Software "agents" that automatically negotiate on behalf of shoppers and sellers are about to be set free on the web for the first time. The "Negotiation Ninjas", as they are known, will be trialled on a sh
opping website called Aroxo in the autumn. The intelligent traders are the culmination of 20 years' work by scientists at Southampton University. "Computer agents don't get bored, they have a lot of time, and they don't get embarrassed," Professor Nick Jennings, one of the researchers behind the work, told BBC News. "I have always thought that in an internet environment, negotiation is the way to go." Price fixing The agents use a series of simple rules - known as heuristics - to find the optimal price for both buyer and seller based on information provided by both parties. Heuristics are commonly used in computer science to find an optimal solution to a problem when there is not a single "right answer". They are often used in anti-virus software to trawl for new threats. "If you can't analyse mathematically exactly what you should do, which you can't in general for these sorts of systems, then you end up with heuristics," explained Professor Jennings.
opping website called Aroxo in the autumn. The intelligent traders are the culmination of 20 years' work by scientists at Southampton University. "Computer agents don't get bored, they have a lot of time, and they don't get embarrassed," Professor Nick Jennings, one of the researchers behind the work, told BBC News. "I have always thought that in an internet environment, negotiation is the way to go." Price fixing The agents use a series of simple rules - known as heuristics - to find the optimal price for both buyer and seller based on information provided by both parties. Heuristics are commonly used in computer science to find an optimal solution to a problem when there is not a single "right answer". They are often used in anti-virus software to trawl for new threats. "If you can't analyse mathematically exactly what you should do, which you can't in general for these sorts of systems, then you end up with heuristics," explained Professor Jennings.For further details visit as : http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8185896.stm
