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A multi-agent crop production decision support system for technology transfer

dc.contributor.committeeMemberBarber, Ernest M. (Ernie)en_US
dc.creatorBentham, Murray Jamesen_US
dc.date.accessioned2004-10-21T00:20:30Zen_US
dc.date.accessioned2013-01-04T05:05:02Z
dc.date.available2000-04-01T08:00:00Zen_US
dc.date.available2013-01-04T05:05:02Z
dc.date.created2000-04en_US
dc.date.issued2000-04-01en_US
dc.date.submittedApril 2000en_US
dc.description.abstractThe purpose of this research was to study agricultural crop production 'decision support systems' as a means of transferring agricultural technology from research labs and plots to producers, extension specialists, agriculture service agencies, and scientists, on the Western Canadian Prairies. A 'decision support system' is a computer program that analyses problems spanning several knowledge or problem areas producing results that aid the management decision-making process. The primary objective was to develop a computer application program that would fulfill the farm manager's decision support needs and be "open" to future enhancements. This interdisciplinary study has a strong agricultural presence in the application context of the resultant computerized agricultural decision support system, with agronomics being the foundation on which the system was built, and computer science being the toolbox used to build it. Farm Smart 2000 is the resultant decision support system, providing "single-window" access to three different tiers of decision support utilizing the Internet, ' expert systems' and integrated multiple heterogeneous 'reusable agents' in a cooperative problem-solving environment. An ' expert system' is a computer program that solves complicated problems, within a specific knowledge or problem area, that would otherwise require human expertise. Expert systems integrated with each other within a decision support system are called 'agents. Reusable agents' are modular computer programs (e.g. expert systems) which can be used in more than one computer application with little or no modification. Farm Smart 2000 provides support for most management aspects of crop production including variety selection, crop rotations, weed management, disease management, residue management, harvesting, soil conservation, and economics, for the crops of wheat, canola, barley, peas, and flax. Tier-3, the most sophisticated level of Farm Smart 2000, is the focus of this dissertation and utilizes multiple reusable agents, integrating them such that they cooperate together to solve complex interrelated crop production problems. A Global Control Expert achieves the required communication and coordination among the agents resulting in an "open system", enabling Farm Smart 2000 to extend its problem-solving capabilities by integrating additional agents and knowledge, without system re-engineering, thereby remaining an ongoing technology transfer vehicle.en_US
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10388/etd-10212004-002030en_US
dc.language.isoen_USen_US
dc.subjectagriculture - computer programsen_US
dc.subjectagronomicsen_US
dc.subjectdecision support systemsen_US
dc.subjectFarm Smart 2000en_US
dc.subjectexpert systemsen_US
dc.subjectreusable agentsen_US
dc.titleA multi-agent crop production decision support system for technology transferen_US
dc.type.genreThesisen_US
dc.type.materialtexten_US
thesis.degree.departmentInterdisciplinary Studiesen_US
thesis.degree.disciplineInterdisciplinary Studiesen_US
thesis.degree.grantorUniversity of Saskatchewanen_US
thesis.degree.levelDoctoralen_US
thesis.degree.nameDoctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)en_US

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