Mobile Crowdsourcing Task Allocation Based on Dynamic Self-Attention GANs

Crowdsourcing technology is widely recognized for its effectiveness in task scheduling and resource allocation.While traditional methods for task allocation can help reduce costs and improve efficiency,they may encounter challenges when dealing with abnormal data flow nodes,leading to decreased allocation accuracy and efficiency.To address these issues,this study proposes a novel two-part invalid detection task allocation framework.In the first step,an anomaly detection model is developed using a dynamic self-attentive GAN to identify anomalous data.Compared to the baseline method,the model achieves an approximately 4%increase in the F1 value on the public dataset.In the second step of the framework,task allocation modeling is performed using a twopart graph matching method.This phase introduces a P-queue KM algorithm that implements a more efficient optimization strategy.The allocation efficiency is improved by approximately 23.83%compared to the baseline method.Empirical results confirm the effectiveness of the proposed framework in detecting abnormal data nodes,enhancing allocation precision,and achieving efficient allocation.

MADDPG-D2: An Intelligent Dynamic Task Allocation Algorithm Based on Multi-Agent Architecture Driven by Prior Knowledge

Aiming at the problems of low solution accuracy and high decision pressure when facing large-scale dynamic task allocation(DTA)and high-dimensional decision space with single agent,this paper combines the deep reinforce-ment learning(DRL)theory and an improved Multi-Agent Deep Deterministic Policy Gradient(MADDPG-D2)algorithm with a dual experience replay pool and a dual noise based on multi-agent architecture is proposed to improve the efficiency of DTA.The algorithm is based on the traditional Multi-Agent Deep Deterministic Policy Gradient(MADDPG)algorithm,and considers the introduction of a double noise mechanism to increase the action exploration space in the early stage of the algorithm,and the introduction of a double experience pool to improve the data utilization rate;at the same time,in order to accelerate the training speed and efficiency of the agents,and to solve the cold-start problem of the training,the a priori knowledge technology is applied to the training of the algorithm.Finally,the MADDPG-D2 algorithm is compared and analyzed based on the digital battlefield of ground and air confrontation.The experimental results show that the agents trained by the MADDPG-D2 algorithm have higher win rates and average rewards,can utilize the resources more reasonably,and better solve the problem of the traditional single agent algorithms facing the difficulty of solving the problem in the high-dimensional decision space.The MADDPG-D2 algorithm based on multi-agent architecture proposed in this paper has certain superiority and rationality in DTA.

Joint Task Allocation and Resource Optimization for Blockchain Enabled Collaborative Edge Computing

Collaborative edge computing is a promising direction to handle the computation intensive tasks in B5G wireless networks.However,edge computing servers(ECSs)from different operators may not trust each other,and thus the incentives for collaboration cannot be guaranteed.In this paper,we propose a consortium blockchain enabled collaborative edge computing framework,where users can offload computing tasks to ECSs from different operators.To minimize the total delay of users,we formulate a joint task offloading and resource optimization problem,under the constraint of the computing capability of each ECS.We apply the Tammer decomposition method and heuristic optimization algorithms to obtain the optimal solution.Finally,we propose a reputation based node selection approach to facilitate the consensus process,and also consider a completion time based primary node selection to avoid monopolization of certain edge node and enhance the security of the blockchain.Simulation results validate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm,and the total delay can be reduced by up to 40%compared with the non-cooperative case.

Heterogeneous Task Allocation Model and Algorithm for Intelligent Connected Vehicles

With the development of vehicles towards intelligence and connectivity,vehicular data is diversifying and growing dramatically.A task allocation model and algorithm for heterogeneous Intelligent Connected Vehicle(ICV)applications are proposed for the dispersed computing network composed of heterogeneous task vehicles and Network Computing Points(NCPs).Considering the amount of task data and the idle resources of NCPs,a computing resource scheduling model for NCPs is established.Taking the heterogeneous task execution delay threshold as a constraint,the optimization problem is described as the problem of maximizing the utilization of computing resources by NCPs.The proposed problem is proven to be NP-hard by using the method of reduction to a 0-1 knapsack problem.A many-to-many matching algorithm based on resource preferences is proposed.The algorithm first establishes the mutual preference lists based on the adaptability of the task requirements and the resources provided by NCPs.This enables the filtering out of un-schedulable NCPs in the initial stage of matching,reducing the solution space dimension.To solve the matching problem between ICVs and NCPs,a new manyto-many matching algorithm is proposed to obtain a unique and stable optimal matching result.The simulation results demonstrate that the proposed scheme can improve the resource utilization of NCPs by an average of 9.6%compared to the reference scheme,and the total performance can be improved by up to 15.9%.

A Systematic Literature Review on Task Allocation and Performance Management Techniques in Cloud Data Center

As cloud computing usage grows,cloud data centers play an increasingly important role.To maximize resource utilization,ensure service quality,and enhance system performance,it is crucial to allocate tasks and manage performance effectively.The purpose of this study is to provide an extensive analysis of task allocation and performance management techniques employed in cloud data centers.The aim is to systematically categorize and organize previous research by identifying the cloud computing methodologies,categories,and gaps.A literature review was conducted,which included the analysis of 463 task allocations and 480 performance management papers.The review revealed three task allocation research topics and seven performance management methods.Task allocation research areas are resource allocation,load-Balancing,and scheduling.Performance management includes monitoring and control,power and energy management,resource utilization optimization,quality of service management,fault management,virtual machine management,and network management.The study proposes new techniques to enhance cloud computing work allocation and performance management.Short-comings in each approach can guide future research.The research’s findings on cloud data center task allocation and performance management can assist academics,practitioners,and cloud service providers in optimizing their systems for dependability,cost-effectiveness,and scalability.Innovative methodologies can steer future research to fill gaps in the literature.

TASK ALLOCATION BASED ON PHEROMONE

A pheromone-based coordination approach and a prototype implementation for task allocation are pro- posed, for dealing with the static task allocation. The approach uses an indirect coordination mechanism, called pheromone, which comes from the collective behavior of ant colonies for food foraging. Therefore it can automat- ically find efficient manufacturing cells for processing tasks and reduce communication overhead, which exists in the contract net protocol. Experimental results confirm that the approach has excellent stability and optimization ability for task allocation problems in a static environment.

Cooperative task allocation for heterogeneous multi-UAV using multi-objective optimization algorithm

The application of multiple UAVs in complicated tasks has been widely explored in recent years.Due to the advantages of flexibility,cheapness and consistence,the performance of heterogeneous multi-UAVs with proper cooperative task allocation is superior to over the single UAV.Accordingly,several constraints should be satisfied to realize the efficient cooperation,such as special time-window,variant equipment,specified execution sequence.Hence,a proper task allocation in UAVs is the crucial point for the final success.The task allocation problem of the heterogeneous UAVs can be formulated as a multi-objective optimization problem coupled with the UAV dynamics.To this end,a multi-layer encoding strategy and a constraint scheduling method are designed to handle the critical logical and physical constraints.In addition,four optimization objectives:completion time,target reward,UAV damage,and total range,are introduced to evaluate various allocation plans.Subsequently,to efficiently solve the multi-objective optimization problem,an improved multi-objective quantum-behaved particle swarm optimization(IMOQPSO)algorithm is proposed.During this algorithm,a modified solution evaluation method is designed to guide algorithmic evolution;both the convergence and distribution of particles are considered comprehensively;and boundary solutions which may produce some special allocation plans are preserved.Moreover,adaptive parameter control and mixed update mechanism are also introduced in this algorithm.Finally,both the proposed model and algorithm are verified by simulation experiments.

Gini Coefficient-based Task Allocation for Multi-robot Systems With Limited Energy Resources

Nowadays, robots generally have a variety of capabilities, which often form a coalition replacing human to work in dangerous environment, such as rescue, exploration, etc. In these operating conditions, the energy supply of robots usually cannot be guaranteed. If the energy resources of some robots are consumed too fast, the number of the future tasks of the coalition will be affected. This paper will develop a novel task allocation method based on Gini coefficient to make full use of limited energy resources of multi-robot system to maximize the number of tasks. At the same time, considering resources consumption,we incorporate the market-based allocation mechanism into our Gini coefficient-based method and propose a hybrid method,which can flexibly optimize the task completion number and the resource consumption according to the application contexts.Experiments show that the multi-robot system with limited energy resources can accomplish more tasks by the proposed Gini coefficient-based method, and the hybrid method can be dynamically adaptive to changes of the work environment and realize the dual optimization goals.

A blockchain bee colony double inhibition labor division algorithm for spatio-temporal coupling task with application to UAV swarm task allocation

It is difficult for the double suppression division algorithm of bee colony to solve the spatio-temporal coupling or have higher dimensional attributes and undertake sudden tasks.Using the idea of clustering,after clustering tasks according to spatio-temporal attributes,the clustered groups are linked into task sub-chains according to similarity.Then,based on the correlation between clusters,the child chains are connected to form a task chain.Therefore,the limitation is solved that the task chain in the bee colony algorithm can only be connected according to one dimension.When a sudden task occurs,a method of inserting a small number of tasks into the original task chain and a task chain reconstruction method are designed according to the relative relationship between the number of sudden tasks and the number of remaining tasks.Through the above improvements,the algorithm can be used to process tasks with spatio-temporal coupling and burst tasks.In order to reflect the efficiency and applicability of the algorithm,a task allocation model for the unmanned aerial vehicle(UAV)group is constructed,and a one-to-one correspondence between the improved bee colony double suppression division algorithm and each attribute in the UAV group is proposed.Task assignment has been constructed.The study uses the self-adjusting characteristics of the bee colony to achieve task allocation.Simulation verification and algorithm comparison show that the algorithm has stronger planning advantages and algorithm performance.

Multi-robot task allocation for exploration

The problem of allocating a number of exploration tasks to a team of mobile robots in dynamic environments was studied. The team mission is to visit several distributed targets. The path cost of target is proportional to the distance that a robot has to move to visit the target. The team objective is to minimize the average path cost of target over all targets. Finding an optimal allocation is strongly NP-hard. The proposed algorithm can produce a near-optimal solution to it. The allocation can be cast in terms of a multi-round single-item auction by which robots bid on targets. In each auction round, one target is assigned to a robot that produces the lowest path cost of the target. The allocated targets form a forest where each tree corresponds a robot’s exploring targets set. Each robot constructs an exploring path through depth-first search in its target tree. The time complexity of the proposed algorithm is polynomial. Simulation experiments show that the allocating method is valid.

A METHOD OF TASK ALLOCATION AND AUTOMATED NEGOTIATION FOR MULTI ROBOTS

A method of task allocation and automated negotiation for multi robots was proposed. Firstly, the principles of task allocation were described based on the real capability of robot. Secondly, the model of automated negotiation was constructed, in which Least-Squares Support Vector Regression (LSSVR) was improved to estimate the opponent's negotiation utility and the robust controller of output feedback was employed to optimize the utility performance indicators. Thirdly, the protocol of negotiation and reallocation was proposed to improve the real-time capability and task allocation. Finally, the validity of method was proved through experiments.

Genetic Algorithm Based Combinatorial Auction Method for Multi-Robot Task Allocation

An improved genetic algorithm is proposed to solve the problem of bad real-time performance or inability to get a global optimal/better solution when applying single-item auction （SIA） method or combinatorial auction method to multi-robot task allocation. The genetic algorithm based combinatorial auction （GACA） method which combines the basic-genetic algorithm with a new concept of ringed chromosome is used to solve the winner determination problem （WDP） of combinatorial auction. The simulation experiments are conducted in OpenSim, a multi-robot simulator. The results show that GACA can get a satisfying solution in a reasonable shot time, and compared with SIA or parthenogenesis algorithm combinatorial auction （PGACA） method, it is the simplest and has higher search efficiency, also, GACA can get a global better/optimal solution and satisfy the high real-time requirement of multi-robot task allocation.

Energy-efficient task allocation for reliable parallel computation of cluster-based wireless sensor network in edge computing

To efficiently complete a complex computation task,the complex task should be decomposed into subcomputation tasks that run parallel in edge computing.Wireless Sensor Network(WSN)is a typical application of parallel computation.To achieve highly reliable parallel computation for wireless sensor network,the network's lifetime needs to be extended.Therefore,a proper task allocation strategy is needed to reduce the energy consumption and balance the load of the network.This paper proposes a task model and a cluster-based WSN model in edge computing.In our model,different tasks require different types of resources and different sensors provide different types of resources,so our model is heterogeneous,which makes the model more practical.Then we propose a task allocation algorithm that combines the Genetic Algorithm(GA)and the Ant Colony Optimization(ACO)algorithm.The algorithm concentrates on energy conservation and load balancing so that the lifetime of the network can be extended.The experimental result shows the algorithm's effectiveness and advantages in energy conservation and load balancing.

Efficient Mechanisms for Task Allocation in Agile Supply Chain Management

An agile supply chain can be defined as a dynamic s up ply network of some autonomous or semi-autonomous business entities, which can well adapt to the competitive, cooperative and dynamic market environment Agile supply chain needs quick response ability to the unpredictable and ever-changin g market environment, and the entities in agile supply chain have complex relati onships of competition, cooperation and dynamics, which make agile supply chain management a very complex process that includes a lot of no-linear, dynamic and uncertain factors. There is a common opinion that applying multi-agent collaborative work environm ent is an appropriate method to solve agile supply chain management problem. We have presented a model based on coordination of Multi-Agent System (MAS) two ye ars ago, and it has already been proved to be a rather better model by practical project. In the model, we apply MAS structure, and agents negotiate each other to achieve coordination, so the communication among agents becomes very impo rtant. Task allocation is a very common problem in agile supply chain management, and t here are many complex task re-allocation problems at the transaction level. In such situations, agents need to negotiate with others to produce effective alloc ation results. But traditional negotiation mechanisms often cease to work as a r esult of communication or computational complexities. Auctions provide an effici ent way of resolving one-to-many negotiations, so in this paper, we choose Eng lish auction to design a sufficient negotiation mechanism, and use combinatorial auction to solve the complex task re-allocation problems. We first analyze the features of task allocation problems in agile supply chain and build a problem model, and then design a comprehensive task allocation mechanism based on auctio n theories. Finally, by examining our results for what it is, essentially, an ap plication of game-theory and mechanism design to existing application, we draw some general conclusions on how such concepts can be operationalized in automate d agents. Some further research on the problem is also discussed.

Hybrid Two-Phase Task Allocation for Mobile Crowd Sensing

As a result of the popularity of mobile devices,Mobile Crowd Sensing (MCS) has attracted a lot of attention. Task allocation is a significant problem in MCS. Most previous studies mainly focused on stationary spatial tasks while neglecting the changes of tasks and workers. In this paper,the proposed hybrid two-phase task allocation algorithm considers heterogeneous tasks and diverse workers.For heterogeneous tasks,there are different start times and deadlines. In each round,the tasks are divided into urgent and non-urgent tasks. The diverse workers are classified into opportunistic and participatory workers.The former complete tasks on their way,so they only receive a fixed payment as employment compensation,while the latter commute a certain distance that a distance fee is paid to complete the tasks in each round as needed apart from basic employment compensation. The task allocation stage is divided into multiple rounds consisting of the opportunistic worker phase and the participatory worker phase. At the start of each round,the hiring of opportunistic workers is considered because they cost less to complete each task. The Poisson distribution is used to predict the location that the workers are going to visit,and greedily choose the ones with high utility. For participatory workers,the urgent tasks are clustered by employing hierarchical clustering after selecting the tasks from the uncompleted task set.After completing the above steps,the tasks are assigned to participatory workers by extending the Kuhn-Munkres (KM) algorithm.The rest of the uncompleted tasks are non-urgent tasks which are added to the task set for the next round.Experiments are conducted based on a real dataset,Brightkite,and three typical baseline methods are selected for comparison. Experimental results show that the proposed algorithm has better performance in terms of total cost as well as efficiency under the constraint that all tasks are completed.

Task Allocation Approach for Minimizing Make-Span inWireless Sensor Actor Networks

Wireless Sensor Actor Networks(WSANs)have contributed to the development of pervasive computing wherein time consideration to perform the tasks of pervasive applications is necessary.Hence,time constraint is one of the major challenges of WSANs.In this paper,we propose an analytical approach based on queuing theory to minimize the total time taken for completion of tasks,i.e.,make-span,in WSANs with hybrid architecture.The best allocation rates of tasks to actor nodes are figured out through solving inequities and qualities resulting from a steady state analysis of the proposed model.Applying the calculated tasks arrival rates at each of the actors,the make-span could be minimized.To assess the accuracy of the tasks assignment rates to each of the actors attained from the suggested analytical approach and to provide a graphical representation of the WSAN a formal model in terms of the generalized stochastic Petri net(GSPN)is presented.The proposed GSPN model is analyzed,tasks distribution weights to the actors are determined,and then tasks allocation rates can be computed.Comparing the results achieved from the analytical approach and the GSPN model demonstrates that allocation rates and hence,the make-span figured out from proposed approach and the formal model are the same.Experimental results in typical scenarios show shorter make-span and longer network lifetime compared to when one of the two popular traditional task allocation algorithms,namely,opportunistic load balancing(OLB),and stochastic allocation(SA)algorithms,is used.

Joint Task Allocation and Resource Optimization for Blockchain Enabled Collaborative Edge Computing

Collaborative edge computing is a promising direction to handle the computation intensive tasks in B5G wireless networks.However,edge computing servers(ECSs)from different operators may not trust each other,and thus the incentives for collaboration cannot be guaranteed.In this paper,we propose a consortium blockchain enabled collaborative edge computing framework,where users can offload computing tasks to ECSs from different operators.To minimize the total delay of users,we formulate a joint task offloading and resource optimization problem,under the constraint of the computing capability of each ECS.We apply the Tammer decomposition method and heuristic optimization algorithms to obtain the optimal solution.Finally,we propose a reputation based node selection approach to facilitate the consensus process,and also consider a completion time based primary node selection to avoid monopolization of certain edge node and enhance the security of the blockchain.Simulation results validate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm,and the total delay can be reduced by up to 40%compared with the non-cooperative case.

Distributed dynamic task allocation for unmanned aerial vehicle swarm systems:A networked evolutionary game-theoretic approach

Task allocation is a key aspect of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle(UAV)swarm collaborative operations.With an continuous increase of UAVs’scale and the complexity and uncertainty of tasks,existing methods have poor performance in computing efficiency,robustness,and realtime allocation,and there is a lack of theoretical analysis on the convergence and optimality of the solution.This paper presents a novel intelligent framework for distributed decision-making based on the evolutionary game theory to address task allocation for a UAV swarm system in uncertain scenarios.A task allocation model is designed with the local utility of an individual and the global utility of the system.Then,the paper analytically derives a potential function in the networked evolutionary potential game and proves that the optimal solution of the task allocation problem is a pure strategy Nash equilibrium of a finite strategy game.Additionally,a PayOff-based Time-Variant Log-linear Learning Algorithm(POTVLLA)is proposed,which includes a novel learning strategy based on payoffs for an individual and a time-dependent Boltzmann parameter.The former aims to reduce the system’s computational burden and enhance the individual’s effectiveness,while the latter can ensure that the POTVLLA converges to the optimal Nash equilibrium with a probability of one.Numerical simulation results show that the approach is optimal,robust,scalable,and fast adaptable to environmental changes,even in some realistic situations where some UAVs or tasks are likely to be lost and increased,further validating the effectiveness and superiority of the proposed framework and algorithm.

Multi-Robot Task Allocation Using Multimodal Multi-Objective Evolutionary Algorithm Based on Deep Reinforcement Learning

The overall performance of multi-robot collaborative systems is significantly affected by the multi-robot task allocation.To improve the effectiveness,robustness,and safety of multi-robot collaborative systems,a multimodal multi-objective evolutionary algorithm based on deep reinforcement learning is proposed in this paper.The improved multimodal multi-objective evolutionary algorithm is used to solve multi-robot task allo-cation problems.Moreover,a deep reinforcement learning strategy is used in the last generation to provide a high-quality path for each assigned robot via an end-to-end manner.Comparisons with three popular multimodal multi-objective evolutionary algorithms on three different scenarios of multi-robot task allocation problems are carried out to verify the performance of the proposed algorithm.The experimental test results show that the proposed algorithm can generate sufficient equivalent schemes to improve the availability and robustness of multi-robot collaborative systems in uncertain environments,and also produce the best scheme to improve the overall task execution efficiency of multi-robot collaborative systems.

Multi-UAV reconnaissance task allocation for heterogeneous targets using an opposition-based genetic algorithm with double-chromosome encoding

This paper presents a novel multiple Unmanned Aerial Vehicles（UAVs） reconnaissance task allocation model for heterogeneous targets and an effective genetic algorithm to optimize UAVs＇ task sequence. Heterogeneous targets are classified into point targets, line targets and area targets according to features of target geometry and sensor＇s field of view. Each UAV is regarded as a Dubins vehicle to consider the kinematic constraints. And the objective of task allocation is to minimize the task execution time and UAVs＇ total consumptions. Then, multi-UAV reconnaissance task allocation is formulated as an extended Multiple Dubins Travelling Salesmen Problem（MDTSP）, where visit paths to the heterogeneous targets must meet specific constraints due to the targets＇ feature. As a complex combinatorial optimization problem, the dimensions of MDTSP are further increased due to the heterogeneity of targets. To efficiently solve this computationally expensive problem, the Opposition-based Genetic Algorithm using Double-chromosomes Encoding and Multiple Mutation Operators（OGA-DEMMO） is developed to improve the population variety for enhancing the global exploration capability. The simulation results demonstrate that OGADEMMO outperforms the ordinary genetic algorithm, ant colony optimization and random search in terms of optimality of the allocation results, especially for large scale reconnaissance task allocation problems.