Provably-Good Distributed Algorithm for Constrained Multi-Robot Task Assignment for Grouped Tasks

Abstract

In this paper, we present provably-good distributed task assignment algorithms for a heterogeneous multi-robot system, in which the tasks form disjoint groups and there are constraints on the number of tasks a robot can do (both within the overall mission and within each task group). Each robot obtains a payoff (or incurs a cost) for each task and the overall objective for task allocation is to maximize (minimize) the total payoff (cost) of the robots. In general, existing algorithms for task allocation either assume that tasks are independent or do not provide performance guarantee for the situation, in which task constraints exist. We present a distributed algorithm to provide an almost optimal solution for our problem. The key aspect of our distributed algorithm is that the overall objective is (almost) maximized by each robot maximizing its own objective iteratively (using a modified payoff function based on an auxiliary variable, called price of a task). Our distributed algorithm is polynomial in the number of tasks, as well as the number of robots.