Waiting Tables as a Robot Planning Problem

TL;DR

This paper formalizes the task of waiting tables in a restaurant as a robot planning problem to test new algorithms for optimal, multi-task, partially observable, dynamic planning.

Contribution

It introduces a formalization of restaurant waiting tasks as a planning problem to evaluate novel algorithms for complex, multi-task, partially observable environments.

Findings

Algorithms successfully planned for multiple tasks

Demonstrated effectiveness in dynamic, partially observable settings

Validated formalization approach for real-world scenarios

Abstract

We present how we formalize the waiting tables task in a restaurant as a robot planning problem. This formalization was used to test our recently developed algorithms that allow for optimal planning for achieving multiple independent tasks that are partially observable and evolve over time [1], [2].