1. Agent-based Interfaces Group 3 Topic 2 IM2044 Usability engineering 0422902 Hasuk Kerai 0409543 Ismael Ali

2. What is an Agent? In the human world, agents are people who work on someone's behalf, e.g. estate agent, library and travel agent. Software agents act on behalf of users within the electronic world, e.g. email agents, web crawlers and virus agents.

3. Type: User Agents Agents which are adaptive, learning, self-customising pieces of software. o Mail User Agents:- Purpose is to filter spam and other unwanted mail, using special software programmed by a user. Agents can intelligently activate when mail is received and also perform certain user actions such as deletion.

4. Type: Guide Agents Agents that act as tutors or guides, supplementing user’s knowledge with their own. o Microsoft Wizards:- Purpose to help users through a task. Also to provide better solutions in overcoming tasks.

5. Type: Autonomous Agents Agents that are able to work on behalf of the user without the need for interaction. oBackground services:- Purpose is to be used without intervention from the user. Background services and also automatic updates use this type of agent.

6. Type: Symbiotic and Cooperative Agents Agents that assist the current task by providing alternative views and additional information. o Spell Checking:- Purpose to observe user input, and suggest correct spelling and alternative words.

7. Type: Anthropomorphic Agents Agents used to imitate humans. o Gaming:- Purpose to act as a human when playing games which require more then one user.

8. Questions