Distributed conflict resolution among cooperating expert systems

Cooperating experts approach attempts to integrate and coordinate the activities of multiple specialised problem solvers that come together to solve complex tasks such as design, medical diagnosis, business management and so on. Due to the different goals, knowledge and viewpoints of agents, conflicts may arise at any phase of the problem-solving process. Managing diverse expertise requires well-organised models of conflict resolution. In this paper, a model for cooperating experts is described which openly supports multi-agent conflict detection and resolution. The model is based on the idea that each agent has its own conflict knowledge which is separated from its domain level knowledge, and each agent has its own conflict resolution knowledge which is not accessible and known by others. Furthermore, there are no globally known conflict resolution strategies. Each agent involved in a conflict chooses a resolution scheme according to its self interest. The model is described by using an example in the domain of office design and it is compared with other systems.