Tasks with Cost Growing over Time and Agent Reallocation Delays

Multi-robot task allocation with growing completion cost and simultaneity constraints

Abstract

  • Completion costs change predictably over time.
  • Important to allocate agents to prevent tasks from growing so much that they become unsolvable.

Introduction

  • Identical homogeneous agents
  • Tasks with growing completion costs can become difficult or impossible to complete later.
  • Two famous methods for task allocation:
    • Threshold based method: agents individually assess the constraints and their ability to complete each task.
    • Auction based method: market inspired auction methods typically require more communication and are more centralized. Agent with largest bidding takes the task.
  • Proposed method strikes a balance between distribution and centralization.
    • Each agent is directed to an area by central authority, but upon reaching the destination, agents act on their own logic.

Problem Description

  • Agent must be on a task’s location in order to apply work.
  • More agents than tasks since multiple agents must be assigned to a task.
  • Task는 다음과 같이 정의되는 cost를 가지고 있다. image

    • w: work per time unit per agent
    • h: monotonically increasing function
    • n: number of agents working on task i at time t
  • If h(f) > w x n, it means that the task is growing faster than the assigned agents can reduce it. Then, the task can never be completed.

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