SET: An algorithm for distributed multirobot task allocation with dynamic negotiation based on task subsets

Abstract

The multi-robot task allocation (MRTA) problem has become a key research topic in the field of distributed multirobot coordination in recent years. In this paper, two algorithms for the distributed solution of the MRTA problem are presented. In our market-based approach, robots consider their local plans when bidding and multiple tasks can be allocated to a single robot during the negotiation process. The second algorithm described in the paper is based on the negotiation of subset of tasks and can be considered as a generalization of the first one, which only negotiates single tasks. Both algorithms have been tested in a multirobot simulator with multiple missions consisting in visiting waypoints with promising results.