Optimal Task Allocation in a Multirobot Environment Using Capability Indices

Abstract

Multirobot systems (MRS) hold the promise of improved performance and increased fault tolerance for large-scale problems. Multirobot coordination, however, is a complex problem. One of the most important aspects in the design of multirobot systems is the allocation of tasks among the robots in a productive and efficient manner. An empirical study is described in the present paper for task allocation strategies. In general, optimal solutions can be found through an exhaustive search, but because there are e n ×m ways in which m tasks can be assigned to n robots, an exhaustive search is often not possible. Task allocation methodologies must ensure that not only the global mission is achieved, but also the tasks are well distributed among the robots. An effective task allocation approach considers the available resources, the capabilities of the deployable robots, and then it appropriately allocates the tasks the candidate robots. This paper presents such task allocation methodologies for multi-robot systems by considering their capability in terms of time and space.