Use of InfoSleuth to Coordinate Information Acquisition, Tracking and Analysis in Complex Applications Technical Report MCC-INSL-008-00

摘要

Today's world is characterized by accessibility to a wide variety of information sources. This provides both the luxury of being able to know and use more information and the problem of accessing it in the manner required by our work and our computer applications. Many applications, including simulation-type applications, are no longer hampered by the availability of data, but rather are concerned with the accessibility of that data. We see three separate needs that an information-oriented infrastructure can provide to such applications. These are: 1. Similar information may exist in many places, but in incompatible forms or formats. Applications need to view it as if it were coming from a single source. 2. Information processing must integrate both computer-based applications and real machines, such as sensors, giving a uniform methodology to deal with all kinds of information sources and processes. 3. Applications often must track the changing state of the information to develop up-to-date information feeds, summaries and analyses. InfoSleuth employs intelligent agent technology to provide for integrated concept-based access to and awareness of unstructured, heterogeneous, and distributed information in a dynamically changing network of servers, data-collecting machines, and the World Wide Web. InfoSleuth agents can leverage existing legacy information resources, obviating the need for migrating information out of those sources and into new technologies. InfoSleuth agents collaborate to combine speedy information retrieval tasks with more cumbersome analysis and processing tasks. Furthermore, InfoSleuth is especially capable of monitoring changing or continuous data sources and converting event patterns to the appropriate level of abstraction for the users of the system. From the user perspective, InfoSleuth uses concept-based access to information sources, analysis tools, and machines. Concept-based access is far more accurate and focused than that provided by currently available technologies. With InfoSleuth, users receive information at the level of abstraction and integration appropriate to their task. We believe the InfoSleuth technology will help an application to go far beyond the reach of current information gathering and analysis technologies by facilitating the defining and building up of new applications from diverse, existing components.