Verifiable strategy synthesis for multiple autonomous agents: a scalable approach

Path planning and task scheduling are two challenging problems in the design of multiple autonomous agents. Both problems can be solved by the use of exhaustive search techniques such as model checking and algorithmic game theory. However, model checking suffers from the infamous state-space explosi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal on software tools for technology transfer Vol. 24; no. 3; pp. 395 - 414
Main Authors: Gu, Rong, Jensen, Peter G., Poulsen, Danny B., Seceleanu, Cristina, Enoiu, Eduard, Lundqvist, Kristina
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.06.2022
Springer Nature B.V
Subjects:
Algorithms
Computer Science
Explosions
Game theory
Learning
Path planning
Planning
Scheduling
Simulation
Software Engineering
Software Engineering/Programming and Operating Systems
Synthesis
Task scheduling
Theory of Computation
Model checking
Autonomous agents
Synthesis
Reinforcement learning
ISSN:1433-2779, 1433-2787, 1433-2787
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Path planning and task scheduling are two challenging problems in the design of multiple autonomous agents. Both problems can be solved by the use of exhaustive search techniques such as model checking and algorithmic game theory. However, model checking suffers from the infamous state-space explosion problem that makes it inefficient at solving the problems when the number of agents is large, which is often the case in realistic scenarios. In this paper, we propose a new version of our novel approach called MCRL that integrates model checking and reinforcement learning to alleviate this scalability limitation. We apply this new technique to synthesize path planning and task scheduling strategies for multiple autonomous agents. Our method is capable of handling a larger number of agents if compared to what is feasibly handled by the model-checking technique alone. Additionally, MCRL also guarantees the correctness of the synthesis results via post-verification. The method is implemented in UPPAAL STRATEGO and leverages our tool MALTA for model generation, such that one can use the method with less effort of model construction and higher efficiency of learning than those of the original MCRL. We demonstrate the feasibility of our approach on an industrial case study: an autonomous quarry, and discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the methods.
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ISSN:1433-2779
1433-2787
1433-2787
DOI:10.1007/s10009-022-00657-z