CN113238533A - System and method for dynamically scheduling and issuing job tasks of mobile robot - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention discloses a system and a method for dynamically scheduling and issuing job tasks of a mobile robot, wherein the method comprises the following steps: dividing the operation tasks of the robot into a plurality of task groups according to task types and generating a task list, wherein the data structure of the operation tasks is represented in the form of a directed graph; issuing operation tasks to the robot according to the sequence of the task list; and updating the task state of the job task in real time according to the completion condition of the job task, and dynamically scheduling the job task by modifying the lower job task with dependency relationship on the directed graph into the upper job task pointing to the job task. The invention represents the sequential dependency relationship of the execution of two connected job tasks by the edge of the directed graph, dynamically schedules the job tasks by modifying the subordinate job tasks with the dependency relationship into the superior job tasks pointing to the job tasks, has simple algorithm and high efficiency, and can flexibly schedule the job tasks.

Description

System and method for dynamically scheduling and issuing job tasks of mobile robot

Technical Field

The invention relates to the technical field of robots, in particular to a system and a method for dynamically scheduling and issuing job tasks of a mobile robot.

Background

At present, mobile robots are widely used in industries such as industry, agriculture, medical treatment, and service. In practical applications, a plurality of mobile robots commonly cooperate to complete a work task. Therefore, the task assignment of the mobile robot plays a very important role in improving the task completion speed and efficiency.

At present, the job tasks of the mobile robots are usually issued statically, that is, the scheduling system parses the job tasks according to the overall planning of the job tasks, and issues each parsed task to be allocated to a corresponding robot, thereby implementing cooperative work. However, the static task issuing method has low execution efficiency of the robot.

For this reason, chinese patent CN 102831319 a discloses a fine-grained task allocation algorithm for a multi-robot cooperative system, which applies the reputation in real life to a robot cooperative system, determines the allocation of tasks according to the reputation value of the robot itself or an alliance, and can reasonably allocate different tasks to the corresponding robot with the highest reputation, thereby improving the task completion efficiency; and in addition, by combining a fine-grained time model and by means of constraint of cycle time, scheduling can be timely performed aiming at some sudden conditions such as task revocation and robot failure, and the robustness and fault tolerance of the whole system are improved. However, the above-mentioned technical solutions still have the following problems:

1. the task allocation algorithm is complex, resulting in low system efficiency.

2. Task allocation is realized by mutual delegation among robots, and when the robots have serious faults, delegation instructions cannot be sent out, so that operation tasks cannot be effectively executed.

In view of this, there is an urgent need to improve the existing robot task allocation method to simplify the algorithm, improve the efficiency, and ensure the effective execution of the task.

Disclosure of Invention

In view of the above-mentioned drawbacks, the technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a system and a method for dynamically scheduling and issuing job tasks of a mobile robot, so as to solve the problems of complex task allocation algorithm, low efficiency and inefficient execution of job tasks in the prior art.

Therefore, the invention provides a method for dynamically scheduling and issuing job tasks of a mobile robot, which comprises the following steps:

dividing the operation tasks of the robot into a plurality of task groups according to task types and generating a task list, wherein the data structure of the operation tasks is represented in the form of a directed graph; each task group comprises a plurality of job tasks, the job tasks are respectively connected through directed edges in the group, and the directed edges in the group are used for representing the sequential dependency relationship of the execution of the two connected job tasks; the job tasks in different task groups are connected through inter-group directed edges to form a total task directed graph, and the inter-group directed edges are used for representing the sequential dependency relationship of the execution of the two job tasks connected between the task groups;

according to the idle condition of the robot, a task group is used as a minimum unit to be distributed to the corresponding robot;

and updating the task state of the job task in real time according to the completion condition of the job task, dynamically scheduling the job task by modifying the subordinate job task with dependency relationship into the superior job task pointing to the job task, and modifying the task state of the previous stage task into the completed state.

In the method, preferably, two job tasks having a dependency relationship automatically perform dynamic scheduling on the job task if the task status of the next job task is not updated to be completed within a predetermined time.

In the above method, preferably, the manner of dynamically scheduling the job task is: and adding a new job task in the superior task group, setting the task state of the new job task to be completed, and pointing the superior task of the subordinate job task with dependency relationship to the new job task.

In the above method, preferably, the manner of dynamically scheduling the job task is: and creating a new task group, adding at least one new job task in the new task group, and directing the dependency relationship of one new job task to the corresponding job task in the superior task group.

In the above method, preferably, of the two task groups having a dependency relationship, a last job task in an upper task group is directed to a first job task in a lower task group.

The invention also provides a system for dynamically scheduling and issuing the job tasks of the mobile robot, which comprises the following steps:

the task list generating unit is used for grouping a plurality of task groups according to task types and generating a task list, and the data structure of the job task is represented in the form of a directed graph; each task group comprises a plurality of job tasks, the job tasks are respectively connected through directed edges in the group, and the directed edges in the group are used for representing the sequential dependency relationship of the execution of the two connected job tasks; the job tasks in different task groups are connected through inter-group directed edges to form a total task directed graph, and the inter-group directed edges are used for representing the sequential dependency relationship of the execution of the two job tasks connected between the task groups;

the task state updating unit is used for updating the task state in real time according to the completion condition of the operation task;

the task state modifying unit is used for modifying the subordinate job task with the dependency relationship into a superior job task pointing to the job task;

and the scheduling unit is used for allocating one task group as a minimum unit to the corresponding robot according to the idle condition of the robot and automatically and dynamically scheduling the job task.

In the system, according to two job tasks with dependency relationship, the task state of the next job task is not updated to be completed within a specified time, and the scheduling unit automatically and dynamically schedules the job tasks.

In the above system, further comprising:

and the new task adding unit is used for adding a new operation task in the task group, setting the task state of the new operation task to be completed through the task state modifying unit, and pointing the subordinate operation task with the dependency relationship to the new operation task through the task list generating unit.

In the system, the new task adding unit creates a new task group and adds the new job task.

According to the technical scheme, the system and the method for dynamically scheduling and issuing the job tasks of the mobile robot solve the problems that in the prior art, the algorithm is complex, the efficiency is low, and the job tasks cannot be effectively executed. Compared with the prior art, the invention has the following beneficial effects:

the method comprises the steps of grouping the operation tasks of the robot into a plurality of task groups according to task types and generating a task list, wherein the data structure of the operation tasks is represented in the form of a directed graph, the sequential dependency relationship of the execution of two connected operation tasks is represented by a directed edge, the lower operation tasks with the dependency relationship are modified into the upper operation tasks pointing to the operation tasks, the operation tasks are dynamically scheduled, the algorithm is simple, the efficiency is high, and the operation tasks can be flexibly scheduled.

In addition, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, if the task status of the post-stage job task is not updated to be completed within a predetermined time, the post-stage task can be executed by adding a new task or adding a new task group, thereby ensuring effective execution of the job task.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments of the present invention or the prior art will be briefly described and explained. It is obvious that the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the invention, and that for a person skilled in the art, other drawings can be derived from them without inventive effort.

Fig. 1 is a flowchart of a method for dynamically scheduling and issuing job tasks of a mobile robot according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of a task group directed graph in the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of a general task directed graph in the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a modified direction relationship of an embodiment of a task group directed graph according to the present invention;

fig. 5 is a schematic diagram of a system for dynamically scheduling and issuing job tasks of a mobile robot according to the present invention.

Detailed Description

The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention will be described clearly and completely with reference to the accompanying drawings, and it is to be understood that the embodiments described below are only a part of the embodiments of the present invention, and not all of the embodiments. All other embodiments, which can be derived by a person skilled in the art from the embodiments of the present invention without any inventive step, are within the scope of the present invention.

The realization principle of the invention is as follows:

dividing the operation tasks of the robot into a plurality of task groups according to task types and generating a task list, wherein the data structure of the operation tasks is represented in the form of a directed graph;

and updating the task state of the job task in real time according to the completion condition of the job task, and dynamically scheduling the job task by modifying the subordinate job task with the dependency relationship into the superior job task pointing to the job task.

The scheme provided by the invention has simple algorithm and can flexibly and dynamically schedule the operation of the robot.

In order to make the technical solution and implementation of the present invention more clearly explained and illustrated, several preferred embodiments for implementing the technical solution of the present invention are described below.

It should be noted that the terms of orientation such as "inside, outside", "front, back" and "left and right" are used herein as reference objects, and it is obvious that the use of the corresponding terms of orientation does not limit the scope of protection of the present invention.

Referring to fig. 1, fig. 1 is a flowchart of a method for dynamically scheduling and issuing job tasks of a mobile robot according to the present invention, where the method includes the following steps:

and 110, grouping the work tasks of the robot into a plurality of task groups according to the task types and generating a task list.

The data structure of the job tasks is represented in a directed graph form, each task group comprises a plurality of job tasks, the job tasks are connected through directed edges (edges of the directed graph) in the group to form the directed graph of the task group, and the directed edges in the group are used for representing the sequential dependency relationship of the execution of the two connected job tasks.

For example, the work tasks of the property cleaning robot include a sweeping task, a dust removal task, a washing task, and the like. The cleaning method comprises the following steps of dividing a plurality of sweeping tasks into a task group A, dividing a plurality of dust removal tasks into a task group B, and dividing a plurality of cleaning tasks into a task group C.

The task group A comprises 5 work tasks, namely a work task A1 of a sweeping A1 area, a work task A2 of a sweeping A2 area, a work task A3 of a sweeping A3 area, a work task A4 of a sweeping A4 area and a work task A5 of a sweeping A5 area; in the dedusting task group B, the work task in the dedusting A1 area is B1, the work task in the dedusting A2 area is B2, and the work task in the dedusting A3 area is B3; in cleaning task group C, the work task for cleaning the a1 area is C1, the work task for cleaning the a2 area is C2, the work task for cleaning the A3 area is C3, and the work task for cleaning the a4 area is C4.

Thereby, the following task list is generated.

Task LIST

Task group A

{ task A1, task A2, task A3, task A4, task A5, … … }

Task group B

{ task B1, task B2, task B3, … … }

Task group C

{ task C1, task C2, task C3, task C4, … … }.

The task list is ordered in task groups, and in each task group, in job tasks.

As shown in fig. 2, the nodes a1, a2, A3, a4 and a5 of the task group directed graph G1 represent different job tasks, the directed edge EA1(a1 and a2) connecting the nodes a1 and a2 represents two connected job tasks a1, and the precedence dependency relationship of the execution of the job task a2, that is, the job task a2 depends on the job task a1, and the job task a2 can be executed only after the execution of the job task a1 is completed.

Similarly, the directed edges EA2(a2, A3), EA3(A3, a4), and EA4(a4, a5) respectively represent the sequential dependency relationship of job task execution among job tasks a2, A3, a4, and a 5.

The job tasks in different task groups are connected through inter-group directed edges (edges of the directed graph) to form a total task directed graph, and the inter-group directed edges are used for representing the sequential dependency relationship of the execution of two job tasks connected between the task groups.

The intra-group directed edges and inter-group directed edges may be collectively referred to as edges of the directed graph.

For different task groups A, B, the sequential dependency of the job tasks is: b1 depends on the completion of a5, C1 depends on the completion of B3.

As shown in fig. 3, the three task groups A, B and C respectively form task group directed graphs G1, G2 and G3, the task group directed graphs G1 and G2 are connected by inter-group directed edges EG1(G1 and G2), and the inter-group directed edges EG1(G1 and G2) indicate that the first job task B1 in the task group G2 depends on the completion of the last job task a5 in the task group G1.

Typically, the first job task in the subsequent task group directed graph depends on the completion of the last job task in the previous task group directed graph. However, after the last job task in the previous task group directed graph is completed, the first job task in the next task group directed graph is skipped over, and other job tasks in the task group are executed, for example, the task C-1 is skipped over, and the task C-2 is executed; or, the last job task in the previous task group directed graph is skipped, and the corresponding task in the next task group is executed, for example, after the task B-2 is executed, the task B-3 is skipped, and the task C-1 is executed. The execution sequence or the dependency relationship of the specific job tasks can be set according to the actual conditions of job task failure, manual change and the like, and the directing relationship of the edges of the directed graph can be adjusted or planned according to the setting.

And step 120, according to the idle condition of the robot, allocating a task group as a minimum unit to the corresponding robot.

One robot may receive multiple task groups.

When multiple robots are in the area, different task groups can be distributed to the multiple robots to perform cooperative work.

When the task group changes, including the change of the priority, or the cancellation of the subsequent task, and the like, the connection between the task groups is performed by changing the dependency relationship of the tasks, so that the logical deletion operation is performed.

Taking the example of deleting a task group, the connection of the task group is changed, that is, the task group exists in the system, but does not have any preceding task or subsequent task, and is an isolated node.

And step 130, updating the task state of the job task in real time according to the job task completion condition, wherein the task state is divided into three states of starting, performing and completing. The method comprises the steps of modifying a subordinate job task with a dependency relationship into a superior job task pointing to the job task, dynamically scheduling the job task, and modifying the task state of a previous stage task into a completed state before dynamic scheduling.

When the task state of one of the job tasks is not changed from in-progress to completed within a predetermined time, it is described that the execution of the job task is failed, and the robot itself may be failed, or there may be a problem in the work environment.

In the method of the present invention, the dynamic scheduling of the job task in step 130 can be implemented in two ways.

The first method is as follows:

and adding a new job task in the task group of the job task, setting the state of the new job task to be completed, and pointing the subordinate job task which has a dependency relationship with the job task to the new job task. New job tasks may be inserted after the problematic task or at the end of the group.

For example, in the following embodiment, task B3 of task group B fails to proceed, or fails after multiple attempts, and task C1 of task group C relies on the completion of task B3 and can only start after the completion of task execution of task B3, task C1.

The system generates the following list of original tasks:

task LIST

Task group A

{ task A1, task A2, task A3, task A4}

Task group B

{ task B1, task B2, task B3}

Task group C

{ task C1, task C2 }.

For this problem, the system finds that task B3 has not updated its task status to completed within a prescribed time, and then adds a new task B4 after job task B3 in which a problem occurs in task group B, and sets the task status of new task B4 to completed, so that task C1 can be executed since the task status of new task B4 is completed. The modified task list is as follows:

task LIST

Task group A

{ task A1, task A2, task A3, task A4}

Task group B

The second method comprises the following steps:

a second way to solve the above problem is to create a new task group D and add at least one new task D1, directing the dependency of one of the new job tasks to the corresponding job task B2 in the upper task group. The modified task list is as follows:

task LIST

Task group A

{ task A-1, task A-2, task A-3, task A-4}

Task group B

The first of the above two ways is for the case where the subsequent task group is not strongly dependent on the preceding task group, and the second is for the case where the subsequent task group is strongly dependent on the preceding task group.

For example, task group C depends strongly on task group B, which is "call elevator, robot wait for some task such as elevator", and task group C is "robot enter elevator, system control elevator arrive xx floor etc". However, due to a certain task in task group B, such as "call elevator failed". Resulting in the robot having no way to ride an elevator. But at the moment, the robot is not abnormal, can work normally and can continue to clean a certain area of the same floor. Then, the added task group D "walks to xx, cleans the area YY", and so on, so that after the robot completes the job task B-2, the robot skips the job task B-3 and the job task group C to execute the job task in the task group D.

In the invention, the directed graph is represented by the adjacency matrix, the dynamic scheduling of the job task is realized, the directional relation of the directed edge is modified by modifying the adjacency matrix, and the dependency relation of the job task is changed.

Based on the method, the scheme provided by the invention can flexibly perform dynamic scheduling according to requirements, and is not limited to scheduling only when the task cannot be completed.

For example, the system dynamically schedules job tasks by modifying the direction of directed edges within groups or modifying the direction of directed edges between groups according to the completion of actual job tasks or when new tasks are temporarily added.

The modification can be realized by adding tasks in the group or adding the task group. For example, in the embodiment shown in fig. 4, the original directed edge E (A3, a4) is deleted, and the directed edge E (A3, a5) is added, so that the task a5 is directly executed after the whole task A3 is completed, and the task a4 is not executed any more.

The above method is equally applicable to flexible scheduling across task groups.

According to the invention, the task directed graph can be displayed on the terminal, and flexible scheduling of the job task is realized by manually modifying the guidance relation of the directed edge.

On the basis of the method, the invention also provides a system for dynamically scheduling and issuing the mobile robot job task.

As shown in fig. 5, the system includes a task list generating unit 10, a task state updating unit 20, a task state modifying unit 30, a new task adding unit 40, and a scheduling unit 50.

The task list generating unit 10 is configured to group the tasks into a plurality of task groups according to task types and generate a task list, where a data structure of the job task is represented in the form of a directed graph; each task group comprises a plurality of job tasks, the job tasks in the same task group are respectively connected through directed edges in the group, and the directed edges in the group are used for expressing the sequential dependency relationship of the execution of the two connected job tasks; the job tasks in different task groups are connected through the inter-group directed edges to form a total task directed graph, and the inter-group directed edges are used for expressing the sequential dependency relationship of the execution of the two job tasks connected between the task groups.

The task state updating unit 20 is used for updating the task state in real time according to the completion condition of the job task.

The task state modification unit 30 is configured to modify a lower-level job task having a dependency relationship to an upper-level job task directed to the job task.

The new task adding unit 40 is configured to add a new job task in the task group, set the task state of the new job task to be completed through the task state modifying unit 30, and direct the subordinate job task having a dependency relationship to the new job task through the task list generating unit 10.

The new task adding unit 40 may also create a new task group, add a new job task in the new task group, then set the task state of the new job task to be completed through the task state modifying unit 30, and point the subordinate job tasks with dependency relationship to the new job task through the task list generating unit 10.

The scheduling unit 50 is configured to allocate a task group as a minimum unit to a corresponding robot according to an idle condition of the robot, and automatically perform dynamic scheduling on job tasks.

By combining the description of the above embodiments, the system and method for dynamically scheduling and issuing job tasks of a mobile robot provided by the present invention have the following advantages compared with the prior art:

firstly, the work tasks of the robot are grouped into a plurality of task groups according to the task types, and a task list is generated, wherein the data structure of the work tasks is represented in the form of a directed graph. The task scheduling of the robot is carried out through the task list, and the algorithm is simple and high in efficiency. And the task list can be flexibly modified, so that the dynamic scheduling of the robot job task is achieved.

And secondly, for two job tasks with dependency relationship, if the task state of the next job task is not updated to be completed within the specified time, the job tasks are automatically and dynamically scheduled, so that the job tasks can be effectively executed, and the condition that the next job task cannot start because the previous job task cannot be completed is avoided.

Thirdly, flexible scheduling of job tasks can be realized by automatically or manually modifying the guidance relation of the directed graph, and the use is convenient.

Finally, it should also be noted that the terms "comprises," "comprising," or any other variation thereof, as used herein, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements does not include only those elements but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus. Without further limitation, an element defined by the phrase "comprising an …" does not exclude the presence of other identical elements in a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises the element.

The present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned preferred embodiments, and any structural changes made under the teaching of the present invention shall fall within the scope of the present invention, which is similar or similar to the technical solutions of the present invention.

Claims (9)

1. A method for dynamically scheduling and issuing job tasks of a mobile robot is characterized by comprising the following steps:

dividing the operation tasks of the robot into a plurality of task groups according to task types and generating a task list, wherein the data structure of the operation tasks is represented in the form of a directed graph; each task group comprises a plurality of job tasks, the job tasks are respectively connected through directed edges in the group, and the directed edges in the group are used for representing the sequential dependency relationship of the execution of the two connected job tasks; the job tasks in different task groups are connected through inter-group directed edges to form a total task directed graph, and the inter-group directed edges are used for representing the sequential dependency relationship of the execution of the two job tasks connected between the task groups;

according to the idle condition of the robot, a task group is used as a minimum unit to be distributed to the corresponding robot;

and updating the task state of the job task in real time according to the completion condition of the job task, dynamically scheduling the job task by modifying the subordinate job task with dependency relationship into the superior job task pointing to the job task, and modifying the task state of the previous stage task into the completed state.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein there are two job tasks in a dependency relationship, and if a subsequent job task does not update the task status to complete within a specified time, the job task is automatically dynamically scheduled.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the job task is dynamically scheduled in a way that: and adding a new job task in the superior task group, setting the task state of the new job task to be completed, and pointing the superior task of the subordinate job task with dependency relationship to the new job task.

4. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the job task is dynamically scheduled in a way that: and creating a new task group, adding at least one new job task in the new task group, and directing the dependency relationship of one new job task to the corresponding job task in the superior task group.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the two task groups having a dependency relationship are such that a last job task in an upper task group is directed to a first job task in a lower task group.

6. A system for dynamically scheduling and issuing job tasks of a mobile robot is characterized by comprising:

the task list generating unit is used for grouping a plurality of task groups according to task types and generating a task list, and the data structure of the job task is represented in the form of a directed graph; each task group comprises a plurality of job tasks, the job tasks are respectively connected through directed edges in the group, and the directed edges in the group are used for representing the sequential dependency relationship of the execution of the two connected job tasks; the job tasks in different task groups are connected through inter-group directed edges to form a total task directed graph, and the inter-group directed edges are used for representing the sequential dependency relationship of the execution of the two job tasks connected between the task groups;

the task state updating unit is used for updating the task state in real time according to the completion condition of the operation task;

the task state modifying unit is used for modifying the subordinate job task with the dependency relationship into a superior job task pointing to the job task;

and the scheduling unit is used for allocating one task group as a minimum unit to the corresponding robot according to the idle condition of the robot and automatically and dynamically scheduling the job task.

7. The system according to claim 6, wherein the scheduling unit automatically dynamically schedules the job task according to the fact that the task status of the next job task is not updated to be completed within a specified time in two job tasks with dependency relationship.

8. The system of claim 6 or 7, further comprising:

and the new task adding unit is used for adding a new operation task in the task group, setting the task state of the new operation task to be completed through the task state modifying unit, and pointing the subordinate operation task with the dependency relationship to the new operation task through the task list generating unit.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the new task adding unit creates a new task group and adds the new job task in the new task group.

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