Application Of Intelligent Agents Research Articles

Optimising website services through the utilisation of intelligent software agents: theoretical foundations and practical implications

The joint application of web services and intelligent software agents leads to the creation of intelligent web services. Applying intelligent software agents (ISAs) would increase the capability of website administrators in responding to the user’s needs at the right time and with high quality and safety. This paper intends to develop a conceptual framework through a comprehensive investigation of the broad literature of ISAs so as to assist the developers in designing and optimising the web services. The main goal of this paper is to represent a comprehensive framework based on the collection and classification of important services of websites as well as categorising the ISAs in order to be utilised in implementing these important services in order to improve the quality of service usage. This classification is based on a deep and complete review of the most applicable services in websites through the study of the top one hundred websites’ services of the world through the most visited websites. Describing the classification of agents and their significant features has led to the identification of the main intelligent agents for implementing the services of websites in order to optimise the usage of such services.

A survey of pedagogical functions of intelligent agents in virtual learning environments

This paper provides a literature review and perspectives on employing Intelligent Agents for human learning in virtual learning environments. The paper provides: (1) Research literature that employs AI functions and methods for educational or training purposes by the use of Intelligent Software Agents. (2) Analysis of the pedagogical functions; pedagogical gain of employing pedagogical agents. Selected essential topics to learning with agents are investigated including personalization with intelligent agents, cognitive and meta-cognitive agents for teaching, emotions and affections of embodied pedagogical agents and agents as virtual humans. Applications of using intelligent agents are demonstrated from an educational perspective.

Applications of Intelligent Agents in Hospital Search and Appointment System

Access to the correct healthcare facility is a major concern for most people, many of whom gather information about the existing hospitals and healthcare facilities in their locality. After gathering such information, people must do a comparison of the information, make a selection, and then make an appointment with the concerned doctor. The time spent for this purpose would be a major constraint for many individuals. Research is currently underway in this area on incorporating Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to improve the services available in the health industry. This paper proposes an agent based approach to replicate the same search operations as the individual would otherwise do, by employing an intelligent agent. The proposed agent based system has been simulated and also validated through implementation on an individual’s smart phone or a PDA using JADE-LEAP agent development kit.

The application of intelligent agents in libraries: a survey

PurposeThe purpose of this article is to provide a comprehensive literature review on the utilisation of intelligent agent technology in the library environment.Design/methodology/approachResearch papers since 1990 on the use of various intelligent agent technologies in libraries are divided into two main application areas: digital library (DL), including agent‐based DL projects, multi‐agent architecture for DLs, intelligent agents for distributed heterogeneous information retrieval and agent support to information search process in DLs; and services in traditional libraries, including user interface for library information systems, automatic reference services and multi‐agent architecture for library services. For each paper on the topic, its new ideas or models, referred work, analyses, experiments, findings and conclusions are addressed.FindingsThe majority of the literature covers DLs and there have been fewer studies about services in traditional libraries. A variety of architecture, framework and models integrating agent technology in library systems or services are proposed, but only a few have been implemented in the practical environment. The application of agent technology is still at the research and experimentation stage. Agent technology has great potential in many areas in the library context; however it presents challenges to libraries that want to be involved in its adoption.Practical implicationsThe survey has practical implications for libraries, librarians and computer professionals in developing projects that employ intelligent agent technology to meet end‐users' expectations as well as to improve information services within limited resources in library settings.Originality/valueThe paper provides a comprehensive survey on the development and research of intelligent agents in libraries in literature.

Intelligent agents driving computer generated forces for simulating human behaviour in urban riots

Over the last decade the authors have been working on several researches concerning the use of intelligent agents for managing simulation of critical situations in security, such as managing civil disorders, riots or terrorist actions. The adoption of intelligent agents to reproduce human behaviour is a key factor to implement realistic models for security and civil protection. Human behaviour is very complex to be simulated and it is important to early test final results to get consistent models. In this paper is described the use of early testing procedures to anticipate results before the VV&A phase. It is, in fact, useful to adopt this kind of early testing activities in application of intelligent agents with human behavioural models.

Requirement analysis for autonomous systems and intelligent agents in future Danish electric power systems

Denmark has already achieved a record of 20% penetration of wind power and now moving towards even higher targets with an increasing part of the electricity produced by distributed generators (DGs). In this paper we report work from a sub activity subgrid design of the EcoGrid.dk1 project. First we review innovative control architectures in electric power systems such as Microgrids, Virtual power plants and Cell based systems. We evaluate application of autonomous systems and intelligent agents in each of these control architectures particularly in the context of Denmark's strategic energy plans. The second part formulates a flexible control architecture for electric power systems with very high penetration of distributed generation. This control architecture is based upon the requirements identified in the first part. We also present development of a software framework to test such flexible control architectures. Keywords: Electric power system, distributed control, autonomous systems, intelligent agents

A multi‐agent architecture to support B2C e‐Marketplaces: the e‐ZOCO case study

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to introduce a multi‐agent architecture, which offers services to be applied in B2C e‐Marketplaces and to present the core system: the search agent.Design/methodology/approachThe different parts that compose an e‐commerce portal are naturally performed through intelligent agents, which have the ability to communicate with one another and autonomously act depending on defined goals.FindingsThe search agent returns the more relevant results in direct shopping than others previously used. It is based on a usability‐improved fuzzy searching mechanism that allows the specification of uncertain and vague searching preferences.Research limitations/implicationsMore empirical research efforts need to be directed to study the efficiency over time. This work is based on a prototype, which is its main limitation.Practical implicationsIntelligent agents can be useful to improve e‐commerce services in B2C portals.Originality/valueThe research extends previous authors' work on the application of intelligent agents to e‐commerce fields.

Agent-Based Multi-Source Wide-Area Current Protection for Systems With Distributed Generators

With the introduction of distribution generation, the distribution network changes from radial network into multi-source network, so the traditional inverse-time over-current protection based on radial network is not applicable. The demand for the research of a new type of protection strategy is urgent. This paper introduces the application of intelligent agents to the protection of the distribution system with distributed generators (DGs). The method of fault location is accomplished in two steps. First, find out the node with a T-type branch formed by the DG connection, through comparing amplitude of power frequency variation of each branch to lock the fault branch and to narrow down the fault area between two T-type nodes. So as to find out the specific fault area B, namely the smallest power-cut scope, in the sketchy fault area, amplitude comparison of fault current and PFVC at the line section’s two ends is used to discriminate whether fault occurs in this section. Once this method fails the phase relation between PFVC and load current after the shifted phase would be applied, so that fault area B is located. The scheme of protection is applicable in fault area location for complicated networks with distributed generation and the proposed intelligent multi-agent-based architecture is illustrated.

New application of intelligent agents in sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis identifies unexpected specific genetic background

BackgroundFew genetic factors predisposing to the sporadic form of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) have been identified, but the pathology itself seems to be a true multifactorial disease in which complex interactions between environmental and genetic susceptibility factors take place. The purpose of this study was to approach genetic data with an innovative statistical method such as artificial neural networks to identify a possible genetic background predisposing to the disease. A DNA multiarray panel was applied to genotype more than 60 polymorphisms within 35 genes selected from pathways of lipid and homocysteine metabolism, regulation of blood pressure, coagulation, inflammation, cellular adhesion and matrix integrity, in 54 sporadic ALS patients and 208 controls. Advanced intelligent systems based on novel coupling of artificial neural networks and evolutionary algorithms have been applied. The results obtained have been compared with those derived from the use of standard neural networks and classical statistical analysisResultsAdvanced intelligent systems based on novel coupling of artificial neural networks and evolutionary algorithms have been applied. The results obtained have been compared with those derived from the use of standard neural networks and classical statistical analysis. An unexpected discovery of a strong genetic background in sporadic ALS using a DNA multiarray panel and analytical processing of the data with advanced artificial neural networks was found. The predictive accuracy obtained with Linear Discriminant Analysis and Standard Artificial Neural Networks ranged from 70% to 79% (average 75.31%) and from 69.1 to 86.2% (average 76.6%) respectively. The corresponding value obtained with Advanced Intelligent Systems reached an average of 96.0% (range 94.4 to 97.6%). This latter approach allowed the identification of seven genetic variants essential to differentiate cases from controls: apolipoprotein E arg158cys; hepatic lipase -480 C/T; endothelial nitric oxide synthase 690 C/T and glu298asp; vitamin K-dependent coagulation factor seven arg353glu, glycoprotein Ia/IIa 873 G/A and E-selectin ser128arg.ConclusionThis study provides an alternative and reliable method to approach complex diseases. Indeed, the application of a novel artificial intelligence-based method offers a new insight into genetic markers of sporadic ALS pointing out the existence of a strong genetic background.

An intelligent-agent approach for congestion management in 3G networks

The exploitation of wideband code division multiple access (W-CDMA) technology in third generation (3G) networks gives an inherent flexibility in managing the system capacity, although radio resource management (RRM), including congestion management, is more complicated. To guarantee the quality of service (QoS) provided to customers, the concept of a “service level agreement” (SLA) is introduced and these must be managed by the RRM. This work proposes the application of intelligent agents in SLA-based control in the RRM, essentially for congestion management and demonstrates the ability of intelligent agents to improve and maintain the QoS to meet the required SLA. A particularly novel aspect of this work is the use of learning (case-based reasoning—CBR) to predict the control strategies to be imposed. If there is no congestion, the network operates as provisioned, but, if congestion occurs, it is detected by the agent monitoring process and CBR will be used to provide a suitable policy either by recalling from experience or recalculating the solution from its knowledge. With this approach, the system performance will be monitored at all times and a suitable policy can be applied immediately as the system environment changes, resulting in the QoS being maintained.

Intelligent Agent–Supported Online Education

ABSTRACTWith the development of Internet technologies, online distance education is becoming an important format for teaching, learning, and instruction. In the 21st century, bleeding edge technologies make it possible for more and more students, especially adults, to benefit from an online education. This new paradigm in education allows students to pursue a second or third degree without sacrificing their jobs. Despite the advances in technology, existing online course management systems are far behind in the technological applications needed to deliver the highest quality online education. The existing distance education systems do not give enough consideration to many important issues, like personalization, mobility of students and instructors, and coordination among online study groups, which seriously affect further development of online education. This article discusses the potential applications of intelligent agents and other modern technologies to solve these problems and make online education more accountable in the open and dynamic environment.

A virtual electronic trading system for business‐to‐business e‐commerce

PurposeUntil recently, only large companies could afford to develop and maintain computer systems to automate their trading processes. These ad hoc solutions are expensive and preclude widespread applications because they often address specific issues. This paper addresses some of these issues by proposing a business‐to‐business (b2b) electronic trading framework known as virtual electronic trading (VET).Design/methodology/approachWith personal computers and the internet, it is now possible to realize a generic electronic infrastructure for virtual trading. A modular approach has been adopted in the development of VET to ensure a high degree of flexibility, scalability, maintainability and upgradeability. Overall, the design goal is to make sure that the system performs effectively and reliably.FindingsA survey of existing b2b electronic trading systems has been conducted. Key attributes of these systems and areas of improvements are highlighted. These form the basis of VET.Research limitations/implicationsThe VET framework forms the basis for further research. Two examples are highlighted, namely: application of intelligent agents to perform the of market‐maker task; and development into a mobile commerce system when mobile technology and infrastructure can support such services.Practical implicationsAn important contribution of our work is that the VET system provides a generic framework for a variety of business models and practices. Owing to the modular design, it can be easily customized to suit different (specialized) trading communities.Originality/valueIt is a systematic approach in developing a b2b e‐trading system that addresses users' needs by applying the most up‐to‐date computing and internetworking technology.

IShopFloor : An Internet-Enabled Agent-Based Intelligent Shop Floor

Global competition is driving manufacturing companies to change the way they do business. New kinds of shop floor control systems need to be implemented for these companies to respond quickly to changing shop floor environments and customer demands. This paper presents a new concept called iShopFloor-an intelligent shop floor based on the Internet, web, and agent technologies. It focuses on the implementation of distributed intelligence in the manufacturing shop floor. The proposed approach provides the framework for components of a complex control system to work together as a whole rather than as a disjoint set. It encompasses both information architecture and integration methodologies. The paper introduces the basic concept of iShopFloor, a generic system architecture, and system components. It also describes the implementation of eXtensible Markup Language message services in iShopFloor and the application of intelligent agents to distributed manufacturing scheduling. A prototype environment is presented, and some implementation issues are discussed.

Adaptive manufacturing scheduling: a flexible and configurable agent-based prototype

To improve the decision support tools available to manufacturing engineers operating in less than certain environments, an agent-based manufacturing scheduling system has been developed. In this paper, the application of intelligent agents to manufacturing problems is discussed and a description of the developed system is provided. The proof-of-concept demonstrator was developed using the JADE platform, XML ontology and a message passing system based on the contract-net protocol. The system was designed to be generic, allowing it to be tailored to suit a wide variety of different manufacturing problems. To demonstrate this, the system was used to model an existing manufacturing cell within Rolls-Royce. The system successfully produced schedules of comparable quality to the existing control system, with the added capability to proactively adapt to changing circumstances. Further work includes the development of a statistical analysis tool set to support and further testing to quantify the operational benefits of the agent-based scheduler.

Evolving Telemedicine/eHealth Technology

This paper describes emerging technologies to support a rapidly changing and expanding scope of telemedicine/telehealth applications. Of primary interest here are wireless systems, emerging broadband, nanotechnology, intelligent agent applications, and grid computing. More specifically, the paper describes the changes underway in wireless designs aimed at enhancing security; some of the current work involving the development of nanotechnology applications and research into the use of intelligent agents/artificial intelligence technology to establish what are termed "Knowbots"; and a sampling of the use of Web services, such as grid computing capabilities, to support medical applications. In addition, the expansion of these technologies and the need for cost containment to sustain future health care for an increasingly mobile and aging population is discussed.

The design of intelligent workflow monitoring with agent technology

In recent years, workflow technology has been widely used in business process management. With the increased complexity, uncertainty and risks in business operations, workflow monitoring is gaining growing attention in business process controlling and supervision. However, monitoring functions provided in traditional workflow systems lack flexibility, and provide little support for managing complex and dynamical changes in business process. In this paper, we propose a novel workflow monitoring approach, in which various intelligent agents work together to perform flexible monitoring tasks in an autonomous and collaborative way. By using customized monitoring plan and proactive monitoring process, the workflow monitoring activities can be executed flexibly and efficiently. The application of intelligent agents for such flexible, adaptive and collaborative workflow monitoring is investigated through an intelligent monitoring system in securities trading.

Intelligent agents on the Web: a review

Intelligent agents are goal-driven and autonomous, and can communicate and interact with each other. Moreover, they can evaluate information obtained online from heterogeneous sources and present information tailored to an individual's needs. This article covers different facets of the intelligent agent paradigm and applications, while also exploring new opportunities and trends for intelligent agents.

Multi-agent-based anticipatory control for enhancing the safety and performance of Generation-IV nuclear power plants during long-term semi-autonomous operation

The use of multi-agents and anticipatory control to improve the performance and safety of nuclear power plants is discussed. The propose program seeks to advance and test via simulation a new control approach for the long-term semiautonomous and economically competitive operation of Generation-IV nuclear power plants. The approach exploits a simple but potentially powerfull idea: In order to regulate themselves in a semi-autonomous manner and be protected from potential anomalies, Generation-IV plants should act proactively, that is, effect control in anticipation of (not just in response to) potential contingencies. It is proposed to envelop the plant with two anticipatory control blankets, one pertaining to problems emerging due to wear and fatigue, and the other pertaining to unanticipated design basis events. Nuclear power plants are by their design well suited for the application of intelligent agents to carry out the safety assurance functions as they are well instrumented for purpose of defining their safety status. Each of the monitoring and control subsystems can be “agentized; i.e., legacy (existing) codes can be encapsulated in an agent “wrapper”, enabling critical information to be autonomously distributed to any agent that needs it to perform its prescribed task.

GIS Applications Using Agent Technology

There is an increasing interest in agent-oriented technology, spanning applications as diverse as information retrieval, user interface design and network management. Application of intelligent agents in the GIS environment is actively being explored. Many different types of agents are being employed to improve usability of GIS software as well as users access to geospatial data and services available through Internet. Geospatial information retrieval and filter, intelligent geospatial search engine, knowledge discovery, decision model assessment and optimization are typical applications based on agents. This paper presents a short introduction to agent and the main research areas in agent technology. The heart of the paper is an overview of applications of intelligent agents in GIS. These applications have been classified in different categories. The paper concludes with an example of a web search tool, Special Spatial Search (3S), to showcase the uses of agent technology. 3S is developed to assist users in geospatial related searching over the web.

Ensuring the Success of Contract Formation in Agent-Mediated Electronic Commerce

This article examines a number of contractual issues generated by the advent of intelligent agent applications. The aim of the study is to provide legal guidelines for developers of intelligent agent software by addressing the contractual difficulties associated with automated electronic transactions. The author investigates whether the requirements for a legally enforceable contract are satisfied by agent applications that operate independent of human supervision. Given the relative novelty of the technology and the paucity of case law in the area, the author's observations and conclusions are based on an analysis of first principles in contract law. Additionally, the author provides an analysis of whether proposed and enacted electronic commerce legislation in various jurisdictions is sufficient to cure the inherent deficiencies of traditional contract doctrine. Given the trend towards automated electronic commerce, the author concludes by highlighting the legal requirements that must be met in order to ensure the success of agent technology in the formation of online contracts.