Comparison of partially decoupled and combined methods of path planning and task allocation

Division of labor involves task division and task allocation. An extremely important consequence of task division and allocation is the creation of interdependence between agents. In fact, division of labor can be seen as a process that converts interdependence between tasks into interdependence between agents. While there are many ways in which the task structure can be chunked and divided among agents, two important heuristic approaches involve division of labor by activity vs. object. I show that a choice between these two forms of division of labor only arises when the task structure is non-decomposable, but the product itself is decomposable. When the choice arises, a key criterion for selection between activity vs. object-based division of labor is the gain from specialization relative to the gain from customization.

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Auction-Based Consensus of Autonomous Vehicles for Multi-Target Dynamic Task Allocation and Path Planning in an Unknown Obstacle Environment

Applied Sciences ◽

10.3390/app11115057 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (11) ◽

pp. 5057

Author(s):

Wan-Yu Yu ◽

Xiao-Qiang Huang ◽

Hung-Yi Luo ◽

Von-Wun Soo ◽

Yung-Lung Lee

Keyword(s):

Path Planning ◽

Task Allocation ◽

Autonomous Vehicles ◽

Autonomous Vehicle ◽

Dynamic Task ◽

The Core ◽

Dynamic Task Allocation ◽

Vehicle Technology ◽

Future Work ◽

Complicated Task

The autonomous vehicle technology has recently been developed rapidly in a wide variety of applications. However, coordinating a team of autonomous vehicles to complete missions in an unknown and changing environment has been a challenging and complicated task. We modify the consensus-based auction algorithm (CBAA) so that it can dynamically reallocate tasks among autonomous vehicles that can flexibly find a path to reach multiple dynamic targets while avoiding unexpected obstacles and staying close as a group as possible simultaneously. We propose the core algorithms and simulate with many scenarios empirically to illustrate how the proposed framework works. Specifically, we show that how autonomous vehicles could reallocate the tasks among each other in finding dynamically changing paths while certain targets may appear and disappear during the movement mission. We also discuss some challenging problems as a future work.

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Robot task allocation and path-planning systems in the MINOAS project framework

2011 19th Mediterranean Conference on Control & Automation (MED) ◽

10.1109/med.2011.5983105 ◽

2011 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Marco Bibuli ◽

Gabriele Bruzzone ◽

Massimo Caccia

Keyword(s):

Path Planning ◽

Task Allocation ◽

Planning Systems ◽

Robot Task

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Provider selection and task allocation issues in networks with different QoS levels and all you can send pricing

Decision Support Systems ◽

10.1016/j.dss.2006.10.008 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 43 (2) ◽

pp. 375-389 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

Nihat Kasap ◽

Haldun Aytug ◽

S. Selcuk Erenguc

Keyword(s):

Task Allocation ◽

And Task

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Context-dependent expression of the foraging gene in field colonies of ants: the interacting roles of age, environment and task

Proceedings of The Royal Society B Biological Sciences ◽

10.1098/rspb.2016.0841 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 283 (1837) ◽

pp. 20160841 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

Krista K. Ingram ◽

Deborah M. Gordon ◽

Daniel A. Friedman ◽

Michael Greene ◽

John Kahler ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Gene Expression ◽

Task Allocation ◽

Molecular Mechanisms ◽

Light Exposure ◽

Genetic Regulation ◽

Behavioural Plasticity ◽

Harvester Ants ◽

Ontogenetic Changes ◽

Context Dependent ◽

And Task

Task allocation among social insect workers is an ideal framework for studying the molecular mechanisms underlying behavioural plasticity because workers of similar genotype adopt different behavioural phenotypes. Elegant laboratory studies have pioneered this effort, but field studies involving the genetic regulation of task allocation are rare. Here, we investigate the expression of the foraging gene in harvester ant workers from five age- and task-related groups in a natural population, and we experimentally test how exposure to light affects foraging expression in brood workers and foragers. Results from our field study show that the regulation of the foraging gene in harvester ants occurs at two time scales: levels of foraging mRNA are associated with ontogenetic changes over weeks in worker age, location and task, and there are significant daily oscillations in foraging expression in foragers. The temporal dissection of foraging expression reveals that gene expression changes in foragers occur across a scale of hours and the level of expression is predicted by activity rhythms: foragers have high levels of foraging mRNA during daylight hours when they are most active outside the nests. In the experimental study, we find complex interactions in foraging expression between task behaviour and light exposure. Oscillations occur in foragers following experimental exposure to 13 L : 11 D (LD) conditions, but not in brood workers under similar conditions. No significant differences were seen in foraging expression over time in either task in 24 h dark (DD) conditions. Interestingly, the expression of foraging in both undisturbed field and experimentally treated foragers is also significantly correlated with the expression of the circadian clock gene, cycle . Our results provide evidence that the regulation of this gene is context-dependent and associated with both ontogenetic and daily behavioural plasticity in field colonies of harvester ants. Our results underscore the importance of assaying temporal patterns in behavioural gene expression and suggest that gene regulation is an integral mechanism associated with behavioural plasticity in harvester ants.

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