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.
