Distributed Sequential Auctions for Multiple UAV Task Allocation

Allocating tasks efficiently to multiple UAVs with limited sensor and communication ranges is a difficult problem. In this paper, we present a distributed sequential auction scheme that takes the UAV limitations into account and provides a systematic procedure for the auction process. The task allocation scheme first validates the targets using neighbor´s knowledge and then, depending on the decisions obtained from neighbors, an agent decides to auction or forfeit the target. The targets detected within a sensor range are validated and auctioned sequentially. A simulation study was conducted for different sensor and communication ranges to evaluate the performance of the sequential auction scheme which was compared with a greedy strategy and a simple distributed auction scheme. The results show that the sequential auction scheme performs better than the simple distributed auction and greedy strategy.