Telepresent Agents: A New Paradigm for Networked Systems

Telepresent Agents are software Agents that are instantiated simultaneously within two or more distinct computer applications (called Locales) which are operating at distinct nodes of a computer network. Agents are composed of Capabilities—often a separate Capability for each Locale in which the Agent operates. As an Agent exchanges information among and within its Capabilities, information passes implicitly among the Locales as if through a wormhole communication channel. One way to think about SimX—our name for the mechanisms described here—is that it does for data shared among Locales and Remote Procedure Calls what object-oriented programming did for instance variables and subprogram calls. By providing an entity-like construct within which such calls and data can be encapsulated, a construct that cuts across Locale boundaries, SimX eliminates the need for explicit mechanisms to allow Agents and Locales to communicate directly.