A Stochastic Queueing Model for Multi-robot Task Allocation
Angelica Muñoz-Meléndez, Pritviraj Dasgupta, William Lenagh
2012
Abstract
A central problem in multi-robot systems is to solve the multi-robot task allocation problem. In this paper, a decentralized stochastic model based on stochastic queueing processes is applied for an application of collective detection of underground landmines where the robots are not told the distribution or number of landmines to be encountered in the environment. Repeat demands of inspection in the environment to ensure the accuracy of robot findings are necessary in this application. The proposed model is based on the estimation of a stochastic queue of pending demands that represents the alternatives of action for a robot and is used to negotiate possible conflicts with other robots. We compare and contrast this method with a decentralized greedy approach based on the distance towards the sites where inspection demands are required. Experimental results obtained using simulated robots in the Webots c environment are presented. The performance of robots is measured in terms of two metrics, completion time and distance traveled for processing a demand. Robots applying the stochastic queueing model obtained competitive results.
References
- Botelho, S. and Alami, R. (1999). M+: A scheme for multirobot coopeation through negotiated task allocation and achievement. In Proc. Int. Conf. on Robotics and Automation, pages 1234-1239, Detroit, MI.
- Bullo, F., Frazzoli, E., Pavone, M., Savla, K., and Smith, S. (2011). Dynamic vehicle routing for robotic systems. In Proc. of the IEEE, volume 99, pages 1482-1504.
- Dahl, T., Mataric, M., and Sukhatme, G. (2009). Multirobot task allocation algorithm based on vacancy chain scheduling. Robotics and Autonomous Systems, 57(6-7):674-687.
- Dasgupta, P. (2011). Multi-robot task allocation for performing cooperative foraging tasks in an initially unknown environment. In Jain, L., editor, Innovations in Defense Support Systems - 2, pages 5-20. SpringerVerlag.
- Dias, M. (2004). TraderBots: A New Paradigm for Robust and Efficient Multirobot Coordination in Dynamics Environments. PhD thesis, The Robotics Institute, Carnegie Mellon University.
- Dias, M. B., Zlot, R., Kalra, N., and Stentz, A. (2006). Market-based multirobot coordination: a survey and analysis. In Proceedings of the IEEE, Special Issue on Multirobot Systems, volume 94, pages 1257- 1270.
- Gerkey, B. and Mataric, M. (2004). A formal analysis and taxonomy of task-allocation in multi-robot systems. The International Journal of Robotics Research, 23(9):939-954.
- Huang, X. and Serfozo, R. (1999). Spatial queueing processes. Mathematics of Operations Research, 24(4):865-886.
- Jones, E., Browning, B., Dias, M., Argall, B., Veloso, M., and Stentz, A. (2006). Dynamically formed heterogeneous robot teams performing tightly coordinated tasks. Proceedings of the International Conference on Robotics and Automation.
- Jones, E., Dias, M., and Stentz, A. (2011). Time-extended multi-robot coordination for domains with intra-path constraints. Autonomous robots, 30(1):41-56.
Paper Citation
in Harvard Style
Muñoz-Meléndez A., Dasgupta P. and Lenagh W. (2012). A Stochastic Queueing Model for Multi-robot Task Allocation . In Proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Informatics in Control, Automation and Robotics - Volume 1: ICINCO, ISBN 978-989-8565-21-1, pages 256-261. DOI: 10.5220/0004049102560261
in Bibtex Style
@conference{icinco12,
author={Angelica Muñoz-Meléndez and Pritviraj Dasgupta and William Lenagh},
title={A Stochastic Queueing Model for Multi-robot Task Allocation},
booktitle={Proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Informatics in Control, Automation and Robotics - Volume 1: ICINCO,},
year={2012},
pages={256-261},
publisher={SciTePress},
organization={INSTICC},
doi={10.5220/0004049102560261},
isbn={978-989-8565-21-1},
}
in EndNote Style
TY - CONF
JO - Proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Informatics in Control, Automation and Robotics - Volume 1: ICINCO,
TI - A Stochastic Queueing Model for Multi-robot Task Allocation
SN - 978-989-8565-21-1
AU - Muñoz-Meléndez A.
AU - Dasgupta P.
AU - Lenagh W.
PY - 2012
SP - 256
EP - 261
DO - 10.5220/0004049102560261