US 2019/0095804 A1Published application

Real-time multi-agent response based on a preference-based consensus

AssigneeInternational Business Machines Corporation

InventorsSougata Mukherjea, Amit A. Nanavati, Ramasuri Narayanam, Gyana Ranjan Parija

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Abstract

A method and associated systems provide real-time response to a request received from a real-time system like a self-driving vehicle or a device that communicates interactively with its environment. The response is selected from a set of candidate feasible responses by a group of computerized agents that each sort the feasible responses in order of that agent's specific preferences, based on that agent's particular priorities or expertise. The agents then reconcile their differences through an iterative procedure. During each iteration, each agent decides whether to retain its current preferences or to adopt the preferences of another agent. This decision is made by determining which preferences are most similar to that agent's own initial preferences, and by which preferences would be most useful in helping to achieve that agent's particular goals. When the agents reach consensus, the group's most-preferred response is returned quickly enough to provide real-time, interactive response.

Claims25

Dependent claims

A real-time multi-agent system comprising a processor, a memory coupled to the processor, and a computer-readable hardware storage device coupled to the processor, the storage device containing program code configured to be run by the processor via the memory to implement a method for real-time multi-agent response based on a preference-based consensus, the method comprising:

the system receiving from a real-time application a request for a real-time response to a detected condition, where the requested response is selected by the system from a set of feasible responses;
the system forwarding the request to a set of computerized agents;
the system further receiving an initial preference from each agent,
where each agent's initial preference comprises an initial ordering of the set of feasible responses, and
where each agent's initial ordering orders the set of feasible responses as a function of that agent's relative degree of preference for each response of the set of feasible responses;
the system identifying a consensus response of the set of feasible responses by reconciling the agents' initial orderings, where the reconciling comprises reducing differences among the agents' initial orderings;
and
the system returning a real-time response to the real-time application that identifies the consensus response.

5 more elements

A method for real-time multi-agent response based on a preference-based consensus, the method comprising:

a real-time multi-agent system receiving from a real-time application a request for a real-time response to a detected condition, where the requested response is selected by the system from a set of feasible responses;
the system forwarding the request to a set of computerized agents;
the system further receiving an initial preference from each agent,
where each agent's initial preference comprises an initial ordering of the set of feasible responses, and
where each agent's initial ordering orders the set of feasible responses as a function of that agent's relative degree of preference for each response of the set of feasible responses;
the system identifying a consensus response of the set of feasible responses by reconciling the agents' initial orderings, where the reconciling comprises reducing differences among the agents' initial orderings;
and
the system returning a real-time response to the real-time application that identifies the consensus response.

5 more elements

A computer program product, comprising a computer-readable hardware storage device having a computer-readable program code stored therein, the program code configured to be executed by a real-time multi-agent system comprising a processor, a memory coupled to the processor, and a computer-readable hardware storage device coupled to the processor, the storage device containing program code configured to be run by the processor via the memory to implement a method for real-time multi-agent response based on a preference-based consensus, the method comprising:

the real-time multi-agent system receiving from a real-time application a request for a real-time response to a detected condition, where the requested response is selected by the system from a set of feasible responses;
the system forwarding the request to a set of computerized agents;
the system further receiving an initial preference from each agent,
where each agent's initial preference comprises an initial ordering of the set of feasible responses, and
where each agent's initial ordering orders the set of feasible responses as a function of that agent's relative degree of preference for each response of the set of feasible responses;
the system identifying a consensus response of the set of feasible responses by reconciling the agents' initial orderings, where the reconciling comprises reducing differences among the agents' initial orderings;
and
the system returning a real-time response to the real-time application that identifies the consensus response.

5 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.