LE3 .A278 2006

2006

Shakshuki, Elhadi

Acadia University

Master of Science

Masters

Computer Science

Computer Science

Electronic calendars are important tools that are heavily used on a daily basis. However, scheduling a meeting that involves persons with different commitments and preferences remains a difficult task. This is because current calendaring applications cannot handle the responsibility of automatically and autonomously managing time slots. This paper presents a distributed multi-agent system architecture in which each person is represented by an agent. These agents automatically and autonomously work together to assist users to book meetings on their behalf. Each agent has the capability to manage, negotiate and schedule tasks, meetings, events, appointments for its assigned user. In this multi-agent system, the agents coordinate their activities and negotiate on behalf of their associated users to find a solution that satisfies the users' meeting requirements and preferences. A prototype of this system is implemented to demonstrate how the agents can automatically book meetings.

The author retains copyright in this thesis. Any substantial copying or any other actions that exceed fair dealing or other exceptions in the Copyright Act require the permission of the author.

https://scholar.acadiau.ca/islandora/object/theses:2818