Conflict-Based Search For Optimal Multi-Agent Path Finding

Guni Sharon, Roni Stern, Ariel Felner, Nathan Sturtevant

Research output: Contribution to conferencePaperpeer-review

6 Scopus citations

Abstract

In the multi agent path finding problem (MAPF) paths should be found for several agents, each with a different start and goal position such that agents do not collide. Previous optimal solvers applied global A*-based searches. We present a new search algorithm called Conflict Based Search (CBS). CBS is a two-level algorithm. At the high level, a search is performed on a tree based on conflicts between agents. At the low level, a search is performed only for a single agent at a time. In many cases this reformulation enables CBS to examine fewer states than A* while still maintaining optimality. We analyze CBS and show its benefits and drawbacks. Experimental results on various problems shows a speedup of up to a full order of magnitude over previous approaches.

Original languageEnglish
Pages563-569
Number of pages7
StatePublished - 2012
Externally publishedYes
Event26th AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence, AAAI 2012 - Toronto, Canada
Duration: 22 Jul 201226 Jul 2012

Conference

Conference26th AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence, AAAI 2012
Country/TerritoryCanada
CityToronto
Period22/07/1226/07/12

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © 2012, Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (www.aaai.org). All rights reserved.

Funding

This research was supported by the Israeli Sience Foundation (ISF) under grant #305/09 to Ariel Felner.

FundersFunder number
Israel Science Foundation305/09

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