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A near-optimal node-to-agent mapping heuristic for GDL-based DCOP algorithms in multi-agent systems

A near-optimal node-to-agent mapping heuristic for GDL-based DCOP algorithms in multi-agent systems
A near-optimal node-to-agent mapping heuristic for GDL-based DCOP algorithms in multi-agent systems
Distributed Constraint Optimization Problems (DCOPs) can be used to model a number of multi-agent coordination problems. The conventional DCOP model assumes that the subproblem that each agent is responsible for (i.e. the mapping of nodes in the constraint graph to agents) is part of the model description. While this assumption is often reasonable, there are many applications where there is some flexibility in making this assignment. In this paper, we focus on this gap and make the following contributions: (1) We formulate this problem as an optimization problem, where the goal is to find an assignment that minimizes the completion time of the DCOP algorithm (e.g. Action-GDL or Max-Sum) that operates on this mapping. (2) We propose a novel heuristic, called MNA, that can be executed in a centralized or decentralized manner. (3) Our empirical evaluation illustrates a substantial reduction in completion time, ranging from 16% to 40%, without affecting the solution quality of the algorithms, compared to the current state of the art. In addition, we observe empirically that the completion time obtained from our approach is near-optimal; it never exceeds more than 10% of what can be achieved from the optimal node-to-agent mapping.
1613-1621
International Foundation for Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems (IFAAMAS)
Khan, Md. Mosaddek
6c5cfdba-17fd-4b64-9c26-97e562071ed2
Tran-Thanh, Long
e0666669-d34b-460e-950d-e8b139fab16c
Yeoh, William
5a1add31-ad89-4196-9812-3d7fd2493389
Jennings, Nicholas
ab3d94cc-247c-4545-9d1e-65873d6cdb30
Khan, Md. Mosaddek
6c5cfdba-17fd-4b64-9c26-97e562071ed2
Tran-Thanh, Long
e0666669-d34b-460e-950d-e8b139fab16c
Yeoh, William
5a1add31-ad89-4196-9812-3d7fd2493389
Jennings, Nicholas
ab3d94cc-247c-4545-9d1e-65873d6cdb30

Khan, Md. Mosaddek, Tran-Thanh, Long, Yeoh, William and Jennings, Nicholas (2018) A near-optimal node-to-agent mapping heuristic for GDL-based DCOP algorithms in multi-agent systems. In 17th International Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems. International Foundation for Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems (IFAAMAS). pp. 1613-1621 .

Record type: Conference or Workshop Item (Paper)

Abstract

Distributed Constraint Optimization Problems (DCOPs) can be used to model a number of multi-agent coordination problems. The conventional DCOP model assumes that the subproblem that each agent is responsible for (i.e. the mapping of nodes in the constraint graph to agents) is part of the model description. While this assumption is often reasonable, there are many applications where there is some flexibility in making this assignment. In this paper, we focus on this gap and make the following contributions: (1) We formulate this problem as an optimization problem, where the goal is to find an assignment that minimizes the completion time of the DCOP algorithm (e.g. Action-GDL or Max-Sum) that operates on this mapping. (2) We propose a novel heuristic, called MNA, that can be executed in a centralized or decentralized manner. (3) Our empirical evaluation illustrates a substantial reduction in completion time, ranging from 16% to 40%, without affecting the solution quality of the algorithms, compared to the current state of the art. In addition, we observe empirically that the completion time obtained from our approach is near-optimal; it never exceeds more than 10% of what can be achieved from the optimal node-to-agent mapping.

Text
MM Khan, L Tran-Thanh, W Yeoh - 2018 - A Near-Optimal Node-to-Agent Mapping Heuristic for GDL-Based DCOP Algorithms in Multi-Agent Sy(3) - Accepted Manuscript
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More information

Accepted/In Press date: 24 January 2018
e-pub ahead of print date: 10 July 2018
Venue - Dates: 17th International Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems, AAMAS 2018, , Stockholm, Sweden, 2018-07-10 - 2018-07-15

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 420547
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/420547
PURE UUID: 007f1f4d-7fc9-4c63-b647-28fc06af5df8
ORCID for Long Tran-Thanh: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0003-1617-8316

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 10 May 2018 16:30
Last modified: 19 Jul 2024 16:52

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Contributors

Author: Md. Mosaddek Khan
Author: Long Tran-Thanh ORCID iD
Author: William Yeoh
Author: Nicholas Jennings

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