An Agent Architecture and Algorithm for Solving Distributed Configuration-Design Problems

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This paper describes the Automated Configuration-Design Service (ACDS) [1-3], a system for solving large-scale configuration design problems using a network of design agents that represent part catalogs and design constraints. The ACDS algorithm is guaranteed to terminate, with a solution if one exists. ACDS agents communicate using design protocols and an attribute-space representation that bounds the space of all possible designs. ACDS agents concurrently shrink the space by applying local knowledge, properties of the domain, and heuristics, until a solution is found.