UrbanHuRo: A Two-Layer Human-Robot Collaboration Framework for the Joint Optimization of Heterogeneous Urban Services
Tonmoy Dey, Lin Jiang, Zheng Dong, Guang Wang
AI summary
Problem
Existing smart city systems optimize delivery and sensing services in isolation, missing opportunities to leverage shared resources. Joint optimization is hindered by conflicting objectives, asynchronous reward feedback, and the need for real-time coordination between humans and robots.
Approach
UrbanHuRo uses a two-layer decision system: a scalable MapReduce-based K-Submodular module for real-time order dispatch and a deep reinforcement learning algorithm for robot route planning, linked by hybrid reward-value feedback.
Key results
- Improves urban sensing coverage by 29.7% on real-world delivery datasets
- Increases human courier income by 39.2% on average
- Significantly reduces the number of overdue delivery orders
- Enables scalable, real-time coordination via distributed K-Submodular optimization
Why it matters
Provides a practical blueprint for smart cities to maximize resource efficiency and service quality by integrating human logistics with autonomous sensing fleets.
Abstract
In the vision of smart cities, technologies are being developed to enhance the efficiency of urban services and improve residents’ quality of life. However, most existing research focuses on optimizing individual services in isola- tion, without adequately considering the reciprocal interactions among heterogeneous urban services that could yield higher efficiency and improved resource utilization. For example, human couriers could collect traffic and air quality data along their delivery routes, while sensing robots could assist with on- demand delivery during peak hours, enhancing both sensing coverage and delivery efficiency. However, the joint optimiza- tion of different urban services is challenging due to their potentially conflicting objectives and real-time coordination in dynamic environments. In this paper, we propose UrbanHuRo, a two-layer human-robot collaboration framework for joint optimization of heterogeneous urban services, demonstrated through the examples of crowdsourced delivery and urban sensing. There are two innovative designs in UrbanHuRo, i.e., (i) a scalable distributed MapReduce-based K-Submodular maximization module for efficient order dispatch and (ii) a deep submodular reward reinforcement learning algorithm for sensing route planning. Experimental evaluations on real-world datasets from a food delivery platform demonstrate that our UrbanHuRo improves sensing coverage by 29.7% and courier income by 39.2% on average in most settings, while also significantly reducing the number of overdue orders.