[文献阅读] A formal analysis and taxonomy of task allocation in multi-robot systems（Gerkey)

前言

      Gerkey B P, Matarić M J. A formal analysis and taxonomy of task allocation in multi-robot systems[J]. The International Journal of Robotics Research, 2004, 23(9): 939-954. 该文章提出了一种经典的机器人任务分配的分类方法。

任务分配分类方法

      文章从机器人特点、任务特点、分配特点三个方面进行了分类：

• Single-task robots (ST) versus multi-task robots (MT): ST means that each robot is capable of executing at most one task at a time, while MT means that some robots can execute multiple tasks simultaneouslySingle-task robots (ST) versus multi-task robots (MT): ST means that each robot is capable of executing at most one task at a time, while MT means that some robots can execute multiple tasks simultaneously.
• Single-robot tasks (SR) versus multi-robot tasks (MR): SR means that each task requires exactly one robot to achieve it, while MR means that some tasks can require multiple robots.
• Instantaneous assignment (IA) versus time-extended assignment (TA): IA means that the available information concerning the robots, the tasks, and the environment permits only an instantaneous allocation of tasks to the robots, with no planning for future allocations; TA means that more information is available, such as the set of all tasks that will need to be assigned, or a model of how tasks are expected to arrive over time.

      注： 不同的组合形成了不同的问题，如ST-SR-IA，文章对每一种组合都进行了相关介绍（包括问题模型等），感兴趣的可以去阅读全文。