A Java-based simulation of agent behaviour and transactions (contributes 50% of the coursework mark) Based on the e-commerce scenario below (adapted and extended from Ogasawara, N XXXXXXXXXXSystem and...

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CSC-40045
Distributed Intelligent Systems


Coursework Assignment Part 2 (20 module marks)


A Java-based simulation of agent behaviour and transactions
(contributes 50% of the coursework mark)
Based on the e-commerce scenario below (adapted and extended from Ogasawara, N.
(2005). System and method for electronic shopping using an interactive shopping
agent. Google Patents. US Patent 6,868,392), write a Java program, to simulate the
agent behaviour and transactions as described in this scenario. Note that the
interactions follow a variant of the Contract-Net protocol. [Hint: For this simulation,
agents do not need to be physically distributed and can therefore invoke each other's
methods directly and no network programming is required.]
Consider an e-commerce system in which some autonomous agents are selling
products on behalf of retailers and other agents are buying products on behalf of
customers. These agents interact via a broker agent, which facilitates the shopping
process. The broker agent has access to all customer profiles as well as every retailer's
product database. Customers and their agents specify the purchase order with various
constraints, e.g., price range, quantity, delivery options, etc., and initiate the purchasing
process through the broker agent. The broker agent evaluates the order and invites a
selection of retailers for their offers. Retailers may provide an offer for the requested
product or decline. The broker agent may analyse the offers and recommend the best
offer to a customer but customers make the final decision over which product to
purchase.
You do not need to emulate Ogasawara’s physical agent architecture and any aspects
related to electronic payments and Internet security are beyond the scope of this
exercise.
For assessment, you are required to submit a brief description of your implementation,
.java source files and .class files. Marks will be distributed as follows: implementation of
buyer agents [15%], implementation of seller agents [15%], successful transactions
[20%]. Your work for this part should be submitted by 13:00hrs, Friday 15-January-
2021 via the submission box on the KLE.
For guidance on acceptable coursework, scholarship, plagiarism, and academic...