Metaplanning for Multiple Agents

We present an extension to classical planning techniques that facilitates their use in complex multi-agent domains. The approach implements a form of metaplanning that enables a planner to reason about properties of multiple plans in a single plan network. With this approach, a planning agent can simultaneously generate an individual plan, repair a second, and, together with a group, execute a third. This provides some of the key functionality of sophisticated multi-agent reasoning techniques, such as Grosz and Kraus’ shared plans, but within the context of better understood classical planning techniques. As such, it helps bridge the gap between planning and multi-agent research.