Market-based task allocation by using assignment problem

Abstract

In this study, a market-based task allocation method is proposed. In the trading process, the energy model of a robot platform is used to calculate the price and cost for a task. In order to determine the winner robot(s), two auction clearing algorithms, which are named as Iterative and Highest-Bid Task for Robots (HBTR), are proposed. Additionally, assignment problem is used to determine instantaneous optimal task-robot matching. The Hungarian algorithm is implemented to solve optimal assignment problem. In the implementation of the algorithms, three types of tasks are used: cleaning, carrying and monitoring. The tasks consist of three important features: delicacy, priority, and the task completion time. These tasks are assigned to the members of a heterogeneous robot team, according to the proposed task allocation method.