DMCA
Multi-agent Path Planning and Network Flow
| Citations: | 5 - 4 self |
BibTeX
@MISC{Yu_multi-agentpath,
author = {Jingjin Yu and Steven M. LaValle},
title = {Multi-agent Path Planning and Network Flow},
year = {}
}
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Abstract
This paper connects multi-agent path planning on graphs (roadmaps) to network flow problems, showing that the former can be reduced to the later, therefore enabling the application of combinatorial network flow algorithms, as well as general linear program techniques, to multi-agent path planning problems on graphs. Exploiting this connection, we show that when the goals are permutation invariant, the problem always has a feasible solution path set with a longest finish time of no more than n+V −1 steps, in which n is the number of agents and V is the number of vertices of the underlying graph. We then give a complete algorithm that finds such a solution in O(nV E) time, with E being the number of edges of the graph. Taking a further step, we study time and distance optimality of the feasible solutions, show that they have a pairwise Pareto optimal structure, and again provide efficient algorithms for optimizing each of these practical objectives.
Keyphrases
multi-agent path planning network flow underlying graph network flow problem efficient algorithm distance optimality multi-agent path planning problem complete algorithm pairwise pareto optimal structure finish time feasible solution path combinatorial network flow algorithm permutation invariant feasible solution general linear program technique practical objective
