Sold!: Auction Methods for Multirobot Coordination

Abstract

The key to utilizing the potential of multirobot systems is cooperation. How can we achieve cooperation in systems composed of failure-prone autonomous robots operating in noisy, dynamic environments? In this paper, we present a novel method of dynamic task allocation for groups of such robots. We implemented and tested an auction-based task allocation system which we call MURDOCH, built upon a principled, resource centric, publish/ subscribe communication model. A variant of the Contract Net Protocol, MURDOCH produces a distributed approximation to a global optimum of resource usage. We validated MURDOCH in two very different domains: a tightly coupled multirobot physical manipulation task and a loosely coupled multirobot experiment in long-term autonomy. The primary contribution of this paper is to show empirically that distributed negotiation mechanisms such as MURDOCH are viable and effective for coordinating physical multirobot systems.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Oct 01, 2002
Accession Number
ADA637053

Entities

People

  • Brian P. Gerkey
  • Maja Matarić

Organizations

  • University of Southern California

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Autonomy

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Algorithms
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Communication Channels
  • Communication Systems
  • Computer Networks
  • Computer Science
  • Computers
  • Contracts
  • Control Systems
  • Cooperation
  • Dynamic Response
  • Environment
  • Failure Mode And Effect Analysis
  • Jet Propulsion
  • Negotiations
  • Range Finders
  • Robotics

Fields of Study

  • Computer science

Readers

  • Agent-Based Social Robotics and Mobile-Assisted Learning in Virtual Environments.

Technology Areas

  • AI & ML
  • AI & ML - Autonomous Systems
  • AI & ML - Neural Networks
  • Autonomy
  • Autonomy - Autonomous System Control