초록 ▼

A software agent which performs autonomous learning in a real-world environment, implemented in a case-based reasoning system and coupled to a sensor for gathering information from, and to an effector for manipulating, its environment. A case base which is tuned in response to an evaluation of how w

A software agent which performs autonomous learning in a real-world environment, implemented in a case-based reasoning system and coupled to a sensor for gathering information from, and to an effector for manipulating, its environment. A case base which is tuned in response to an evaluation of how well the agent is operating in that environment. A memory of cases, the contents of that memory being determined by a genetic technique, including producing new cases which may never have been encountered in the environment, evaluating cases in response to a history of previous matches and in response to an external stimulus, and selecting a limited set of cases which provides a preferred model of the environment. A selection technique based on multiple measures, such as match quality, case accuracy, or case utility, which may induce experimentation by the autonomous agent, such as by employing a random or pseudorandom effect in selecting cases, and which may also distinguish between those actions which solve problems and those actions which gather further information so as to better solve problems. Multiple autonomous agents may form a collective entity and may cooperate to select an action to be performed by that collective entity.

대표청구항 ▼

An autonomous software agent for operating in an environment, comprising a sensor for gathering information from said environment; an effector for manipulating said environment; a case base having a plurality of exemplar cases, each of said exemplar cases comprising a designated action, at least som

An autonomous software agent for operating in an environment, comprising a sensor for gathering information from said environment; an effector for manipulating said environment; a case base having a plurality of exemplar cases, each of said exemplar cases comprising a designated action, at least some of said actions comprising gathering information; an inference engine for performing case-based reasoning steps in response to said cases; and means for altering said case base in response to reinforcement from said environment; means for selecting a set of matching cases from said case base having a random effect or a pseudorandom effect; wherein said means for selecting a set of matching cases from said case base comprises means for selecting a first case over a second case with a likelihood that is linearly proportional to a ratio of a measure of case accuracy of said first case over said second case.