Virtual Bookstore Citation Title FACILITATORS AND MEDIATORS FOR INTELLIGENT AGENT PROTOCOLS. Author(s) Finin, Timothy W. Corporate Author(s) MARYLAND UNIV BALTIMORE DEPT OF COMPUTER SCIENCE AND ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING Report Date 10/1/1995 Page Count 32 Abstract This project focuses on the development of and experimentation with a language and protocol intended to support interoperability among intelligent agents in a distributed application. Examples of applications envisioned include intelligent multi-agent design systems supporting collaborative designs of complex circuits and devices by multiple design teams as well as intelligent planning, scheduling and replanning agents supporting distributed transportation planning and scheduling applications. The language, KQML for Knowledge Query and Manipulation Language, is part of a larger DARPA-sponsored Knowledge Sharing effort focused on developing techniques and tools to promote the sharing on knowledge in intelligent systems (Neches 1991). The technical problem of coordinating many agents who must communicate with one another is a difficult one. In general, the agents must know a lot: (1) Which other agents to communicate with; (2) How to establish a reliable communication channel with them; (3) What protocol to use in the ensuing dialogue; (4) What language to use to exchange information knowledge; (5) What terms within the language to use to guarantee that the other agent will interpret the expressions in the same way; and (6) How to handle inconsistent information and the eventual mis-matches that arise from different views of the world. Price: $9.95 Available as PDF for download.   Prices are plus sales tax when purchased within New York State and shipping charges, if applicable