What is Mobile Agent / Roaming Agent

With the ever-increasing amount of available online resources in general, information overload has become a very real problem. One possible solution is the application of software agents in e- or m-commerce. Intelligent agents are already on the Web, freeing us from some of the drudgework of searching and automatically keeping us up to date. There are now many examples of software agents currently available on the Web. Shopping agents like BargainBot, Excite’s Jango and Andersen Consulting’s BargainFinder are just a few. However, they have their shortcomings, such as lack of purchasing capability and limited range of product selection. Furthermore, the current Web front end to an online storefront is not conducive to autonomous browsing by search agents. The objective of this article is to present a virtual marketplace prototype whereby producers and consumers can meet and conduct e-commerce in cyberspace with the help of software agents.