Titulo Estágio
Bio-Inspired Algorithms for Dynamic Task Assignment and Navigation in Hospital Environments
Áreas de especialidade
Sistemas Inteligentes
Local do Estágio
DEI-FCTUC
Enquadramento
Hospitals are complex, dynamic environments where time-critical deliveries (such as medications, samples, and emergency supplies) must be performed efficiently and safely. In recent years, autonomous mobile robots have emerged as a promising solution for internal logistics in healthcare settings, offering the potential to reduce human workload, increase responsiveness, and minimise delivery errors.
However, the coordination of multiple robots in such environments introduces significant challenges, particularly with regard to task allocation (deciding which robot should handle which delivery request and in which order) and route planning (determining safe and efficient paths through potentially crowded corridors). These problems are computationally difficult, especially under constraints such as delivery deadlines, robot capacities, dynamic obstacles, and hospital layout restrictions.
Objetivo
The main goal of this thesis is to design, implement and evaluate evolutionary optimisation algorithms for dynamic task allocation and route planning in a hospital environment using multiple mobile robots. Two types of approaches will be explored, one relying solely on Nature-inspired algorithms (i.e., permutation-based Genetic Algorithms) and another resorting to their combination with local search methods (i.e., A*).
The approaches devised will be assessed using popular datasets from the literature and synthetic data based on the observation of the hospital's dynamics.
Plano de Trabalhos - Semestre 1
1 - Literature review
2 - Definition of the techniques that will be used.
3 - Preparation of the benchmark problems
3 - Implementation of the first version of the system
4 - Writing of the intermediate report
Plano de Trabalhos - Semestre 2
5 - Analysis of the first prototype and the obtained results
6 - Implementation of a second version of the prototype
7 - Validation and Refinement
8 - Writing of a scientific article with the main results
9 - Writing of the thesis
Condições
The work will be conducted in the scope of the PHARMAROBOT project, within the bio-inspired Artificial Intelligence (bAI) group from CISUC. There is a possibility of the student being awarded a scholarship (Bolsa de Investigação para Licenciado) for at least 6 months, renewable for an equal period by agreement between the advisor and the intern. The scholarship will follow the Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT) monthly stipend guidelines.
Orientador
João Macedo / Nuno Lourenço
jmacedo@dei.uc.pt 📩