Time-dependent cooperative assignment

The problem of assigning multiple agents to time-dependent cooperative tasks is addressed using a mixed-integer linear program. A time-dependent cooperative task is a task requiring multiple agents to perform separate sub tasks simultaneously or within some predetermined margin where agent availability to perform a subtask is limited to specific intervals in time. By separating the underlying calculation of agent availability and cost from the mechanism of assignment, a method to solve complex cooperative assignment problems can be formulated. A cooperative UAV target tracking/target prosecution scenario is presented to illustrate the assignment method.