Abstract
A fundamental challenge in multi-robot systems is spatial coordination (avoiding collisions) between robots, each under its own control. Swarm methods, where by robots coordinate ad-hoc and locally, offer a promising approach. However, while empirically demonstrated to be viable in practice, no guarantees of performance are known. This paper formalizes a class of multi-robot cooperative tasks as differential extensive-form games. We show that the system coordination overhead is a differential function, forming a connection between the theoretical maximum-payoff equilibrium of the system, and the rational self-interested choices of individual robots during task execution: robot swarms can be rational in theory. We then show how to approximate the rational decision-making in practice using reinforcement learning, using internal measures for rewards. We empirically show this leads to consistent optimal performance in with physical and simulated robots.
Original language | English |
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Title of host publication | 18th International Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems, AAMAS 2019 |
Publisher | International Foundation for Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems (IFAAMAS) |
Pages | 149-157 |
Number of pages | 9 |
ISBN (Electronic) | 9781510892002 |
State | Published - 2019 |
Event | 18th International Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems, AAMAS 2019 - Montreal, Canada Duration: 13 May 2019 → 17 May 2019 https://dl.acm.org/doi/proceedings/10.5555/3306127 |
Publication series
Name | Proceedings of the International Joint Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems, AAMAS |
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Volume | 1 |
ISSN (Print) | 1548-8403 |
ISSN (Electronic) | 1558-2914 |
Conference
Conference | 18th International Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems, AAMAS 2019 |
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Country/Territory | Canada |
City | Montreal |
Period | 13/05/19 → 17/05/19 |
Internet address |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2019 International Foundation for Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems (IFAAMAS). All rights reserved.
Keywords
- Game-theory
- Multi-robot systems
- Swarm