Article in Press Robotics and Autonomous Systems ( ) – Robotics and Autonomous Systems Multi-robot Task Allocation through Vacancy Chain Scheduling

Modeling the effects of robot interaction in multi-robot systems, i.e., the group dynamics, is difficult due to the complexity of such interactions. This article formalizes the concept of group dynamics in the framework of scheduling and presents a proof that multi-robot task allocation (MRTA), in systems with significant performance effects from group dynamics, is an NP-complete problem. As a way of dealing with this complexity we have developed vacancy chain scheduling (VCS), a new formal model of MRTA inspired by a resource distribution process commonly found in nature. VCS is also the foundation of a new MRTA algorithm which relies on optimal allocation patterns to emerge from the stigmergic effects of robot interactions. We present experimental evidence of the validity of the VCS model from high-fidelity simulations. The experimental results validate the VCS model by reliably producing the predicted allocation patterns in both homogeneous and heterogeneous groups of robots. The evidence also supports our claim that VCS is a feasible solution for a restricted class of MRTA problems.

[1]  Nicholas R. Jennings,et al.  Foundations of distributed artificial intelligence , 1996, Sixth-generation computer technology series.

[2]  Manuela Veloso,et al.  Automated Robot Behavior Recognition Applied to Robotic Soccer , 1999 .

[3]  Maja J. Mataric,et al.  Reinforcement Learning in the Multi-Robot Domain , 1997, Auton. Robots.

[4]  Michael L. Littman,et al.  Markov Games as a Framework for Multi-Agent Reinforcement Learning , 1994, ICML.

[5]  Maja J. Mataric,et al.  Learning Multiple Models for Reward Maximization , 2000, ICML.

[6]  Wei Zhang,et al.  A Reinforcement Learning Approach to job-shop Scheduling , 1995, IJCAI.

[7]  Gaurav S. Sukhatme,et al.  Adaptive spatio-temporal organization in groups of robots , 2002, IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems.

[8]  Victor Lesser,et al.  Environment Centered Analysis and Design of Coordination Mechanisms , 1996 .

[9]  Rachid Alami,et al.  M+: a scheme for multi-robot cooperation through negotiated task allocation and achievement , 1999, Proceedings 1999 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (Cat. No.99CH36288C).

[10]  Gaurav S. Sukhatme,et al.  Emergent bucket brigading: a simple mechanisms for improving performance in multi-robot constrained-space foraging tasks , 2001, AGENTS '01.

[11]  Maja J. Mataric,et al.  Broadcast of Local Elibility for Multi-Target Observation , 2000, DARS.

[12]  Tucker R. Balch.  The impact of diversity on performance in multi-robot foraging , 1999, AGENTS '99.

[13]  Chris Melhuish,et al.  Stigmergy, Self-Organization, and Sorting in Collective Robotics , 1999, Artificial Life.

[14]  Rachid Alami,et al.  A distributed tasks allocation scheme in multi-UAV context , 2004, IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, 2004. Proceedings. ICRA '04. 2004.

[15]  Maja J. Mataric,et al.  Interaction and intelligent behavior , 1994 .

[16]  Michael Sampels,et al.  Ant colony optimization for FOP shop scheduling: a case study on different pheromone representations , 2002, Proceedings of the 2002 Congress on Evolutionary Computation. CEC'02 (Cat. No.02TH8600).

[17]  Manuela M. Veloso,et al.  Automatically tracking and analyzing the behavior of live insect colonies , 2001, AGENTS '01.

[18]  Richard S. Sutton,et al.  Reinforcement Learning: An Introduction , 1998, IEEE Trans. Neural Networks.

[19]  Marco Dorigo,et al.  Self-Organised Task Allocation in a Group of Robots , 2004, DARS.

[20]  Michael H. Bowling,et al.  Convergence and No-Regret in Multiagent Learning , 2004, NIPS.

[21]  Clifford Stein,et al.  Introduction to Algorithms, 2nd edition. , 2001 .

[22]  Gaurav S. Sukhatme,et al.  Tracking Targets Using Multiple Robots: The Effect of Environment Occlusion , 2002, Auton. Robots.

[23]  Richard S. Sutton,et al.  Introduction to Reinforcement Learning , 1998 .

[24]  Lynne E. Parker,et al.  Robot Teams: From Diversity to Polymorphism , 2002 .

[25]  Lynne E. Parker,et al.  L-ALLIANCE: Task-oriented multi-robot learning in behavior-based systems , 1996, Adv. Robotics.

[26]  Gaurav S. Sukhatme,et al.  Relaxation on a mesh: a formalism for generalized localization , 2001, Proceedings 2001 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems. Expanding the Societal Role of Robotics in the the Next Millennium (Cat. No.01CH37180).

[27]  T. Michael Knasel,et al.  Robotics and autonomous systems , 1988, Robotics Auton. Syst..

[28]  Doina Precup,et al.  Between MDPs and Semi-MDPs: A Framework for Temporal Abstraction in Reinforcement Learning , 1999, Artif. Intell..

[29]  Maja J. Mataric,et al.  Sold!: auction methods for multirobot coordination , 2002, IEEE Trans. Robotics Autom..

[30]  D. Atkin.  OR scheduling algorithms. , 2000, Anesthesiology.

[31]  Albert Y. Zomaya,et al.  A Framework for Reinforcement-Based Scheduling in Parallel Processor Systems , 1998, IEEE Trans. Parallel Distributed Syst..

[32]  Dani Goldberg.  Design and Evaluation of Robust Behavior-Based Controllers for Distributed Multi-Robot Collection Tasks , 2001 .

[33]  Gaurav S. Sukhatme,et al.  Most valuable player: a robot device server for distributed control , 2001, Proceedings 2001 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems. Expanding the Societal Role of Robotics in the the Next Millennium (Cat. No.01CH37180).

[34]  Nidhi Kalra,et al.  Hoplites: A Market-Based Framework for Planned Tight Coordination in Multirobot Teams , 2005, Proceedings of the 2005 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation.

[35]  Gaurav S. Sukhatme,et al.  Multi-robot task-allocation through vacancy chains , 2003, 2003 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (Cat. No.03CH37422).

[36]  I. Chase,et al.  The vacancy chain process: a new mechanism of resource distribution in animals with application to hermit crabs , 1988, Animal Behaviour.

[37]  A. Ijspeert,et al.  A Macroscopic Analytical Model of Collaboration in Distributed Robotic Systems , 2002, Artificial Life.

[38]  Maja J. Mataric,et al.  General spatial features for analysis of multi-robot and human activities from raw position data , 2002, IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems.

[39]  Pradeep K. Khosla,et al.  Learning-Based Task Allocation in Decentralized Multirobot System , 2000, DARS.

[40]  Anil K. Seth,et al.  Modeling Group Foraging: Individual Suboptimality, Interference, and a Kind of Matching , 2001, Adapt. Behav..

[41]  S SukhatmeGaurav,et al.  Multi-robot task allocation through vacancy chain scheduling , 2009 .

[42]  Roger B. Myerson,et al.  Game theory - Analysis of Conflict , 1991 .

[43]  Tamio Arai,et al.  Distributed Autonomous Robotic Systems 3 , 1998 .

[44]  Wilfried Brauer,et al.  Multi-machine scheduling-a multi-agent learning approach , 1998, Proceedings International Conference on Multi Agent Systems (Cat. No.98EX160).

[45]  Ronald C. Arkin,et al.  An Behavior-based Robotics , 1998 .

[46]  Kian Hsiang Low,et al.  Task Allocation via Self-Organizing Swarm Coalitions in Distributed Mobile Sensor Network , 2004, AAAI.

[47]  LermanKristina,et al.  A macroscopic analytical model of collaboration in distributed robotic systems , 2002 .