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Concurrent and Distributed Shortest-Path Searches in Multiagent-Based Transport Systems

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Transactions on Computational Collective Intelligence XX

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((TCCI,volume 9420))

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Abstract

The Fourth Industrial Revolution and the consequent integration of the Internet of Things and Services into industrial processes increase the requirements of transport processes. Customer demanding same-day deliveries, shorter transit-times, individual qualities of shipments, and higher amounts of small size orders raise the complexity and dynamics in logistics. In these highly dynamic environments, multiagent systems (MAS) and multiagent-based simulation (MASB) offer a suitable approach to handle the complexity and to provide the required flexibility, robustness, as well as customized behavior. This article focuses on the impact and the relevance of shortest-path queries in MAS and MABS. It compares the application of state-of-the-art algorithms and investigates different modeling approaches for efficient and concurrent shortest-path searches. The results prove that the application of a highly efficient algorithm such as hub labeling with contraction hierarchies is an essential key component in the agent-based control of dynamic transport processes. Moreover, the results reveal that choosing a modeling approach which slightly restricts the agents’ autonomy increases significantly the runtime performance without losing the advantages of multiagent systems. This allows for applying MAS to solve large scale real-world transport problems and for performing MABS with low hardware requirements.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    http://www.openstreetmap.org (cited: 22.04.15).

  2. 2.

    In the experiment a single routing agent maintains a the shortest-path algorithm (see next Section).

  3. 3.

    Note that PlaSMA extends JADE. Thus, each static variable is only visible to the JVM. In distributed simulations on multiple machines, each machine requires its own static routing algorithm.

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Acknowledgments

The presented research was funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) within the project Autonomous Courier and Express Services (HE 989/14-1) at the University of Bremen, Germany.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Technologie-Zentrum Informatik und Informationstechnik Institute for Artificial Intelligence, Am Fallturm 1, 28359, Bremen, Germany

    Max Gath, Otthein Herzog & Maximilian Vaske

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  1. Max Gath
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  2. Otthein Herzog
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  3. Maximilian Vaske
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Correspondence to Max Gath .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Computer Science and Manageme, Wroclaw University of Technology, Wroclaw, Poland

    Ngoc Thanh Nguyen

  2. Swinburne University of Technology, Hawthorn, Australia

    Ryszard Kowalczyk

  3. LERIA - UFR Sciences, Angers Cedex 01, France

    Béatrice Duval

  4. Leiden, Zuid-Holland, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands

    Jaap van den Herik

  5. LERIA - UFR Sciences, Angers Cedex 01, France

    Stephane Loiseau

  6. INSTICC, Polytechnic Institute of Setubal, Setubal, Portugal

    Joaquim Filipe

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Gath, M., Herzog, O., Vaske, M. (2015). Concurrent and Distributed Shortest-Path Searches in Multiagent-Based Transport Systems. In: Nguyen, N., Kowalczyk, R., Duval, B., van den Herik, J., Loiseau, S., Filipe, J. (eds) Transactions on Computational Collective Intelligence XX . Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 9420. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-27543-7_7

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