CoMutaR: A framework for multi-robot coordination and task allocation

— In multi-robot systems, task allocation and coordination are two fundamental problems that share high synergy. Although multi-robot architectures typically separate them into distinct layers, relevant improvement may be expected from solutions that are able to concurrently handle them at the same “level”. This paper proposes a novel framework, called CoMutaR (Coalition formation based on Multitasking Robots), which is used for both tackle task distribution among teams of mobile robots, and to guarantee the coordination within the formed teams. Robot capabilities are modelled as actions, independent modules whose inputs do not depend on the robot that generated it. Solutions to tasks are devised as coalitions of actions, that can be spread amongst the available robots. We also define the concept of share-restricted resources, which are periodically checked and updated by the actions in the system. In contrast to prior approaches, this mechanism enables to quickly determine if t...

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2009
• Where: IROS
• Authors: Pedro M. Shiroma, Maria Fernando Montenegro Campos
• Keywords: IROS 2009, Multi-robot Architectures, Multi-robot Systems, Robotics, Robots