Priority-constrained task sequencing for heterogeneous mobile robots

Abstract

This paper presents an application of a technique for sequencing priority-constrained tasks which will be performed autonomously by a couple of heterogeneous mobile robots. Here the sequencing problem of sequentially- performed and separate tasks for multiple robots is considered. Two types of tasks are chosen. One type of tasks can be performed by only one robot. The second type of task requires completion of a part of the task by one robot and the rest of the task is completed by another robot due to nature of the tasks and abilities of the robots. It is assumed that tasks have been assigned to the robots, completion times and priorities of the tasks for each robot has been determined beforehand. In this paper, a technique is used for sequencing the tasks to produce a schedule with a minimum makespan. Real world experiments are presented to show the convenience of the proposed approach. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2006.