Abstract
Abstract. Task allocation under uncertain conditions is a key problem for agents attempting to achieve harmony in disaster environments. This paper presents an agent-based simulation to investigate task allocation considering appropriate spatial strategies to manage uncertainty in urban search and rescue (USAR) operations. The proposed method is based on the contract net protocol (CNP) and implemented over five phases: ordering existing tasks considering intrinsic interval uncertainty, finding a coordinating agent, holding an auction, applying allocation strategies (four strategies), and implementing and observing the real environment. Applying allocation strategies is the main innovation of the method. The methodology was evaluated in Tehran's District 1 for 6.6, 6.9, and 7.2 magnitude earthquakes. The simulation began by calculating the numbers of injured individuals, which were 28 856, 73 195, and 111 463 people for each earthquake, respectively. Simulations were performed for each scenario for a variety of rescuers (1000, 1500, and 2000 rescuers). In comparison with the CNP, the standard duration of rescue operations with the proposed approach exhibited at least 13 % improvement, with a maximal improvement of 21 %. Interval uncertainty analysis and comparison of the proposed strategies showed that increased uncertainty led to increased rescue time for the CNP and strategies 1 to 4. The time increase was less with the uniform distribution strategy (strategy 4) than with the other strategies. The consideration of strategies in the task allocation process, especially spatial strategies, facilitated both optimization and increased flexibility of the allocation. It also improved conditions for fault tolerance and agent-based cooperation stability in the USAR simulation system.
Highlights
Preparation to manage an earthquake crisis requires optimal and appropriate management
This study presented a task allocation approach that aimed to better assign initial tasks, ensuring better conditions for potential reallocations of tasks and wasting the least time possible for rescue teams if problems were encountered during the initial allocations or a new task emerges
Some of the characteristics and advantages of the study include the focus on the necessity of task reallocation in disaster environments, the provision of an innovative approach for managing uncertainties that cause nonperformance of tasks in the contract net protocol (CNP) method, and the definition of spatial strategies for better task reallocation
Summary
Preparation to manage an earthquake crisis requires optimal and appropriate management. Agent-based modeling of search and rescue operations after an earthquake is a good model for decision-making compared with traditional computational approaches (Hooshangi and Alesheikh, 2018). Multiagent systems are suitable for the modeling and simulation of complex systems (Mustapha et al, 2013). They allow for the division of the system into subdivisions (agents) and the modeling of the relationships among these agents (Uno and Kashiyama, 2008). The use of multi-agent systems is necessary for disaster management (Hawe et al, 2015; Grinberger and Felsenstein, 2016).
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