass information between different agents, thereby providing generality in the system. The Backtalk system is similar to the communication system put forth by Bridgeland, Huhns and Arni, but has advantages in dynamic systems. This paper also describes a solution to the issue of defining when messages are allowed to affect the problem‐solving activity of a receiving agent. The system has been tested with communicating expert systems written in the Accord system.
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