Multi-Agent Integration of Information Gathering and Decision Support

We are investigating techniques for developing distributed and adaptive collections of information agents that coordinate to retrieve, filter and fuse information relevant to the user, task and situation. In our system of agents, information gathering is seamlessly integrated with decision support. In this paper we present the distributed system architecture, agent collaboration interactions, and a reusable set of software components for structuring agents. The system has three types of agents: Interface agents interact with the user receiving user specifications and delivering results. They acquire, model, and utilize user preferences to guide system coordination in support of the user’s tasks. Task agents help users perform tasks by formulating problem solving plans and carrying out these plans through querying and exchanging information with other software agents. Information agents provide intelligent access to a heterogeneous collection of information sources. We have implemented this system framework and are developing collaborating agents in diverse complex real world tasks, such as organizational decision making, and financial portfolio management.