Abstract
In this work, we propose a method for self-organized adaptive task partitioning in a swarm of robots. Task partitioning refers to the decomposition of a task into less complex subtasks, which can then be tackled separately. Task partitioning can be observed in many species of social animals, where it provides several benefits for the group. Self-organized task partitioning in artificial swarm systems is currently not widely studied, although it has clear advantages in large groups. We propose a fully decentralized adaptive method that allows a swarm of robots to autonomously decide whether to partition a task into two sequential subtasks or not. The method is tested on a simulated foraging problem. We study the method’s performance in two different environments. In one environment the performance of the system is optimal when the foraging task is partitioned, in the other case when it is not. We show that by employing the method proposed in this paper, a swarm of autonomous robots can reach optimal performance in both environments.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Akre, R.D., Garnett, W.B., MacDonald, J.F., Greene, A., Landolt, P.: Behavior and colony development of Vespula pensylvanica and Vespula atropilosa (hymenoptera: Vespidae). Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society 49, 63–84 (1976)
Anderson, C., Jadin, J.L.V.: The adaptive benefit of leaf transfer in Atta colombica. Insectes Sociaux 48, 404–405 (2001)
Anderson, C., Ratnieks, F.L.W.: Task Partitioning in Insect Societies. I. Effect of colony size on queueing delay and colony ergonomic efficiency. The American naturalist 154(5), 521–535 (1999)
Anderson, C., Ratnieks, F.L.W.: Task partitioning in insect societies: novel situations. Insectes Sociaux 47, 198–199 (2000)
Brutschy, A.: Task allocation in swarm robotics. Towards a method for self-organized allocation to complex tasks. Tech. Rep. TR/IRIDIA/2009-007, IRIDIA, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium (2009)
Brutschy, A., Pini, G., Baiboun, N., Decugnière, A., Birattari, M.: The IRIDIA TAM: A device for task abstraction for the e-puck robot. Tech. Rep. TR/IRIDIA/2010-015, IRIDIA, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium (2010)
Dorigo, M., Sahin, E.: Guest editorial. Special issue: Swarm robotics. Autonomous Robots 17(2-3), 111–113 (2004)
Fontan, M.S., Matarić, M.J.: A study of territoriality: The role of critical mass in adaptive task division. In: From Animals to Animats 4: Proceedings of the Fourth International Conference of Simulation of Adaptive Behavior, pp. 553–561. MIT Press, Cambridge (1996)
Hart, A.G., Anderson, C., Ratnieks, F.L.W.: Task partitioning in leafcutting ants. Acta Ethologica 5, 1–11 (2002)
Kant, E.: Perpetual Peace: A Philosophical Sketch. Hackett Publishing Company, Indianapolis (1795)
Lein, A., Vaughan, R.: Adaptive multi-robot bucket brigade foraging. In: Bullock, S., Noble, J., Watson, R., Bedau, M.A. (eds.) Artificial Life XI: Proceedings of the Eleventh International Conference on the Simulation and Synthesis of Living Systems, pp. 337–342. MIT Press, Cambridge (2008)
Mondada, F., Bonani, M., Raemy, X., Pugh, J., Cianci, C., Klaptocz, A., Magnenat, S., Zufferey, J.C., Floreano, D., Martinoli, A.: The e-puck, a robot designed for education in engineering. In: Proceedings of the 9th Conference on Autonomous Robot Systems and Competitions, Portugal, pp. 59–65, IPCB: Instituto Politècnico de Castelo Branco (2009)
Pinciroli, C.: Object retrieval by a swarm of ground based robots driven by aerial robots. Tech. Rep. TR/IRIDIA/2007-025, IRIDIA, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium (2007)
Pini, G., Brutschy, A., Birattari, M., Dorigo, M.: Interference reduction through task partitioning in a robotic swarm. In: Filipe, J., Andrade-Cetto, J., Ferrier, J.L. (eds.) Sixth International Conference on Informatics in Control, Automation and Robotics – ICINCO 2009, pp. 52–59. INSTICC Press, Setbal (2009)
Ratnieks, F.L.W., Anderson, C.: Task partitioning in insect societies. Insectes Sociaux 46(2), 95–108 (1999)
Shell, D.J., Matarić, M.J.: On foraging strategies for large-scale multi-robot systems. In: Proceedings of the 19th IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS), pp. 2717–2723 (2006)
Traiano, B.: La Bilancia Politica di Tutte le Opere di Traiano Boccalini, Part 2-3. Kessinger Publishing, Whitefish, Montana, USA (1678)
Wagner, D., Brown, M.J.F., Broun, P., Cuevas, W., Moses, L.E., Chao, D.L., Gordon, D.M.: Task-related differences in the cuticular hydrocarbon composition of harvester ants. Pogonomyrmex barbatus. J. Chem. Ecol. 24, 2021–2037 (1998)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2010 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this paper
Cite this paper
Frison, M. et al. (2010). Self-organized Task Partitioning in a Swarm of Robots. In: Dorigo, M., et al. Swarm Intelligence. ANTS 2010. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 6234. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-15461-4_25
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-15461-4_25
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-642-15460-7
Online ISBN: 978-3-642-15461-4
eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)