Unified messaging methods and systems for communication and cooperation among distributed agents in a computing environment

摘要

The present invention provides a Unified Messaging system with an emphasis on ubiquitous access and dynamic presentation of the information and services supported by an agent community. The present invention allows queries across dynamically changing, complex information; shared context and reference resolution among applications; and flexible translation of multimedia data. Utilizing an Open Agent Architecture, the present invention allows a user to receive multiple information types, such as email, voicemail, and multimedia data, utilizing a single user interface, such as a phone. Communication and cooperation between agents are brokered by one or more facilitators, which are responsible for matching requests, from users and agents, with descriptions of the capabilities of other agents. It is not generally required that a user or agent know the identities, locations, or number of other agents involved in satisfying a request, and relatively minimal effort is involved in incorporating new agents and “wrapping” legacy applications. Extreme flexibility is achieved through an architecture organized around the declaration of capabilities by service-providing agents, the construction of arbitrarily complex goals by users and service-requesting agents, and the role of facilitators in delegating and coordinating the satisfaction of these goals, subject to advice and constraints that may accompany them.