Approach to Efficient Task Allocation and Cost Minimization in Collaborative Robotic Systems

Abstract

The paper considers the execution of a technological process by the participants of a mixed heterogeneous team of a collaborative robotic system. The operations of a technological process are described as a network model. The paper gives a qualitative comparative analysis of approaches, methods, and algorithms for task sequencing and allocation in collaborative robotic systems and teams. To contribute to the solution of the problem of assigning participants to the execution of the operations of the technological process, we developed a task allocation algorithm. It allows representing the conditions, dependencies and time of operations of the technological process in the form of a directed weighted graph, the vertices of which are temporal events, the beginning of one or more operations and the end of the previous (previous), and the weights of the edges – the time of the corresponding operations. The algorithm focuses on assigning operations based on the availability of the members of the robotic system and their efficiency. The algorithm performs a transition from the current timeline event to the nearest one and traverses the graph from the first vertex to the last vertex, minimizes the execution time of both the technological process, and its individual operations. The result of computational experiments performed in MATLAB simulation environment showed, that the use of the algorithm for a sequence of interdependent operations to be performed by a collaborative robotic system (team) can reduce the execution time of both the technological process and its individual operations.