21. Contract Net Protocol (CNP)
Mini-Project: Contract Net Protocol for Document Processing
A manager announces a document processing task, specialist contractors (legal, financial, general) submit formal bids with suitability and quality scores, the manager awards the contract, and the winner delivers results.
Description
The Contract Net Protocol (CNP) is a formalization of the bidding pattern from multi-agent systems research (Smith, 1980). A manager agent announces a task, contractor agents evaluate and bid on it, the manager awards the contract to the best bidder, and the contractor reports results back. Unlike simple bidding, CNP includes formal stages: announcement, bidding, awarding, and reporting, with the possibility of subcontracting.
CNP is a FIPA (Foundation for Intelligent Physical Agents) standard protocol, widely used in manufacturing, logistics, and supply chain agent systems.
When to Use
- Formal task delegation in enterprise agent systems
- When you need auditable task assignment with clear contracts
- Supply chain and logistics coordination
- When subcontracting (multi-level delegation) is needed
Benefits
| Benefit | Description |
|---|---|
| Formal Protocol | Well-defined stages with clear semantics |
| Accountability | Each task has a clear owner and contract |
| Subcontracting | Winners can further delegate subtasks |
| Standards-Based | Follows FIPA standards for interoperability |
Architecture Diagram
flowchart TD
A[Manager] -->|1. Announce Task| B[Broadcast to Contractors]
B --> C[Contractor A]
B --> D[Contractor B]
B --> E[Contractor C]
C -->|2. Submit Bid| F[Manager Evaluates Bids]
D -->|2. Submit Bid| F
E -->|2. Submit Bid| F
F -->|3. Award Contract| G[Winning Contractor]
G -->|4. Execute & Report| H[Manager Receives Result]
style A fill:#FF5722,color:#fff
style F fill:#FF9800,color:#fff
style G fill:#4CAF50,color:#fff
style H fill:#2196F3,color:#fff