Related papers: Taming Combinatorial Challenges in Optimal Clutter…

Combinatorial optimization can be described as the problem of finding a feasible subset that maximizes a objective function. The paper discusses combinatorial optimization problems, where for each dimension the set of feasible subsets is…

Motivated by modern parallel computing applications, we consider the problem of scheduling parallel-task jobs with heterogeneous resource requirements in a cluster of machines. Each job consists of a set of tasks that can be processed in…

We present the "Busboy Problem": automating an efficient decluttering of cups, bowls, and silverware from a planar surface. As grasping and transporting individual items is highly inefficient, we propose policies to generate grasps for…

This paper presents a robotic pick-and-place system that is capable of grasping and recognizing both known and novel objects in cluttered environments. The key new feature of the system is that it handles a wide range of object categories…

The Algorithm Selection Problem is concerned with selecting the best algorithm to solve a given problem on a case-by-case basis. It has become especially relevant in the last decade, as researchers are increasingly investigating how to…

Many researchers in artificial intelligence are beginning to explore the use of soft constraints to express a set of (possibly conflicting) problem requirements. A soft constraint is a function defined on a collection of variables which…

We consider the problem of cooperative intersection management. It arises in automated transportation systems for people or goods but also in multi-robots environment. Therefore many solutions have been proposed to avoid collisions. The…

In this paper, we demonstrate a formulation for optimizing coupled submodular maximization problems with provable sub-optimality bounds. In robotics applications, it is quite common that optimization problems are coupled with one another…

Planning motions for two robot arms to move an object collaboratively is a difficult problem, mainly because of the closed-chain constraint, which arises whenever two robot hands simultaneously grasp a single rigid object. In this paper, we…

In our daily life, cluttered objects are everywhere, from scattered stationery and books cluttering the table to bowls and plates filling the kitchen sink. Retrieving a target object from clutters is an essential while challenging skill for…

We describe an efficient and fault-tolerant algorithm for distributed cyclic garbage collection. The algorithm imposes few requirements on the local machines and allows for flexibility in the choice of local collector and distributed…

This paper studies a class of multi-robot coordination problems where a team of robots aim to reach their goal regions with minimum time and avoid collisions with obstacles and other robots. A novel numerical algorithm is proposed to…

This work addresses the coordination problem of multiple robots with the goal of finding specific hazardous targets in an unknown area and dealing with them cooperatively. The desired behaviour for the robotic system entails multiple…

For robots to successfully execute tasks assigned to them, they must be capable of planning the right sequence of actions. These actions must be both optimal with respect to a specified objective and satisfy whatever constraints exist in…

Partitioning and grouping of similar objects plays a fundamental role in image segmentation and in clustering problems. In such problems a typical goal is to group together similar objects, or pixels in the case of image processing. At the…

We state a combinatorial optimization problem whose feasible solutions define both a decomposition and a node labeling of a given graph. This problem offers a common mathematical abstraction of seemingly unrelated computer vision tasks,…

The multiple knapsack problem with grouped items aims to maximize rewards by assigning groups of items among multiple knapsacks, considering knapsack capacities. Either all items in a group are assigned or none at all. We propose algorithms…

In this paper, we consider the problem of allocating human operator assistance in a system with multiple autonomous robots. Each robot is required to complete independent missions, each defined as a sequence of tasks. While executing a…

We introduce the strongly NP-complete pagination problem, an extension of BIN PACKING where packing together two items may make them occupy less volume than the sum of their individual sizes. To achieve this property, an item is defined as…

This paper studies the underlying combinatorial structure of a class of object rearrangement problems, which appear frequently in applications. The problems involve multiple, similar-geometry objects placed on a flat, horizontal surface,…