Creating an Agent Based Framework to Maximize Information Utility

With increased reliance on communications to conduct military operations, information centric network management becomes vital. A Defense department study of information management for net-centric operations lists the need for tools for information triage (based on relevance, priority, and quality) to counter information overload, semi-automated mechanisms for assessment of quality and relevance of information, and advances to enhance cognition and information understanding in the context of missions [30]. Maximizing information utility to match mission objectives is a complex problem that requires a comprehensive solution in information classification, in scheduling, in resource allocation, and in QoS support. Of these research areas, the resource allocation mechanism provides a framework to build the entire solution. Through an agent based mindset, the lessons of robot control architecture are applied to the network domain. The task of managing information flows is achieved with a hybrid reactive architecture. By demonstration, the reactive agent responds to the observed state of the network through the Unified Behavior Framework (UBF). As information flows relay through the network, agents in the network nodes limit resource contention to improve average utility and create a network with smarter bandwidth utilization. While this is an important result for information maximization, the agent based framework may have broader applications for managing communication networks

The NASA SBIR product catalog

The purpose of this catalog is to assist small business firms in making the community aware of products emerging from their efforts in the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program. It contains descriptions of some products that have advanced into Phase 3 and others that are identified as prospective products. Both lists of products in this catalog are based on information supplied by NASA SBIR contractors in responding to an invitation to be represented in this document. Generally, all products suggested by the small firms were included in order to meet the goals of information exchange for SBIR results. Of the 444 SBIR contractors NASA queried, 137 provided information on 219 products. The catalog presents the product information in the technology areas listed in the table of contents. Within each area, the products are listed in alphabetical order by product name and are given identifying numbers. Also included is an alphabetical listing of the companies that have products described. This listing cross-references the product list and provides information on the business activity of each firm. In addition, there are three indexes: one a list of firms by states, one that lists the products according to NASA Centers that managed the SBIR projects, and one that lists the products by the relevant Technical Topics utilized in NASA's annual program solicitation under which each SBIR project was selected