By name: karma-mechanisms-decentralised-cooperative description: "Multi-Agent Path Finding (MAPF) is a fundamental coordination problem in large-scale robotic and cyber-physical systems, where multiple agents must compute conflict-free trajectori... Activation: multi-agent"
Karma Mechanisms for Decentralised, Cooperative Multi Agent Path Finding
Overview
Multi-Agent Path Finding (MAPF) is a fundamental coordination problem in large-scale robotic and cyber-physical systems, where multiple agents must compute conflict-free trajectories with limited computational and communication resources. While centralised optimal solvers provide guarantees on solution optimality, their exponential computational complexity limits scalability to large-scale systems and real-time applicability. Existing decentralised heuristics are faster, but result in suboptimal outcomes and high cost disparities. This paper proposes a decentralised coordination framework for cooperative MAPF based on Karma mechanisms - artificial, non-tradeable credits that account for agents' past cooperative behaviour and regulate future conflict resolution decisions. The approach formulates conflict resolution as a bilateral negotiation process that enables agents to resolve conflicts through pairwise replanning while promoting long-term fairness under limited communication and without global priority structures. The mechanism is evaluated in a lifelong robotic warehouse multi-agent pickup-and-delivery scenario with kinematic orientation constraints. The results highlight that the Karma mechanism balances replanning effort across agents, reducing disparity in service times without sacrificing overall efficiency. Code: this https URL
Source Paper
- Title: Karma Mechanisms for Decentralised, Cooperative Multi Agent Path Finding
- Authors: Kevin Riehl, Julius Schlapbach, Anastasios Kouvelas, Michail A. Makridis
- arXiv: 2604.07970v1
- Published: 2026-04-09
- Categories: eess.SY, cs.RO
- Primary Category: eess.SY
Core Concepts
This paper presents research on systems engineering with focus areas including:
- Novel methodological frameworks
- Theoretical foundations and analysis
- Practical implementation strategies
- Experimental validation
Technical Contributions
- Novel Approach: Advanced methodology for complex systems problems
- Theoretical Foundation: Rigorous mathematical analysis
- Practical Implementation: Real-world application and validation
Applications
- Systems engineering research and development
- Distributed systems design and optimization
- Control system implementation
- Multi-agent coordination
Implementation Guidelines
- Review the source paper for detailed methodology
- Understand the theoretical framework
- Implement the proposed approach
- Validate with appropriate experiments
References
- Kevin Riehl et al. (2026). "Karma Mechanisms for Decentralised, Cooperative Multi Agent Path Finding." arXiv:2604.07970v1.
- arXiv URL: https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.07970v1
Activation Keywords
multi-agent