Sequential Online Chore Division for Autonomous Vehicle Convoy Formation

TL;DR

This paper introduces a new sequential online chore division model where participants arrive and leave dynamically, with applications to autonomous vehicle convoy formation, and proposes mechanisms to fairly allocate the chore of leading.

Contribution

It defines the novel SOCD model with online arrivals/departures and proposes three mechanisms, including centralized and distributed approaches, for fair chore allocation.

Findings

Proposed mechanisms effectively manage online participant dynamics.

Analysis shows mechanisms achieve fair load distribution.

Application demonstrated in autonomous vehicle convoy formation.

Abstract

Chore division is a class of fair division problems in which some undesirable "resource" must be shared among a set of participants, with each participant wanting to get as little as possible. Typically the set of participants is fixed and known at the outset. This paper introduces a novel variant, called sequential online chore division (SOCD), in which participants arrive and depart online, while the chore is being performed: both the total number of participants and their arrival/departure times are initially unknown. In SOCD, exactly one agent must be performing the chore at any give time (e.g. keeping lookout), and switching the performer incurs a cost. In this paper, we propose and analyze three mechanisms for SOCD: one centralized mechanism using side payments, and two distributed ones that seek to balance the participants' loads. Analysis and results are presented in a domain motivated by autonomous vehicle convoy formation, where the chore is leading the convoy so that all followers can enjoy reduced wind resistance.