Title: A mobile auction service based on mobile agents: design and analysis

Authors: Jie Zhang, Henry C.B. Chan

Addresses: Department of Computing, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong. ' Department of Computing, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong

Abstract: With the advent of wireless networking and mobile computing technologies, there has been considerable interest in developing various mobile commerce services such as mobile auctions. This paper presents a mobile auction service based on mobile agents. Using a proxy server, users can generate a mobile agent by providing bidding information through a mobile terminal. The agent then moves to the required server to bid according to the user requirements. We have developed a prototype to demonstrate and evaluate the basic functions in a wireless network. Furthermore, we have formulated a mathematical model to analyse the commonly used |proxy bidding method| for the mobile auction system. Based on the distribution of the maximum bidding price, the model can be used to find the probability of stopping at a certain price and, hence, the average winning price. Simulation and analytical results are presented to demonstrate the behaviour of the system.

Keywords: mobile auctions; mobile commerce; mobile applications; mobile agents; m-commerce; wireless networks; mobile computing; mathematical modelling; proxy bidding; bidding prices; system behaviour; simulation.

DOI: 10.1504/IJWMC.2008.019722

International Journal of Wireless and Mobile Computing, 2008 Vol.3 No.1/2, pp.101 - 110

Published online: 25 Jul 2008 *

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