Abstract
A decentralized algorithm for solving set partitioning problems (SPP) has numerous applications in multi-agent systems. Apart from its relevance for problems of operations research, the SPP is equivalent to clustering of agents as well as the generation of coalition structures. SPADA, the algorithm proposed in this paper, does not use central metrics, relies exclusively on local agent knowledge, and respects agent autonomy. By trying to increase its own benefit, each subset of agents, representing a coalition or cluster, contributes to establishing a suitable partitioning. Agents are at liberty to decide if they want to join or leave a subset. All operations that change the composition of these subsets or the acquaintances of agents can be mapped onto a graph that represents these relations. The algorithm is evaluated in a scenario of decentralized energy management where it is used as a self-organization mechanism. The evaluations show that the quality of the partitioning is within 10% of the solutions found by a particle swarm optimizer with global knowledge.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Repast Simphony, http://repast.sourceforge.net (accessed June 1, 2012)
Abdallah, S., Lesser, V.: Organization-Based Cooperative Coalition Formation. In: Int. Conference on Intelligent Agent Technology, pp. 162–168 (2004)
Al Faruque, M.A., Krist, R., Henkel, J.: ADAM: run-time agent-based distributed application mapping for on-chip communication. In: Proc. of the 45th Annual Design Automation Conference, pp. 760–765. ACM (2008)
Anders, G., Seebach, H., Nafz, F., Steghöfer, J.-P., Reif, W.: Decentralized Reconfiguration for Self-Organizing Resource-Flow Systems Based on Local Knowledge. In: 8th IEEE Int. Conference and Workshops on Engineering of Autonomic and Autonomous Systems (EASe), pp. 20–31 (2011)
Anders, G., Siefert, F., Steghöfer, J.-P., Seebach, H., Nafz, F., Reif, W.: Structuring and Controlling Distributed Power Sources by Autonomous Virtual Power Plants. In: Proc. of the Power & Energy Student Summit, pp. 40–42 (October 2010)
Buccafurri, F., Rosaci, D., Sarnè, G.M.L., Ursino, D.: An Agent-Based Hierarchical Clustering Approach for E-commerce Environments. In: Bauknecht, K., Tjoa, A.M., Quirchmayr, G. (eds.) EC-Web 2002. LNCS, vol. 2455, pp. 109–118. Springer, Heidelberg (2002)
Chan, H., Perrig, A.: ACE: An Emergent Algorithm for Highly Uniform Cluster Formation. In: Karl, H., Wolisz, A., Willig, A. (eds.) EWSN 2004. LNCS, vol. 2920, pp. 154–171. Springer, Heidelberg (2004)
Gerkey, B., Matarić, M.: A formal analysis and taxonomy of task allocation in multi-robot systems. Int. Journal of Robotics Research 23(9), 939 (2004)
Kennedy, J., Eberhart, R.: Particle Swarm Optimization. In: Proc. of the IEEE Int. Conference on Neural Networks, vol. 4, pp. 1942–1948 (1995)
Motee, N., Sayyar-Rodsari, B.: Optimal partitioning in distributed model predictive control. In: Proc. of the 2003 American Control Conference, vol. 6, pp. 5300–5305 (June 2003)
Ogston, E., Overeinder, B., Steen, M.V., Brazier, F.: A Method for Decentralized Clustering in Large Multi-Agent Systems. In: Proc. of the 2nd Int. Joint Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems, pp. 789–796 (2003)
Rahwan, T., Ramchurn, S.D., Jennings, N.R., Giovannucci, A.: An Anytime Algorithm for Optimal Coalition Structure Generation. Journal of Artificial Intelligence Research 34, 521–567 (2009)
Shehory, O., Kraus, S.: Methods for Task Allocation via Agent Coalition Formation. Artificial Intelligence 101(1-2), 165–200 (1998)
Valev, V.: Set Partition Principles Revisited. In: Amin, A., Pudil, P., Dori, D. (eds.) SPR 1998 and SSPR 1998. LNCS, vol. 1451, pp. 875–881. Springer, Heidelberg (1998)
Younis, O., Fahmy, S.: HEED: A Hybrid, Energy-Efficient, Distributed Clustering Approach for Ad Hoc Sensor Networks. IEEE Transactions on Mobile Computing 3, 366–379 (2004)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2012 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this paper
Cite this paper
Anders, G., Siefert, F., Steghöfer, JP., Reif, W. (2012). A Decentralized Multi-agent Algorithm for the Set Partitioning Problem. In: Rahwan, I., Wobcke, W., Sen, S., Sugawara, T. (eds) PRIMA 2012: Principles and Practice of Multi-Agent Systems. PRIMA 2012. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 7455. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-32729-2_8
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-32729-2_8
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-642-32728-5
Online ISBN: 978-3-642-32729-2
eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)