AGENT MEETING SCHEDULER

This dissertation is purposed to record all the data gathered throughout author's study and research for this project. A deep study of agent algorithm is conducted based on current available agent meeting scheduler from combination of software agent and algorithm data structure knowledge. The current problem of typical meeting scheduler is it is time consuming and inefficient; and also a resource needs to be allocated to perform the meeting scheduling job. Agent meeting scheduler will be used to replace this typical meeting scheduler to make it more efficient in term of deciding meeting time. The study is meant to research and select suitable algorithm to be implemented in agent meeting scheduler. An agent meeting scheduler prototype then will be developed to prove that the selected algorithm is working properly. Qualitative research method is being used to gather necessary data on agent algorithm and this data will be used to select the suitable algorithm. Through the research conducted on available algorithm for agent meeting scheduler, genetic algorithm is selected to be used in this project. The agent meeting scheduler prototype then will be developed by using PHP language. PHP is selected for its interactivity and extensibility

Spatio-Temporal Context in Agent-Based Meeting Scheduling

Meeting scheduling is a common task for organizations of all sizes. It involves searching for a time and place when and where all the participants can meet. However, scheduling a meeting is generally difficult in that it attempts to satisfy the preferences of all participants. Negotiation tends to be an iterative and time consuming task. Proxy agents can handle the negotiation on behalf of the individuals without sacrificing their privacy or overlooking their preferences. This thesis examines the implications of formalizing meeting scheduling as a spatiotemporal negotiation problem. The “Children in the Rectangular Forest” (CRF) canonical model is applied to meeting scheduling. By formalizing meeting scheduling within the CRF model, a generalized problem emerges that establishes a clear relationship with other spatiotemporal distributed scheduling problems. The thesis also examines the implications of the proposed formalization to meeting scheduling negotiations. A protocol for meeting location selection is presented and evaluated using simulations

Ontologies in a Multi-Agent System for Automated Scheduling

Multi-Agent Systems (MAS) have been successfully used in a wide range of applications such as robotics and e-commerce, and in particular in planning and scheduling. The aim of this paper is to present the interesting features that the use of ontologies in MAS offers. As an example, the development of a MAS for automated planning and scheduling in a University Research Group Scenario is shown in this paper. In this scenario, researchers are frequently proposed to attend internal meetings about several subjects such as lessons planning or research evaluations. Scheduling and negotiating meeting details such as time and location becomes highly complicated as the number of intended attendees increases. Moreover, there are usually conflicts about the use of some common resources such as portable computers or projectors. As can be seen, the scheduling problem that the MAS solves is very easy. So having solved it is not what is important about this paper. In contrast, what is important is the potential which a scheduler can schedule for the items whose description, for example, is on the web, and can read on it (without knowing a~priori) the logic of how the scheduling can be done

AGENT MEETING SCHEDULER

This dissertation is purposed to record all the data gathered throughout author's study and research for this project. A deep study of agent algorithm is conducted based on current available agent meeting scheduler from combination of software agent and algorithm data structure knowledge. The current problem of typical meeting scheduler is it is time consuming and inefficient; and also a resource needs to be allocated to perform the meeting scheduling job. Agent meeting scheduler will be used to replace this typical meeting scheduler to make it more efficient in term of deciding meeting time. The study is meant to research and select suitable algorithm to be implemented in agent meeting scheduler. An agent meeting scheduler prototype then will be developed to prove that the selected algorithm is working properly. Qualitative research method is being used to gather necessary data on agent algorithm and this data will be used to select the suitable algorithm. Through the research conducted on available algorithm for agent meeting scheduler, genetic algorithm is selected to be used in this project. The agent meeting scheduler prototype then will be developed by using PHP language. PHP is selected for its interactivity and extensibility

A generic holonic control architecture for heterogeneous multi-scale and multi-objective smart microgrids

Designing the control infrastructure of future “smart” power grids is a challenging task. Future grids will integrate a wide variety of heterogeneous producers and consumers that are unpredictable and operate at various scales. Information and Communication Technology (ICT) solutions will have to control these in order to attain global objectives at the macrolevel, while also considering private interests at the microlevel. This article proposes a generic holonic architecture to help the development of ICT control systems that meet these requirements. We show how this architecture can integrate heterogeneous control designs, including state-of-the-art smart grid solutions. To illustrate the applicability and utility of this generic architecture, we exemplify its use via a concrete proof-of-concept implementation for a holonic controller, which integrates two types of control solutions and manages a multiscale, multiobjective grid simulator in several scenarios. We believe that the proposed contribution is essential for helping to understand, to reason about, and to develop the “smart” side of future power grids

Using Distributed Agents to Create University Course Timetables Addressing Essential & Desirable Constraints and Fair Allocation of Resources

In this study, the University Course Timetabling Problem (UCTP) has been investigated. This is a form of Constraint Satisfaction Problem (CSP) and belongs to the NP-complete class. The nature of a such problem is highly descriptive, a solution therefore involves combining many aspects of the problem. Although various timetabling algorithms have been continuously developed for nearly half a century, a gap still exists between the theoretical and practical aspects of university timetabling. This research is aimed to narrow the gap. We created an agent-based model for solving the university course timetabling problem, where this model not only considers a set of essential constraints upon the teaching activities, but also a set of desirable constraints that correspond to real-world needs. The model also seeks to provide fair allocation of resources. The capabilities of agents are harnessed for the activities of decision making, collaboration, coordination and negotiation by embedding them within the protocol designs. The resulting set of university course timetables involve the participation of every element in the system, with each agent taking responsibility for organising of its own course timetable, cooperating together to resolve problems. There are two types of agents in the model; these are Year-Programme Agent and Rooms Agent. In this study, we have used four different principles for organising the interaction between the agents: First-In-First-Out & Sequential (FIFOSeq), First-In-First-Out & Interleaved (FIFOInt), Round-Robin & Sequential (RRSeq) and Round-Robin & Interleaved (RRInt). The problem formulation and data instances of the third track of the Second International Timetabling Competition (ITC-2007) have been used as benchmarks for validating these implemented timetables. The validated results not only compare the four principles with each other; but also compare them with other timetabling techniques used for ITC-2007. The four different principles were able to successfully schedule all lectures in different periods, with no instances of two lectures occupying the same room at the same time. The lectures belonging to the same curriculum or taught by the same teacher do not conflict. Every lecture has been assigned a teacher before scheduling. The capacity of every assigned room is greater than, or equal to, the number of students in that course. The lectures of each course have been spread across the minimum number of working days with more than 98 percent success, and for more than 75 percent of the lectures under the same curriculum, it has been possible to avoid isolated deliveries. We conclude that the RRInt principle gives the most consistent likelihood of ensuring that each YPA in the system gets the best and fairest chance to obtain its resources

Resource Management in Grids: Overview and a discussion of a possible approach for an Agent-Based Middleware

14 pagesInternational audienceResource management and job scheduling are important research issues in computational grids. When software agents are used as resource managers and brokers in the Grid a number of additional issues and possible approaches materialize. The aim of this chapter is twofold. First, we discuss traditional job scheduling in grids, and when agents are utilized as grid middleware. Second, we use this as a context for discussion of how job scheduling can be done in the agent-based system under development

A fully-distributed, multiagent approach to negotiation in mobile ad-hoc networks

This paper presents an interaction protocol intended to be used in distributed negotiation problems using software agents,\ud which could be applied to multi-agent systems deployed over Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) connected via wireless\ud networks. We are especially interested in semi-competitive scenarios, where each agent in the system acts on behalf of a\ud user, trying to maximize its user preferences while pursuing a common agreement. In these conditions, and especially if\ud we are dealing with open and dynamic environments like mobile ad-hoc networks, the goals and attitudes of software\ud agents cannot be guaranteed. Taking this into account we propose a protocol where interaction among agents is done in a\ud fully-distributed manner, so that no user can have negotiation privileges over the others

Agent-Based System Design for Service Process Scheduling: Challenges, Approaches and Opportunities

Compared with traditional manufacturing scheduling, service process scheduling poses additional challenges attributable to the significant customer involvement in service processes. In services, there are typically no inventoried products, which make the service provider's capacity more sensitive to dynamic changes. Service process scheduling objectives are also more complicated due to the consideration of customer preferences, customer waiting costs and human resource costs. After describing the Unified Services Theory and analysing its scheduling implications, this paper reviews the research literature on service process scheduling system design with a particular emphasis on agent-based approaches. Major issues in agent-based service process scheduling systems design are discussed and research opportunities are identified. The survey of the literature reveals that despite of many domain-specific designs in agent-based service process scheduling, there is a lack of general problem formulations, classifications, solution frameworks, and test beds. Constructing these general models for service process scheduling system design will facilitate the collaboration of researchers in this area and guide the effective development of integrated service process scheduling systems

Multi-agent System Models for Distributed Services Scheduling

This thesis investigates the computational and modeling issues involved with developing solutions for distributed service scheduling problems. Compared with traditional manufacturing scheduling, service scheduling poses additional challenges due to the significant customer involvement in service processes. The first challenge is that the service scheduling environment is a distributed environment in which scheduling-related information is scattered among individual identities, such as service providers and customers. The second challenge is that the service scheduling environment is a dynamic environment. Uncertainty in customer demand, customer cancellations and no-shows make the scheduling of services a complex dynamic process. Service scheduling has to be robust and prepared to accommodate any contingencies caused by customer involvement in service production. The third challenge concerns customers’ private information. To compute optimal schedules, ideally, the scheduler should know the complete customer availability and preference information within the scheduling horizon. However, customers may act strategically to protect their private information. Therefore, service scheduling systems should be designed so that they are able to elicit enough of a customer’s private information that will make it possible to compute high quality schedules. The fourth challenge is that in a service scheduling environment, the objectives are complicated and they may even be in opposition. The distributed service scheduling environment enables each agent to have their own scheduling objectives. The objectives of these agents can vary from one to another. In addition to multiple objectives, since agents are self-interested, they are likely to behave strategically to achieve their own objectives without considering the global objectives of the system. Existing approaches usually deal with only a part of the challenges in a specific service domain. There is a need for general problem formulations and solutions that address service scheduling challenges in a comprehensive framework. In this thesis, I propose an integrated service scheduling framework for the general service scheduling problem. The proposed framework uses iterative auction as the base mechanism to tackle service scheduling challenges in distributed and dynamic environments. It accommodates customer’s private information by providing appropriate incentives to customers and it has the potential to accommodate dynamic events. This framework integrates customers’ preferences with the allocation of a provider’s capacity through multilateral negotiation between the provider and its customers. The framework can accommodate both price-based commercial settings and non-commercial service settings. Theoretical and experimental results are developed to verify the effectiveness of the proposed framework. The application of the framework to the mass customization of services and to appointment scheduling are developed to demonstrate the applicability of the general framework to specific service domains. A web-based prototype is designed and implemented to evaluate the scalability of the approach in a distributed environment