In MAS research, due to the existence of conflicts, how to coordinate has become a very important issue, and the most influential negotiation strategy is the contract network protocol proposed by Davis and Smithr7] [1]. The main idea is to use communication methods for each negotiation to solve problems and avoid conflicts. The current contract network is mainly used in communication network management systems”2., manufacturing systems (lead, air traffic management systems, distributed sensing systems). It is most suitable for application data abstraction that can be divided into multi-level tasks or classifications, as can be seen The application scope of contract is wider than that of network, so it is feasible to realize contract network.
In the traditional contract network task allocation protocol, there is no formal model to discuss tasks and tender announcements, and edge marginal cost calculation is proposed. This model is mainly based on standard local agents, which well solves problems such as low efficiency due to information congestion.dollar dollar
But there’s an important problem with the original ContractNet protocol: every agent is self-interested. , the goal is to finally solve each agent well, but it is good for the group as a whole. As stipulated in the original contract, each negotiation has a task, so it is easy to cause information congestion and lead to low efficiency. Cost accounting, marginally solves the above problems.dollar dollar
Marginal costing provides a formal model for discussing costing tasks and grant tender announcements. In marginal costing calculations, announcements are not sent to every agent. Additionally, it can schedule deliveries based on the delivery information received from other agents. This is different from the traditional contract network. Figure 1 describes agentl agent2 and the process of sending messages.dollar dollar
The dollar net contract is a model of important system problems and solutions based on competitive mechanisms. ContractNet details contracts between agents that fully automate interactions through the use of competitive negotiation. The contract network communication protocol consists of the following four steps:
(1) Bidding: Broadcasting tasks are announced in the form of bidding advertisements.
(2) Quotation: The agent determines whether it meets the requirements of the task by checking the detailed instructions contained in the qualification notice and selects the most suitable task based on its own resources, abilities and interests.
(3) Quotation: The task manager selects the most satisfactory contract from the received bids and completes the task. If it cannot be found, decide whether to bid based on the importance of the task.
(4) Reporting: Report collaborator tasks to task manager, process or results.
(5) Suspension: When managers believe that no task execution is necessary, they can send a termination contract task.