Destination-to-Chutes Task Mapping Optimization for Multi-Robot Coordination in Robotic Sorting Systems

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Zhang, Yulun, Barbosa, Alexandre O. G., Pecora, Federico, Li, Jiaoyang
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Zhang, Yulun
Barbosa, Alexandre O. G.
Pecora, Federico
Li, Jiaoyang
author_facet Zhang, Yulun
Barbosa, Alexandre O. G.
Pecora, Federico
Li, Jiaoyang
contents We study optimizing a destination-to-chutes task mapping to improve throughput in Robotic Sorting Systems (RSS), where a team of robots sort packages on a sortation floor by transporting them from induct workstations to eject chutes based on their shipping destinations (e.g. Los Angeles or Pittsburgh). The destination-to-chutes task mapping is used to determine which chutes a robot can drop its package. Finding a high-quality task mapping is challenging because of the complexity of a real-world RSS. First, optimizing task mapping is interdependent with robot target assignment and path planning. Second, chutes will be CLOSED for a period of time once they receive sufficient packages to allow for downstream processing. Third, task mapping quality directly impacts the downstream processing, as scattered chutes for the same destination increase package handling time. In this paper, we first formally define task mappings and the problem of Task Mapping Optimization (TMO). We then present a simulator of RSS to evaluate task mappings. We then present a simple TMO method based on the Evolutionary Algorithm and Mixed Integer Linear Programming, demonstrating the advantage of our optimized task mappings over the greedily generated ones in various RSS setups with different map sizes, numbers of chutes, and destinations. Finally, we use Quality Diversity algorithms to analyze the throughput of a diverse set of task mappings. Our code is available online at https://github.com/lunjohnzhang/tmo_public.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2510_03472
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Destination-to-Chutes Task Mapping Optimization for Multi-Robot Coordination in Robotic Sorting Systems
Zhang, Yulun
Barbosa, Alexandre O. G.
Pecora, Federico
Li, Jiaoyang
Robotics
Artificial Intelligence
Multiagent Systems
We study optimizing a destination-to-chutes task mapping to improve throughput in Robotic Sorting Systems (RSS), where a team of robots sort packages on a sortation floor by transporting them from induct workstations to eject chutes based on their shipping destinations (e.g. Los Angeles or Pittsburgh). The destination-to-chutes task mapping is used to determine which chutes a robot can drop its package. Finding a high-quality task mapping is challenging because of the complexity of a real-world RSS. First, optimizing task mapping is interdependent with robot target assignment and path planning. Second, chutes will be CLOSED for a period of time once they receive sufficient packages to allow for downstream processing. Third, task mapping quality directly impacts the downstream processing, as scattered chutes for the same destination increase package handling time. In this paper, we first formally define task mappings and the problem of Task Mapping Optimization (TMO). We then present a simulator of RSS to evaluate task mappings. We then present a simple TMO method based on the Evolutionary Algorithm and Mixed Integer Linear Programming, demonstrating the advantage of our optimized task mappings over the greedily generated ones in various RSS setups with different map sizes, numbers of chutes, and destinations. Finally, we use Quality Diversity algorithms to analyze the throughput of a diverse set of task mappings. Our code is available online at https://github.com/lunjohnzhang/tmo_public.
title Destination-to-Chutes Task Mapping Optimization for Multi-Robot Coordination in Robotic Sorting Systems
topic Robotics
Artificial Intelligence
Multiagent Systems
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2510.03472