Constraint-based Decision-Makers in Negotiation Processes

Computer-supported negotiation processes are recurrent in many applications, typically to coordinate a set of autonomous decision-makers in order for them to reach a consensus on negotiated issues. In previous papers, we have presented Xplore, a generic model and tool for the design of such coordination, which subsumes a wide range of existing negotiation protocols and schemes. In this paper, we show how to build an interesting class of components capable of taking part in Xplore-coordinated negotiations. Decision-makers of that class are entirely automatic, and are capable of ensuring that arbitrary constraints, normally set by the coordinator of a negotiation, are respected throughout the negotiation process, whatever its evolution. We show how to derive such components by encapsulating arbitrary constraint solvers working by propagation on finite domains, a class of solvers which has been widely investigated in the literature and is nowadays available in many commercial products.