Showing papers on "Knowledge sharing published in 1994"

KQML as an agent communication language

Abstract: This paper describes the design of and experimentation with the Knowledge Query and Manipulation Language (KQML), a new language and protocol for exchanging information and knowledge. This work is part of a larger effort, the ARPA Knowledge Sharing Effort which is aimed at developing techniques and methodology for building large-scale knowledge bases which are sharable and reusable. KQML is both a message format and a message-handling protocol to support run-time knowledge sharing among agents. KQML focuses on an extensible set of performatives, which defines the permissible “speech acts” agents may use and comprise a substrate on which to develop higher-level models of interagent interaction such as contract nets and negotiation. In addition, KQML provides a basic architecture for knowledge sharing through a special class of agent called communication facilitors which coordinate the interactions of other agents. The ideas which underlie the evolving design of KQML are currently being explored through experimental prototype systems which are being used to support several testbeds in such areas as concurrent engineering, intelligent design and intelligent planning and scheduling.

KQML - A Language and Protocol for Knowledge and Information Exchange

Abstract: This paper describes the design of and experimentation with the Knowledge Query and Manipulation Language (KQML), a new language and protocol for exchanging information and knowledge. This work is part a larger effort, the ARPA Knowledge Sharing Effort which is aimed at developing techniques and methodology for building large-scale knowledge bases which are sharable and reusable. KQML is both a message format and a message-handling protocol to support run-time knowledge sharing among agents. KQML can be used as a language for an application program to interact with an intelligent system or for two or more intelligent systems to share knowledge in support of cooperative problem solving. KQML focuses on an extensible set of performatives, which defines the permissible operations that agents may attempt on each other’s knowledge and goal stores. The performatives comprise a substrate on which to develop higher-level models of inter-agent interaction such as contract nets and negotiation. In addition, KQML provides a basic architecture for knowledge sharing through a special class of agent called communication facilitators which coordinate the interactions of other agents The ideas which underlie the evolving design of KQML are currently being explored through experimental prototype systems which are being used to support several testbeds in such areas as concurrent engineering, intelligent design and intelligent planning and scheduling.

Knowledge building and knowledge sharing

Abstract: Describing the core technology which will be used to build the advanced global information society of the 21st century, this study addresses social demands, language technology, knowledge technology and the sources and infrastructure of knowledge.

From Knowledge Based Systems to Knowledge Sharing Technology: Evaluation and Assessment

Abstract: There is no set of general guidelines to evaluate Knowledge Sharing Technology, specific ideas to evaluate user-independent ontologies in their own whole life cycle, whether their definitions are reused by KBS or they are shared among software agents. Instead of starting from the beginning, this paper discusses similarities and differences between knowledge bases and ontologies. The idea is to learn from Knowledge Base Systems' evaluation and assessment by picking up some successful ideas and adapting them to the domain of the ontologies. We also learn from its mistakes by avoiding them. The paper also describes how different agents that use ontologies with different aims have different concerns in the evaluation and assessment processes. Definitions of the terms: evaluation, verification, validation and assessment in the knowledge sharing domain are also given.

The Federation Architecture for Interoperable Agent-based Concurrent Engineering Systems:

Abstract: This paper presents an approach to the development of concurrent engineering software applications based on a knowledge sharing technology In this approach, individual programmers write their programs in the form of separate modules called software agents, which interoperate with their peers using an expressive communication standard called Agent Communication Language The runtime activities of the individual software agents are coordinated by task-independent programs called facilitators Facilitators perform a wide variety of tasks, including the automated selection of agents to accomplish subtasks, the mediation of terminology, the buffering of partial knowledge in communication between agents, and the management of communication with other facilitators on other machines Once set in operation, software agents interoperate to accomplish the overall task in a heterogeneous distributed architecture called federation The paper discusses the major aspects of this approach and briefly describes three con

Cosmos: A System for Supporting Engineering Negotiation

Abstract: Large-scale engineering projects are created by teams of cooperating engineers who must share knowledge about the project as it evolves. Sharing of engineering knowledge is actually made more difficult by modern engineering environments First, the computerized engineering environment requires that much of the knowledge sharing be on a tool-to-tool basis, rather than human-to-human Computer tools (3-D modellers, analysis and stimulation tools, etc ) have become the locus of much of the engineering information for a project These tools embody engineering assumptions and methods that are not understood in detail by their user engineers Moreover, the tools use specialised internal representations that are not understood by other tools Second, the connectivity enabled by the modern networked engineering environment greatly increases the complexity of the interaction environment It is virtually impossible for engineers to know who is likely to be impacted by their decisions, and what issues they need to negotia...

A lock method for KBMSs using abstraction relationships' semantics

Abstract: Knowledge Base Management Systems (KBMSs) are a growing research area finding applicability in different domains. As a consequence, the demand for ever-larger knowledge bases (KBs) is growing more and more. Inside this context, knowledge sharing turns out to be a crucial point to be supported by KBMSs. In this paper, we propose a way of controlling knowledge sharing. We show how we obtain serializability of transactions providing many different locking granules, which are based on the semantics of the abstraction relationships. The main benefit of our technique is the high degree of potential concurrency, to be obtained through a logical partitioning of the KB graph and the provision of lock types used for each referenced partition. By this way, we capture more of the semantics contained in a KB graph, through an interpretation of its edges grounded in the abstraction relationships, and make feasible a full exploitation of all inherent parallelism in a knowledge representation approach.

Collaborative Engineering Based on Knowledge Sharing Agreements

Abstract: The design of products by multi-disciplinary groups is a knowledge intensive activity Collaborators must be able to exchange informa tion and share some common understanding of the informaton's content The hope, however, that an integrated workbench of application tools will span the needs of engineering collaborators is misplaced We argue that an integrated workbench of application tools cannot meet the long- term needs of engineering collaborators Moreover, standards cannot satisfy the information sharing needs of collaborators, because these needs are dynamic

Structuring and modules for knowledge bases: motivation for a new model

Abstract: Evolving out of theoretical and practical work, the paper presents the motivation and basic ideas for the construction and use of modular knowledge bases. The approach relates to earlier work carried out by each of the two authors of the paper separately. A model is introduced that merges the two previous approaches, modules for logical knowledge bases, and ordering by generality domains, while maintaining their benefits. Central aims are reusability, the restriction of memory searching, and the management of inconsistent (competing) knowledge within one knowledge base. The model is explained using examples, and the formal semantics are discussed of structured, modular knowledge bases for knowledge representations that are based on logic programming.

Beyond the Knowledge Level: Descriptions of Rational Behavior for Sharing and Reuse

Abstract: The currently dominant approach to the sharing and reuse of knowledge strives to develop ontologies, with clearly constrained interpretations. The idea of ontological commitments is based on the knowledge level perspective. Several shortcomings of the knowledge level have been identified (Clancey, 1991). Pursuing Clancey's argument, if KBS are to be situated in ever changing environments, their purposes and significance will change over time and they have to be redescribed accordingly. The behavior descriptions proposed in this paper emphasize coherent and consistent descriptions in some given context, rather than predicting performance from knowledge and goals. When systems are embedded into larger contexts, their behavior is redescribed so that the additional significance is shown. Behavior level descriptions thus provide the flexibility for conceptual changes in a knowledge-based system. We demonstrate how behavior descriptions can be used for documenting KBS and present an example of the documentation of a KBS for elevator configuration.

Developing a multi-agent model for distributed knowledge systems

Abstract: Development of knowledge sharing, problem solving, and communication facilities is a key issue for the next generation knowledge systems for complex applications in distributed cooperative environments. The authors examine requirements of a multi-agent model for such distributed systems and propose the concept of distributed explanation-based learning (DEBL). DEBL is based on the idea of explanation based learning (EBL) extended into distributed environments. The authors also demonstrate the features of DEBL by a small example. This example suggests that DEBL can be a simple and extensible model for the learning mechanisms to improve problem solving and communication capabilities of multi-agent in distributed environments. >

Issues in concurrent knowledge engineering : knowledge sharing and knowledge base evolution

Abstract: The development of knowledge-based (KB) systems for solving real-world problems has become a very time-consuming and expensive task. Over the last years, more and more people started to investigate how to share and reuse knowledge once it has been formally represented. Moreover, as the world around is changing continuously, the KB system and its knowledge base have to change, too. Thus, recently the issue of knowledge base evolution came up that deals with the continuous improvement of a KB system during its entire life-time starting with the first formalizations and still continuing along its practical use. We discuss the current efforts in knowledge sharing and reuse and then study the knowledge evolution approach, that can be seen more technically as an interleaved combination of knowledge validation and exploration techniques.