Multi-Agent Path Finding via Finite-Horizon Hierarchical Factorization

TL;DR

This paper introduces a scalable, real-time multi-agent pathfinding algorithm using finite-horizon hierarchical factorization, significantly improving response times and solution quality in dynamic environments like warehouses.

Contribution

It proposes a novel receding-horizon framework that plans incrementally and dynamically groups robots based on conflicts, enabling fast, scalable, and conflict-aware multi-agent pathfinding.

Findings

Up to 60% reduction in time-to-first-action compared to offline methods.

Consistently high-quality solutions across various problem sizes.

Outperforms state-of-the-art offline baselines.

Abstract

We present a novel algorithm for large-scale Multi-Agent Path Finding (MAPF) that enables fast, scalable planning in dynamic environments such as automated warehouses. Our approach introduces finite-horizon hierarchical factorization, a framework that plans one step at a time in a receding-horizon fashion. Robots first compute individual plans in parallel, and then dynamically group based on spatio-temporal conflicts and reachability. The framework accounts for conflict resolution, and for immediate execution and concurrent planning, significantly reducing response time compared to offline algorithms. Experimental results on benchmark maps demonstrate that our method achieves up to 60% reduction in time-to-first-action while consistently delivering high-quality solutions, outperforming state-of-the-art offline baselines across a range of problem sizes and planning horizons.