Multi-agent dynamic scheduling and re-scheduling with global temporal constraints

A co-ordination mechanism is proposed for multi-agent production-distribution co-operative scheduling problems, based on a purely temporal perspective. This mechanism is based on communication among pairs of client-supplier agents involved in the problem, and allows agents to locally perceive hard global temporal constraints. By exchanging limited specific information, the agents are able to recognise non over-constrained problems and, in that Case, rule out non temporally-feasible solutions and establish an initial solution, The, information is then used to guide re-scheduling and repair the initial solution and converge to a final one.