Contract Net Protocol based Insertion Approach for the Dynamic multi-vehicle Pick-up and Delivery Problem

In this paper, we investigate in the application of the Contract Net negotiation Protocol (CNP) to deal with a dynamic hard transportation problems. Our interest in the Multi-agent negotiation approaches accounts for its proved suitablity with dynamic and uncertain domains [8][9]. We address the resolution of the uncapacitated-multi-vehicle-Dynamic Pickup and Delivery Problem with Time Windows m-DPDPTW, which is applied in the real world to the courier distribution services. This problem consists in finding the least cost routing allowing to satisfy requests of carrying items from pick-up locations to delivery ones, while dynamic requests continuously come to the planning center [4]. Our problem is implemented into a multi-agent system where cooperative agents representing the transporters and planning center negotiate possible m-DPDPTW solutions under the Contract Net Protocol[17][20]

Robot Task Allocation Using Signal Propagation Model

AbstractThe problem of Multi-Robot Task Allocation has received significant attention over last years. The solutions with decentralized decision making have proven better durability than those using centralized planning. In this paper a method which does not use any explicit communication is presented. It is especially suitable for very high dynamics of tasks priorities, when other methods must often perform time-consuming replanning. The method uses a simple model of signal emission and propagation in the environment. Simulation experiments are provided to demonstrate usability and interesting features of the method

A Multi Agent Based Organizational Architecture for Dynamic Pickup and Delivery Problem

Pickup and Delivery Problem (PDP) consists of searching an optimal set of vehicles and an optimal set of routes, one route by each vehicle, in order to pickup items from a set of origins and deliver them to another set of destinations. Pickup and delivery problem is a class of complex systems whose complexity is NP Hard. In PDP real life applications, heuristics and meta heuristics methods are used in order to obtain an acceptable solution in reasonable execution time. When unpredictable events, like for example path cut and vehicles failure, may occur during the PDP schedule execution, we say that the PDP is dynamic (DPDP) and in this case we have to revise this schedule. In this paper, we propose a multi agent architecture for DPDP based on an organizational architecture. Supported by a formal framework, the proposed architecture allows us to show, through a case study that computed solution for the studied problem could be done in a parallel manner which attenuates substantially the problem complexity