Using a planner for coordination of multiagent team behavior

Abstract

We present an approach to coordinate the behavior of a multiagent team using an HTN planning procedure. To coordinate teams, high level tasks have to be broken down into subtasks which is a basic operation in HTN planners. We are using planners in each of the agents to incorporate domain knowledge and to make agents follow a specified team strategy. With our approach, agents coordinate deliberatively and still maintain a high degree of reactivity. In our implementation for use in RoboCup Simulation League, first results were already very promising. Using a planner leads to better separation of agent code and expert knowledge. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2006.