SBIR/STTR Phase I: UNiCAP--Universal Combinatorual Auction Platform

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is aimed at developing a general platform for conducting combinatorial auctions. It is proposed to develop a bidding language and user interface, along with a system architecture for an integrated combinatorial auction platform that can be used to facilitate combinatorial auctions. The system will provide a wide degree of flexibility in terms of the number of rounds, stopping rules, and bidder and/or object-specific constraints that can be implemented. If successful, this project will lead to a development of a combinatorial auction system that will become a standard part of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems and will greatly enhance electronic procurement in business-to-business environments. Some examples of industries that can benefit from combinatorial auctions include: airport time slots for flights; shipping and transportation companies, as well as the retailers and manufacturers who use these shippers; computer hardware manufacturers, as well as auto manufacturers who can use combinatorial auctions for material procurement; and television networks who can use combinatorial auctions to sell advertising space in TV shows.