Multi-robot Task Allocation: A Review of the State-of-the-Art

1 Introduction

The application fields of MRS include intelligent security operations, rescue missions, surveillance tasks, humanitarian demining efforts, environmental monitoring projects, healthcare services and so on.

MRTA problem is one of the most challenging problems of MRS.

Key elements of MRTA include the assignment of complex tasks, dynamic task allocation, strictly constrained task distribution, and diverse task distribution among others.

2 Multi-robot Task Allocation (MRTA) Problem

The MRTA problem focuses on solving the challenge of assigning tasks to robots, aimed at achieving the system objectives.

The MRTA problem can be model as a Multiple Traveling Salesman Problem.

4 Organizational Paradigms (structure)

4.1 Centralized Approaches

When dealing with multi-robot task allocation scenarios involving a limited number of robots and tasks, centralized methods prove to be the most effective solution, particularly in a static environment or where global state information can be readily accessed.

4.2 Decentralized Approaches

Decentralized systems engage in information exchange with other agents. They offer notable flexibility, resilience, and impose minimal communication burdens. However, while a locally optimal strategy might not yield globally optimal results, decentralized methods often result in suboptimal outcomes.

5 MRTA Approaches

5.1 Market-Based Approaches

5.2 Optimization-Based Approaches

Graph Search Methods.
Evolutionary Computing.