Task allocation for multi-robot teams with self-organizing agents

The use of self organizing agents to generate suitable task schedules for embodied autonomous multi-robot teams is investigated in this paper. A dandelion graph structure is used for defining agent neighborhood relations and for representing schedules, so as to support the agent flocking framework. The inter- and intra-roam-space movement algorithms govern the movement of individual agents. Although task information such as due dates and durations can be available for scheduling, in a dynamically changing environment, these values can only be estimated and are often subjected to changes. Therefore, the proposed scheme aims at allowing robot teams to adapt to unforseen circumstances, while at the same time, still making use of available time information for preliminary scheduling and planning. Realistic simulations are performed and verifies the effectiveness of the approach