Task Decomposition, Dynamic Role Assignment, and Low-Bandwidth Communication for Real-Time Strategic Teamwork

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Task Decomposition, Dynamic Role Assignment, and Low-Bandwidth Communication for Real-Time Strategic Teamwork (1999)

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by Peter Stone , Manuela Veloso

Venue:	ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
Citations:	220 - 20 self

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@ARTICLE{Stone99taskdecomposition,,
    author = {Peter Stone and Manuela Veloso},
    title = {Task Decomposition, Dynamic Role Assignment, and Low-Bandwidth Communication for Real-Time Strategic Teamwork},
    journal = {ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE},
    year = {1999},
    volume = {110},
    number = {2},
    pages = {241--273}
}

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Abstract

Multi-agent domains consisting of teams of agents that need to collaborate in an adversarial environment offer challenging research opportunities. In this article, we introduce periodic team synchronization (PTS) domains as time-critical environments in which agents act autonomously with low communication, but in which they can periodically synchronize in a full-communication setting. The two main contributions of this article are a flexible team agent structure and a method for inter-agent communication in domains with unreliable, single-channel, low-bandwidth communication. First, the novel team agent structure allows agents to capture and reason about team agreements. We achieve collaboration between agents through the introduction of formations. A formation decomposes the task space defining a set of roles. Homogeneous agents can flexibly switch roles within formations, and agents can change formations dynamically, according to pre-defined triggers to be evaluated at run-time. This flexibility increases the performance of the overall team. Our teamwork structure further includes pre-planning for frequent situations. Second, the novel communication method is designed for use during the lowcommunication periods in PTS domains. It overcomes the obstacles to inter-agent communication in multi-agent environments with unreliable, high-cost, low-bandwidth communication. We fully implemented both the flexible teamwork structure and the communication method in the domain of simulated robotic soccer, and conducted controlled empirical experiments to verify their effectiveness. In addition, our simulator team made it to the semi-finals of the RoboCup-97 competition, in which 29 teams participated.

Keyphrases

low-bandwidth communication real-time strategic teamwork dynamic role assignment task decomposition inter-agent communication full-communication setting multi-agent environment overall team task space flexible teamwork structure team agreement periodic team synchronization robocup-97 competition teamwork structure simulator team multi-agent domain frequent situation main contribution research opportunity controlled empirical experiment pt domain novel team agent structure flexible team agent structure adversarial environment offer novel communication method time-critical environment lowcommunication period communication method pre-defined trigger low communication homogeneous agent simulated robotic soccer

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