14 DAY TRIAL // According to leading experts at the University of Southampton, scientists at the institution are on the verge of completing the first-ever computerized agent, able to manage and negotiate the best online deals for buyers and sellers. Plans are to have the first operational models ready by this Christmas, in time for the shopping season, AlphaGalileo reports. The need for such an instrument was expressed by the new and unique marketplace Aroxo, which allows buyers and sellers to negotiate with each other the best price for the products they need/want to get rid of.
USouthampton School of Electronics and Computer Science (ECS) professor of computer science Nick Jennings, who also took part in the efforts to create the computerized agents, was therefore appointed as Chief Scientific Advisor for the company. The ultimate goal of the collaboration is to create agents that would intervene automatically between people using Aroxo so as to allow them to get the best deals possible out of every buy/sell.
“I am really excited about this since I have been saying for a long time that software agents will have a real place in our lives and now it’s really going to happen. These are algorithms that we have been working on in abstract for 20 years or so and now they are actually going to be used in commercial business on a large scale,” Jennings says. Aroxo co-founder Matt Rogers states that the automated agents will provide the first-ever two-way negotiation between buyer and seller online.
“It’s going to be a Credit Crunch Christmas, so we’re working really hard to help families make the most of what they have. Buyers using Aroxo will be able to get a great deal and make their money go further, and our sellers get to grow their business when others are suffering,” Rogers adds. He also says that there is currently a growing trend amidst American consumers, of going into shops with online price tags in their hands, and asking salespersons to beat that price.
“At the moment, online retailers can’t compete with this because they can’t negotiate with buyers to help them make a sale. Our system will enable sellers to use computerized agents to negotiate on their behalf while they get on with other things. All of Aroxo’s sellers are based in the UK, so this is really helping British buyers and sellers,” Rogers says. While the system will initially be implemented for online environments, it will also make its way to mobile platforms in the near future, the Aroxo co-founder explains.