Multi-robot Task Allocation for Nursing Home Based on Improved Particle Swarm Algorithm

Abstract:
For multi-robot task allocation problem in a nursing home environment, this paper develops an optimisation model with the objectives of shortest task completion time, lowest system energy consumption and maximum number of tasks completed. An improved particle swarm algorithm is also proposed to solve the model efficiently. In the design of the algorithm, the concept of allocation radius is defined, and an encoding method is designed specifically for this problem, transforming the decision variables from discrete to continuous. The encoding method enables the continuous algorithm to solve discrete problems and shifts the processing of some constraints from the encoding layer to the decoding layer, which greatly improves the efficiency of the algorithm's solution. In addition, the improved algorithm incorporates updated formulations of the flame algorithm, genetic algorithm and particle swarm algorithm, which enhances the diversity of generating individuals and improves the exploration capability of the algorithm. Finally, the improved algorithm proposed in this paper is compared with other swarm intelligence algorithms. The experimental results show that the improved algorithm outperforms other algorithms in terms of solution energy consumption, time and system gain, and converges faster, indicating that the proposed algorithm plays a greater role in planning multi-robot task allocation schemes.