IDM Lab

People of the IDM Lab

The following researchers are currently members of the lab, besides Sven Koenig:

Dr. T.K. Satish Kumar
Dr. Thomy Phan

The following students are currently members of the lab:

Shao-Hung Chan
Weizhe Chen
Christopher Leet
Yimin Tang
Yi Zheng

The following researchers are alumni of the lab:

Dr. Masabumi Furuhata

The following students are alumni of the lab:

Dr. Liron Cohen
Kenny Daniel
Dr. David Furcy
Dr. Taoan Huang
Dr. Jiaoyang Li
Dr. Yaxin Liu
Dr. Hang Ma
Dr. Alex Nash
Dr. Xiaoxun Sun
Dr. Tansel Uras
Dr. Daniel Wong
Dr. Hong Xu
Dr. William Yeoh
Dr. Han Zhang
Dr. Xiaoming Zheng

The following visitors are alumni of the lab:

Dr. Vadim Bulitko
Eli Boyarsky
Giuseppe Caggianese
Dr. Marcello Cirillo
Dr. Ariel Felner
Dr. Jihee Han
Dr. Carlos Hernández
Dr. Masoumeh (Iran) Mansouri
Dr. Michael Rovatsos

Current Researchers

Dr. T.K. Satish Kumar

Satish is an Associate Research Professor at the Computer Science Department of USC and leads the Collaboratory for Algorithmic Techniques and Artificial Intelligence at USC's Information Sciences Institute. He received a B.Tech. in Computer Science and Engineering in 1999 from Indian Institute of Technology at Guwahati, an M.S. in Computer Science in 2003 from Stanford University and a Ph.D. in Computer Science from Stanford University in 2005 for his dissertation "Contributions to Algorithmic Techniques in Automated Reasoning about Physical Systems." He has been a Visiting Student at the NASA Ames Research Center, a Postdoctoral Research Scholar at the University of California at Berkeley, a Research Scientist at the Institute for Human and Machine Cognition, a Visiting Assisting Professor at the University of West Florida and a Senior Research and Development Scientist at Mission Critical Technologies. More information can be found on his homepage.

J. Ren, E. Ewing, S. Kumar, S. Koenig and N. Ayanian. Map Connectivity and Empirical Hardness of Grid-Based Multi-Agent Pathfinding Problem. In International Conference on Automated Planning and Scheduling (ICAPS), (in print), 2024. [downloadable]
A. Li, P. Stuckey, S. Koenig and S. Kumar. Rapidly Computing Approximate Graph Convex Hulls via Fast Map. In International Conference on Machine Learning, Optimization, and Data Science (LOD), (in print), 2024. [downloadable]
A. Li, P. Stuckey, S. Koenig and S. Kumar. A FastMap-Based Framework for Efficiently Computing Top-K Projected Centrality. In International Conference on Machine Learning, Optimization, and Data Science (LOD) 2023 - Part 1, G. Nicosia, V. Ojha, E. La Malfa, G. La Malfa, P. M. Pardalos and R. Umeton (editor), volume 14505 of 158-173. Springer, 2024. [downloadable]
H. Zhang, O. Salzman, A. Felner, S. Kumar, C. Hernandez and S. Koenig. Efficient Multi-Query Bi-Objective Search via Contraction Hierarchies. In International Conference on Automated Planning and Scheduling (ICAPS), 452-461, 2023. [downloadable]
Y. Zheng, H. Ma, S. Koenig, E. Kline and S. Kumar. Priority-Based Search for the Virtual Network Embedding Problem. In International Conference on Automated Planning and Scheduling (ICAPS), 472-480, 2023. [downloadable]
H. Zhang, O. Salzman, A. Felner, S. Kumar, S. Skyler, C. Hernandez and S. Koenig. Towards Effective Multi-Valued Heuristics for Bi-Objective Shortest-Path Algorithms via Differential Heuristics. In Symposium on Combinatorial Search (SoCS), 101-109, 2023. [downloadable]
H. Zhang, J. Li, P. Surynek, S. Kumar and S. Koenig. Multi-Agent Path Finding with Mutex Propagation. Artificial Intelligence, 311, 103766, 2022. [downloadable]
Y. Zheng, S. Ravi, E. Kline, S. Koenig and S. Kumar. Conflict-Based Search for the Virtual Network Embedding Problem. In International Conference on Automated Planning and Scheduling (ICAPS), 423-433, 2022. [downloadable]
H. Zhang, O. Salzman, S. Kumar, A. Felner, C. Hernandez and S. Koenig. A*pex: Efficient Approximate Multi-Objective Search on Graphs. In International Conference on Automated Planning and Scheduling (ICAPS), 423-433, 2022. [downloadable]
Y. Guan, A. Li, S. Koenig, S. Haas and S. Kumar. FastPivot: An Algorithm for Inverse Problems. In IEEE International Conference on Automation Science and Engineering (CASE), 505-511, 2022. [downloadable]
A. Li, P. Stuckey, S. Koenig and S. Kumar. A FastMap-Based Algorithm for Block Modeling. In International Conference on the Integration of Constraint Programming, Artificial Intelligence, and Operations Research (CPAIOR), 232-248, 2022. [downloadable]
O. Thakoor, A. Li, S. Koenig, S. Ravi, E. Kline and S. Kumar. The FastMap Pipeline for Facility Location Problems. In International Conference on Principles and Practice of Multi-Agent Systems (PRIMA), 417-434, 2022. [downloadable]
H. Zhang, Y. Li, J. Li, S. Kumar and S. Koenig. Mutex Propagation in Multi-Agent Path Finding for Large Agents [Short Paper]. In Symposium on Combinatorial Search (SoCS), 249-253, 2022. [downloadable]
H. Zhang, N. Tiruviluamala, S. Koenig and S. Kumar. Temporal Reasoning with Kinodynamic Networks. In International Conference on Automated Planning and Scheduling (ICAPS), 415-425, 2021. [downloadable]
H. Zhang, M. Yao, Z. Liu, J. Li, L. Terr, S.-H. Chan, S. Kumar and S. Koenig. A Hierarchical Approach to Multi-Agent Path Finding. In ICAPS-21 Workshop on Hierarchical Planning (HPLAN), 2021. [downloadable]
H. Zhang, J. Li, P. Surynek, S. Koenig and S. Kumar. Multi-Agent Path Finding with Mutex Propagation. In International Conference on Automated Planning and Scheduling (ICAPS), 323-332, 2020. [downloadable]
J. Li, K. Sun, H. Ma, A. Felner, S. Kumar and S. Koenig. Moving Agents in Formation in Congested Environments. In International Joint Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems (AAMAS), 726-734, 2020. [downloadable]
E. Lam, P. Stuckey, S. Koenig and S. Kumar. Exact Approaches to the Multi-Agent Collective Construction Problem. In International Conference on Principles and Practice of Constraint Programming (CP), 743-758, 2020. [downloadable]
A. Li, Y. Guan, S. Koenig, S. Haas and S. Kumar. Generating the Top K Solutions to Weighted CSPs: A Comparison of Different Approaches. In IEEE International Conference on Tools with Artificial Intelligence (ICTAI), 1218-1223, 2020. [downloadable]
S. Gopalakrishnan, L. Cohen, S. Koenig and S. Kumar. Embedding Directed Graphs in Potential Fields Using FastMap-D. In Symposium on Combinatorial Search (SoCS), 48-56, 2020. [downloadable]
H. Xu, K. Sun, S. Koenig and S. Kumar. Decision-Tree Learning-Inspired Dynamic Variable Ordering for the Weighted CSP. In Symposium on Combinatorial Search (SoCS), 91-100, 2020. [downloadable]
H. Xu, K. Sun, S. Koenig, I. Hen and S. Kumar. Hybrid Quantum-Classical Algorithms for Solving the Weighted CSP. In International Symposium on Artificial Intelligence and Mathematics (ISAIM), 2020. [downloadable]
P. Surynek, J. Li, H. Zhang, S. Kumar and S. Koenig. Mutex Propagation for SAT-Based Multi-Agent Path Finding. In International Conference on Principles and Practice of Multi-Agent Systems (PRIMA), 2020. [downloadable]
H. Ma, W. Hoenig, S. Kumar, N. Ayanian and S. Koenig. Lifelong Path Planning with Kinematic Constraints for Multi-Agent Pickup and Delivery. In AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence (AAAI), 7651-7658, 2019. [downloadable]
J. Li, P. Surynek, A. Felner, H. Ma, S. Kumar and S. Koenig. Multi-Agent Path Finding for Large Agents. In AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence (AAAI), 7627-7634, 2019. [downloadable]
J. Li, A. Felner, S. Koenig and S. Kumar. Using FastMap to Solve Graph Problems in a Euclidean Space. In International Conference on Automated Planning and Scheduling (ICAPS), 273-278, 2019. [downloadable]
H. Ma, G. Wagner, A. Felner, J. Li, S. Kumar and S. Koenig. Multi-Agent Path Finding with Deadlines. In International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence (IJCAI), 417-423, 2018. [downloadable]
L. Cohen, M. Greco, H. Ma, C. Hernandez, A. Felner, S. Kumar and S. Koenig. Anytime Focal Search with Applications. In International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence (IJCAI), 1434-1441, 2018. [downloadable]
L. Cohen, T. Uras, S. Jahangiri, A. Arunasalam, S. Koenig and S. Kumar. The FastMap Algorithm for Shortest Path Computations. In International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence (IJCAI), 1427-1433, 2018. [downloadable]
H. Xu, S. Koenig and S. Kumar. Towards Effective Deep Learning for Constraint Satisfaction Problems. In International Conference on Principles and Practice of Constraint Programming (CP), 588-597, 2018. [downloadable]
H. Xu, K. Sun, S. Koenig and S. Kumar. A Warning Propagation-Based Linear-Time-and-Space Algorithm for the Minimum Vertex Cover Problem on Giant Graphs. In International Conference on the Integration of Constraint Programming, Artificial Intelligence, and Operations Research (CPAIOR), 567-584, 2018. [downloadable]
G. Sartoretti, Y. Wu, W. Paivine, S. Kumar, S. Koenig and H. Choset. Distributed Reinforcement Learning for Multi-Robot Decentralized Collective Construction. In International Symposium on Distributed Autonomous Robotics Systems (DARS), 35-49, 2018. [downloadable]
H. Xu, C. Cheng, S. Koenig and S. Kumar. Message Passing Algorithms for Semiring-Based and Valued Constraint Satisfaction Problems. In Symposium on Combinatorial Search (SoCS), 115-123, 2018. [downloadable]
A. Felner, J. Li, E. Boyarski, H. Ma, L. Cohen, S. Kumar and S. Koenig. Adding Heuristics to Conflict-Based Search for Multi-Agent Path Finding [Short Paper]. In International Conference on Automated Planning and Scheduling (ICAPS), 83-87, 2018. [downloadable]
Z. Wang, L. Cohen, S. Koenig and S. Kumar. The Factored Shortest Path Problem and Its Applications in Robotics [Short Paper]. In International Conference on Automated Planning and Scheduling (ICAPS), 527-531, 2018. [downloadable]
L. Cohen, S. Koenig, S. Kumar, G. Wagner, H. Choset, D. Chan and N. Sturtevant. Rapid Randomized Restarts for Multi-Agent Path Finding: Preliminary Results [Short Paper]. In International Joint Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems (AAMAS), 1909-1911, 2018. [downloadable]
H. Ma, G. Wagner, A. Felner, J. Li, S. Kumar and S. Koenig. Multi-Agent Path Finding with Deadlines: Preliminary Results [Short Paper]. In International Joint Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems (AAMAS), 2004-2006, 2018. [downloadable]
F. Fioretto, H. Xu, S. Koenig and S. Kumar. Solving Multiagent Constraint Optimization Problems on the Constraint Composite Graph. In International Conference on Principles and Practice of Multi-Agent Systems (PRIMA), 106-122, 2018. [downloadable]
M. Nakajima, H. Xu, S. Koenig and S. Kumar. Towards Understanding the Min-Sum Message Passing Algorithm for the Minimum Weighted Vertex Cover Problem: An Analytical Approach. In International Symposium on Artificial Intelligence and Mathematics (ISAIM), 2018. [downloadable]
H. Xu, X.-Z. Wu, C. Cheng, S. Koenig and S. Kumar. The Buss Reduction for the k-Weighted Vertex Cover Problem. In International Symposium on Artificial Intelligence and Mathematics (ISAIM), 2018. [downloadable]
H. Ma, W. Hoenig, L. Cohen, T. Uras, H. Xu, S. Kumar, N. Ayanian and S. Koenig. Overview: A Hierarchical Framework for Plan Generation and Execution in Multirobot Systems. IEEE Intelligent Systems, 32, (6), 6-12, 2017. [downloadable]
H. Ma, S. Kumar and S. Koenig. Multi-Agent Path Finding with Delay Probabilities. In AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence (AAAI), 3605-3612, 2017. [downloadable]
H. Ma, J. Li, S. Kumar and S. Koenig. Lifelong Multi-Agent Path Finding for Online Pickup and Delivery Tasks. In International Joint Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems (AAMAS), 837-845, 2017. [downloadable]
H. Xu, S. Koenig and S. Kumar. A Constraint Composite Graph-Based ILP Encoding of the Boolean Weighted CSP. In International Conference on Principles and Practice of Constraint Programming (CP), 630-638, 2017. [downloadable]
H. Xu, S. Kumar and S. Koenig. The Nemhauser-Trotter Reduction and Lifted Message Passing for the Weighted CSP. In International Conference on Integration of Artificial Intelligence and Operations Research Techniques in Constraint Programming (CPAIOR), 387-402, 2017. [downloadable]
H. Xu, S. Kumar and S. Koenig. Min-Max Message Passing and Local Consistency in Constraint Networks. In Australasian Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence (AI), 340-352, 2017. [downloadable]
H. Xu, S. Kumar and S. Koenig. A Linear-Time and Linear-Space Algorithm for the Minimum Vertex Cover Problem on Giant Graphs [Short Paper]. In Symposium on Combinatorial Search (SoCS), 173-175, 2017. [downloadable]
S. Koenig and S. Kumar. A Case for Collaborative Construction as Testbed for Cooperative Multi-Agent Planning. In ICAPS-17 Scheduling and Planning Applications Workshop (SPARK), 2017. [downloadable]
H. Ma, C. Tovey, G. Sharon, S. Kumar and S. Koenig. Multi-Agent Path Finding with Payload Transfers and the Package-Exchange Robot-Routing Problem. In AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence (AAAI), 3166-3173, 2016. [downloadable]
L. Cohen, T. Uras, S. Kumar, H. Xu, N. Ayanian and S. Koenig. Improved Solvers for Bounded-Suboptimal Multi-Agent Path Finding. In International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence (IJCAI), 3067-3074, 2016. [downloadable]
W. Hoenig, S. Kumar, L. Cohen, H. Ma, H. Xu, N. Ayanian and S. Koenig. Multi-Agent Path Finding with Kinematic Constraints. In International Conference on Automated Planning and Scheduling (ICAPS), 477-485, 2016. [downloadable]
W. Hoenig, S. Kumar, H. Ma, S. Koenig and N. Ayanian. Formation Change for Robot Groups in Occluded Environments. In IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS), 4836-4842, 2016. [downloadable]
H. Xu, S. Kumar and S. Koenig. A New Solver for the Minimum Weighted Vertex Cover Problem. In International Conference on Integration of Artificial Intelligence and Operations Research Techniques in Constraint Programming (CPAIOR), 392-405, 2016. [downloadable]
T. Cai, D. Zhang, S. Kumar, S. Koenig and N. Ayanian. Local Search on Trees and a Framework for Automated Construction Using Multiple Identical Robots [Short Paper]. In International Joint Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems (AAMAS), 1301-1302, 2016. [downloadable]
H. Xu, S. Kumar, D. Johnke, N. Ayanian and S. Koenig. SAGL: A New Heuristic for Multi-Robot Routing with Complex Tasks. In IEEE International Conference on Tools with Artificial Intelligence (ICTAI), 530-535, 2016. [downloadable]
R. Morris, C. Pasareanu, K. Luckow, W. Malik, H. Ma, S. Kumar and S. Koenig. Planning, Scheduling and Monitoring for Airport Surface Operations. In AAAI-16 Workshop on Planning for Hybrid Systems, 2016. [downloadable]
H. Ma, S. Koenig, N. Ayanian, L. Cohen, W. Hoenig, S. Kumar, T. Uras, H. Xu, C. Tovey and G. Sharon. Overview: Generalizations of Multi-Agent Path Finding to Real-World Scenarios. In IJCAI-16 Workshop on Multi-Agent Path Finding, 2016. [downloadable]
S. Kumar, D. Nguyen, W. Yeoh and S. Koenig. A Simple Polynomial-Time Randomized Distributed Algorithm for Connected Row Convex Constraints. In AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence (AAAI), 2308-2314, 2014. [downloadable]
S. Kumar, S. Jung and S. Koenig. A Tree-Based Algorithm for Construction Robots. In International Conference on Automated Planning and Scheduling (ICAPS), 2014. [downloadable]
S. Kumar, M. Cirillo and S. Koenig. Simple Temporal Problems with Taboo Regions. In AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence (AAAI), 2013. [downloadable]
S. Kumar, L. Cohen and S. Koenig. Incorrect Lower Bounds for Path Consistency and More. In Symposium on Abstraction, Reformulation, and Approximation (SARA), 2013. [downloadable]
S. Kumar, L. Cohen and S. Koenig. Submodular Constraints and Planar Constraint Networks: New Results. In Symposium on Abstraction, Reformulation, and Approximation (SARA), 2013. [downloadable]
S. Kumar, M. Cirillo and S. Koenig. On the Traveling Salesman Problem with Simple Temporal Constraints. In Symposium on Abstraction, Reformulation, and Approximation (SARA), 2013. [downloadable]

Dr. Thomy Phan

Thomy is a postdoctoral researcher at the Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science of USC. He received a B.Sc. in Computer Science from Munich University of Applied Sciences in 2015 and an M.Sc. in Computer Science from LMU Munich in 2017. He received his Dr. rer. nat (Ph.D .equivalent) from LMU Munich for his dissertation "Emergence and Resilience in Multi-Agent Reinforcement Learning" in 2023. Thomy is interested in AI, focusing on Multi-Agent Decision-Making based on Reinforcement Learning and Planning techniques. More information can be found on hia homepage.

T. Phan, T. Huang, B. Dilkina and S. Koenig. Adaptive Anytime Multi-Agent Path Finding Using Bandit-Based Large Neighborhood Search. In AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence (AAAI), (in print), 2024. [downloadable]
T. Phan, J. Driscoll, J. Romberg and S. Koenig. Confidence-Based Curriculum Learning for Multi-Agent Path Finding. In International Joint Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems (AAMAS), (in print), 2024. [downloadable]
S.-H. Chan, Z. Chen, D.-L. Lin, Y. Zhang, D. Harabor, S. Koenig, T.-W. Huang and T. Phan. Anytime Multi-Agent Path Finding Using Operation Parallelism in Large Neighborhood Search. In International Joint Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems (AAMAS), (in print), 2024. [downloadable]

Current Students

Shao-Hung Chan (Graduate Student)

Shao-Hung received a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from National Cheng Kung University in 2017 and an M.S. in Electrical Engineering from National Taiwan University in 2019. He is interested in Artificial Intelligence, Heuristic Search, and Robotics. He received a USC Annenberg Graduate Fellowship in 2019 and a Ph.D. Sandwich Program Fellowship at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in 2021. More information can be found on his homepage.

S.-H. Chan, Z. Chen, D.-L. Lin, Y. Zhang, D. Harabor, S. Koenig, T.-W. Huang and T. Phan. Anytime Multi-Agent Path Finding Using Operation Parallelism in Large Neighborhood Search. In International Joint Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems (AAMAS), (in print), 2024. [downloadable]
S.-H. Chan, Z. Chen, T. Guo, H. Zhang, Y. Zhang, D. Harabor, S. Koenig, C. Wu and J. Yu. The League of Robot Runners: Competition Goals, Designs, and Implementation [System Demonstration]. In International Conference on Automated Planning and Scheduling (ICAPS), (in print), 2024. [downloadable]
H. Zhang, S.-H. Chan, J. Zhong, J. Li, P. Kolapo, S. Koenig, Z. Agioutantis, S. Schafrik and S. Nikolaidis. Multi-Robot Geometric Task-and-Motion Planning for Collaborative Manipulation Tasks. Autonomous Robots, 47, (8), 1537-1558, 2023. [downloadable]
O. Salzman, A. Felner, C. Hernandez, H. Zhang, S.-H. Chan and S. Koenig. Heuristic-Search Approaches for the Multi-Objective Shortest-Path Problem: Progress and Research Opportunities [Survey Track]. In International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence (IJCAI), 6759-6768, 2023. [downloadable]
S.-H. Chan, J. Li, G. Gange, D. Harabor, P. Stuckey and S. Koenig. Flex Distribution for Bounded-Suboptimal Multi-Agent Path Finding. In AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence (AAAI), 9313-9322, 2022. [downloadable]
S. Koenig, S.-H. Chan, J. Li and Y. Zheng. Artificial Intelligence and Automation. In Handbook of Automation, S. Nof (editor), Springer, 2021. [downloadable]
J. Li, Z. Chen, Y. Zheng, S.-H. Chan, D. Harabor, P. Stuckey, H. Ma and S. Koenig. Scalable Rail Planning and Replanning: Winning the 2020 Flatland Challenge. In International Conference on Automated Planning and Scheduling (ICAPS), 477-485, 2021. [downloadable]
H. Zhang, M. Yao, Z. Liu, J. Li, L. Terr, S.-H. Chan, S. Kumar and S. Koenig. A Hierarchical Approach to Multi-Agent Path Finding. In ICAPS-21 Workshop on Hierarchical Planning (HPLAN), 2021. [downloadable]
S.-H. Chan, J. Li, D. Harabor, P. Stuckey, G. Gange, L. Cohen and S. Koenig. Nested ECBS for Bounded-Suboptimal Multi-Agent Path Finding. In IJCAI-20 Workshop on Multi-Agent Path Finding, 2020. [downloadable]

Christopher Leet (Graduate Student)

Christopher received a B.Sc. in Computer Science and Astrophysics from Yale University in 2018 (with distinction in Computer Science and distinction in Astrophysics). He is interested in designing abstractions to help engineers orchestrate large scale multi-robot systems and discovering algorithms to implement these abstractions in a performant fashion. He has been a research scientist at Facebook and authored open source code to remove atmospheric interference from images taken by the National Optical Astronomy Observatory's EXPRES spectrograph.

C. Leet, J. Li and S. Koenig. Shard Systems: Scalable, Robust and Persistent Multi-Agent Path Finding with Performance Guarantees. In AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence (AAAI), 9386-9395, 2022. [downloadable]

Yimin Tang (Graduate Student)

Yimin received a B.Eng. in Computer Science from ShanghaiTech University in 2020 and an M.S. in Robotics from Carnegie Mellon University in 2023. He also worked as a software development engineer on the Microsoft AzureStack Team from 2020 to 2021. He is interested in artificial intelligence, focusing on reinforcement learning, path planning, and robot learning. He received a USC Viterbi School of Engineering Fellowship in 2023 and a Best Paper Candidate Award at the International Symposium on Multi-Robot and Multi-Agent Systems in 2023. More information can be found on his homepage.

Yi Zheng (Graduate Student)

Yi received a B.S. in Computer Science from the University of Southampton in 2019. He is interested in artificial intelligence, heuristic search, multi-agent systems, machine learning, and planning for robotics. More information can be found on his homepage.

Y. Zheng, H. Ma, S. Koenig, E. Kline and S. Kumar. Priority-Based Search for the Virtual Network Embedding Problem. In International Conference on Automated Planning and Scheduling (ICAPS), 472-480, 2023. [downloadable]
Y. Zheng, S. Ravi, E. Kline, S. Koenig and S. Kumar. Conflict-Based Search for the Virtual Network Embedding Problem. In International Conference on Automated Planning and Scheduling (ICAPS), 423-433, 2022. [downloadable]
K. Nakagaki, J. Tappa, Y. Zheng, J. Forman, J. Leong, S. Koenig and H. Ishii. (Dis)Appearables: A Concept and Method for Actuated Tangible UIs to Appear and Disappear Based on Stages. In ACM CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI), 501:1-506:13, 2022. [downloadable]
S. Koenig, S.-H. Chan, J. Li and Y. Zheng. Artificial Intelligence and Automation. In Handbook of Automation, S. Nof (editor), Springer, 2021. [downloadable]
J. Li, Z. Chen, Y. Zheng, S.-H. Chan, D. Harabor, P. Stuckey, H. Ma and S. Koenig. Scalable Rail Planning and Replanning: Winning the 2020 Flatland Challenge. In International Conference on Automated Planning and Scheduling (ICAPS), 477-485, 2021. [downloadable]

Former Researchers

Dr. Masabumi Furuhata

Masabumi received a B.S. and M.S. in Management Science from the University of Tsukuba in 1996 and 1999, respectively, and a Ph.D. (tres honorable avec felicitations du jury) in Computer Science from the University of Western Sydney and University of Toulouse 1 Capitole in 2010 for his dissertation "E-Market Mechanism Design for Supply Chain Management." He won a Japan Society for Artificial Intelligence Incentive Award in 2010. He also won first prize in the Trading Agent Competition in Mechanism Design (CAT competition) as a team member of Jackaroo in 2009. He is interested in mechanism design, multi-agent systems and data mining for transportation, robotics, finance, and supply chain management. He worked on designing mechanisms for tomorrow's ride-sharing market and multi-robot coordination. He was part of our lab for 34 months from 2011 to 2013.

M. Furuhata, K. Daniel, S. Koenig, F. Ordonez, M. Dessouky, M. Brunet, L. Cohen and X. Wang. Online Cost-Sharing Mechanism Design for Demand-Responsive Transport Systems. IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems, 16, (2), 692-707, 2015. [downloadable]
M. Furuhata, L. Cohen, S. Koenig, M. Dessouky and F. Ordonez. Characterizing Online Cost-Sharing Mechanisms for Demand Responsive Transport Systems [Short Paper]. In International Joint Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems (AAMAS), 1491-1492, 2014. [downloadable]
M. Furuhata, M. Dessouky, F. Ordonez, M. Brunet, X. Wang and S. Koenig. Ridesharing: The State-of-the-Art and Future Directions. Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, 57, 28-46, 2013. [downloadable]

Former Students

Dr. Liron Cohen (Former Graduate Student)

Liron received a B.S. in Computer Engineering in 2007 and an M.S. in Computer Science in 2012, both from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Liron is interested in combinatorial problems related to constraint-based reasoning and symbolic planning. Specifically, he is looking at novel algorithmic techniques for exploiting structure in such combinatorial problems. He received an Outstanding Paper Award in the Robotics Track of the International Conference on Automated Planning and Scheduling in 2016, a Best Teaching Award from the Computer Science Department of USC in 2016, and a Technology Commercialization Award from the USC Stevens Center for Innovation in 2019. More information can be found on his homepage.

Previously seen: Software Engineer at Waymo Last seen: Technical Lead at Mujin

L. Cohen. Efficient Bounded-Suboptimal Multi-Agent Path Finding and Motion Planning via Improvements to Focal Search. PhD thesis, Department of Computer Science, University of Southern California, Los Angeles (California), 2020. [downloadable]

E. Boyarski, A. Felner, D. Harabor, P. Stuckey, L. Cohen, J. Li and S. Koenig. Iterative-Deepening Conflict-Based Search. In International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence (IJCAI), 4084-4090, 2020. [downloadable]
S. Gopalakrishnan, L. Cohen, S. Koenig and S. Kumar. Embedding Directed Graphs in Potential Fields Using FastMap-D. In Symposium on Combinatorial Search (SoCS), 48-56, 2020. [downloadable]
S.-H. Chan, J. Li, D. Harabor, P. Stuckey, G. Gange, L. Cohen and S. Koenig. Nested ECBS for Bounded-Suboptimal Multi-Agent Path Finding. In IJCAI-20 Workshop on Multi-Agent Path Finding, 2020. [downloadable]
S. Koenig, T. Uras and L. Cohen. Teaching Undergraduate Artificial Intelligence Classes: An Experiment with an Attendance Requirement. In Symposium on Educational Advances in Artificial Intelligence (EAAI), 13374-13380, 2020. [downloadable]
R. Stern, N. Sturtevant, A. Felner, S. Koenig, H. Ma, T. Walker, J. Li, D. Atzmon, L. Cohen, S. Kumar, E. Boyarski and R. Bartak. Multi-Agent Pathfinding: Definitions, Variants, and Benchmarks [Position Paper]. In Symposium on Combinatorial Search (SoCS), 151-159, 2019. [downloadable]
L. Cohen, M. Greco, H. Ma, C. Hernandez, A. Felner, S. Kumar and S. Koenig. Anytime Focal Search with Applications. In International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence (IJCAI), 1434-1441, 2018. [downloadable]
L. Cohen, T. Uras, S. Jahangiri, A. Arunasalam, S. Koenig and S. Kumar. The FastMap Algorithm for Shortest Path Computations. In International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence (IJCAI), 1427-1433, 2018. [downloadable]
A. Felner, J. Li, E. Boyarski, H. Ma, L. Cohen, S. Kumar and S. Koenig. Adding Heuristics to Conflict-Based Search for Multi-Agent Path Finding [Short Paper]. In International Conference on Automated Planning and Scheduling (ICAPS), 83-87, 2018. [downloadable]
Z. Wang, L. Cohen, S. Koenig and S. Kumar. The Factored Shortest Path Problem and Its Applications in Robotics [Short Paper]. In International Conference on Automated Planning and Scheduling (ICAPS), 527-531, 2018. [downloadable]
L. Cohen, S. Koenig, S. Kumar, G. Wagner, H. Choset, D. Chan and N. Sturtevant. Rapid Randomized Restarts for Multi-Agent Path Finding: Preliminary Results [Short Paper]. In International Joint Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems (AAMAS), 1909-1911, 2018. [downloadable]
H. Ma, W. Hoenig, L. Cohen, T. Uras, H. Xu, S. Kumar, N. Ayanian and S. Koenig. Overview: A Hierarchical Framework for Plan Generation and Execution in Multirobot Systems. IEEE Intelligent Systems, 32, (6), 6-12, 2017. [downloadable]
L. Cohen, T. Uras, S. Kumar, H. Xu, N. Ayanian and S. Koenig. Improved Solvers for Bounded-Suboptimal Multi-Agent Path Finding. In International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence (IJCAI), 3067-3074, 2016. [downloadable]
W. Hoenig, S. Kumar, L. Cohen, H. Ma, H. Xu, N. Ayanian and S. Koenig. Multi-Agent Path Finding with Kinematic Constraints. In International Conference on Automated Planning and Scheduling (ICAPS), 477-485, 2016. [downloadable]
H. Ma, S. Koenig, N. Ayanian, L. Cohen, W. Hoenig, S. Kumar, T. Uras, H. Xu, C. Tovey and G. Sharon. Overview: Generalizations of Multi-Agent Path Finding to Real-World Scenarios. In IJCAI-16 Workshop on Multi-Agent Path Finding, 2016. [downloadable]
M. Furuhata, K. Daniel, S. Koenig, F. Ordonez, M. Dessouky, M. Brunet, L. Cohen and X. Wang. Online Cost-Sharing Mechanism Design for Demand-Responsive Transport Systems. IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems, 16, (2), 692-707, 2015. [downloadable]
L. Cohen, T. Uras and S. Koenig. Feasibility Study: Using Highways for Bounded-Suboptimal Multi-Agent Path Finding. In Symposium on Combinatorial Search (SoCS), 2-8, 2015. [downloadable]
M. Furuhata, L. Cohen, S. Koenig, M. Dessouky and F. Ordonez. Characterizing Online Cost-Sharing Mechanisms for Demand Responsive Transport Systems [Short Paper]. In International Joint Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems (AAMAS), 1491-1492, 2014. [downloadable]
S. Kumar, L. Cohen and S. Koenig. Incorrect Lower Bounds for Path Consistency and More. In Symposium on Abstraction, Reformulation, and Approximation (SARA), 2013. [downloadable]
S. Kumar, L. Cohen and S. Koenig. Submodular Constraints and Planar Constraint Networks: New Results. In Symposium on Abstraction, Reformulation, and Approximation (SARA), 2013. [downloadable]

Kenny Daniel (Former Graduate Student)

Kenny received a B.S. in Computer Science and a B.S. in Mathematics from Carnegie Mellon University in 2006 and subsequently a Master's degree from USC. He placed 6th in the ACM Southern California Regional Programming Contest (out of 63 teams) in 2007, 1st in the USC Programming Contest (out of 31 students) in 2007, 2nd in the ACM Southern California Regional Programming Contest (out of 73 teams) in 2006, and 2nd in the USC Programming Contest (out of 49 students) in 2006.

Last seen: Cofounder of Algorithmia, Inc. Read about Algorithmia in Wired and in the USC News.

M. Furuhata, K. Daniel, S. Koenig, F. Ordonez, M. Dessouky, M. Brunet, L. Cohen and X. Wang. Online Cost-Sharing Mechanism Design for Demand-Responsive Transport Systems. IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems, 16, (2), 692-707, 2015. [downloadable]
K. Daniel, A. Nash, S. Koenig and A. Felner. Theta*: Any-Angle Path Planning on Grids. Journal of Artificial Intelligence Research, 39, 533-579, 2010. [downloadable]
K. Daniel, R. Borie, S. Koenig and C. Tovey. ESP: Pursuit Evasion on Series-Parallel Graphs [Short Paper]. In International Joint Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems (AAMAS), 1519-1520, 2010. [downloadable]
T. Neller, J. DeNero, D. Klein, S. Koenig, W. Yeoh, X. Zheng, K. Daniel, A. Nash, Z. Dodds, G. Carenini, D. Poole and C. Brooks. Model AI Assignments. In Symposium on Educational Advances in Artificial Intelligence (EAAI), 2010. [downloadable]
K. Daniel and S. Koenig. Fast Winner Determination for Agent Coordination with SBB Auctions [Short Paper]. In International Joint Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems (AAMAS), 1197-1198, 2009. [downloadable]
R. Borie, C. Tovey, K. Daniel and S. Koenig. ESP: Pursuit Evasion on Series-Parallel Graphs. Technical Report, Department of Computer Science, University of Southern California, Los Angeles (California), 2009. [downloadable]
S. Koenig, K. Daniel and A. Nash. A Project on Any-Angle Path Planning for Computer Games for 'Introduction to Artificial Intelligence' Classes. Technical Report, Department of Computer Science, University of Southern California, Los Angeles (California), 2008. [downloadable]
A. Nash, K. Daniel, S. Koenig and A. Felner. Theta*: Any-Angle Path Planning on Grids. In AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence (AAAI), 1177-1183, 2007. [downloadable]

Dr. David Furcy (Former Graduate Student)

David received a B.S. in Computer Engineering from the Universite de Technologie de Compiegne (France) in 1993, an M.S. in Computer Science from the Universite de Technologie de Compiegne (France) in 1994, an M.S. in Computer Science from the University of Iowa in 1997, and a Ph.D. in Computer Science from Georgia Institute of Technology in 2004 for his dissertation "Speeding up the Convergence of Online Heuristic Search and Scaling up Offline Heuristic Search." He was nominated for the Best Paper Award of the International Conference on Automated Planning and Scheduling in 2004. More information can be found on his homepage.

Previously seen: Interim Professor at Blackburn College
Last seen: Professor at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh

D. Furcy. Speeding up the Convergence of Online Heuristic Search and Scaling up Offline Heuristic Search. PhD thesis, College of Computing, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta (Georgia), 2004. [downloadable]

D. Furcy and S. Koenig. Limited Discrepancy Beam Search. In International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence (IJCAI), 125-131, 2005. [downloadable]
D. Furcy and S. Koenig. Scaling up WA* with Commitment and Diversity [Short Paper]. In International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence (IJCAI), 1521-1522, 2005. [downloadable]
S. Koenig, M. Likhachev and D. Furcy. Lifelong Planning A*. Artificial Intelligence Journal, 155, (1-2), 93-146, 2004. [downloadable]
S. Koenig, M. Likhachev, Y. Liu and D. Furcy. Incremental Heuristic Search in Artificial Intelligence. Artificial Intelligence Magazine, 25, (2), 99-112, 2004. [downloadable]
Y. Liu, S. Koenig and D. Furcy. Speeding Up the Calculation of Heuristics for Heuristic Search-Based Planning. In AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence (AAAI), 484-491, 2002. [downloadable]
S. Koenig, D. Furcy and C. Bauer. Heuristic Search-Based Replanning. In International Conference on Artificial Intelligence Planning and Scheduling (AIPS), 294-301, 2002. [downloadable]
D. Furcy and S. Koenig. Speeding up the Convergence of Real-Time Search. In AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence (AAAI), 891-897, 2000. [downloadable]
D. Furcy and S. Koenig. Speeding up the Convergence of Real-Time Search: Empirical Setup and Proofs. Technical Report, College of Computing, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta (Georgia), 2000. [downloadable]

Dr. Taoan Huang (Former Graduate Student)

Taoan received a B.Eng. in Computer Science from the Institute of Interdisciplinary Information Sciences at Tsinghua University in 2019. He is interested in artificial intelligence with a focus on multi-agent systems, combinatorial optimization, machine learning, computational sustainability, and computational game theory. He received a USC Annenberg Graduate Fellowship in 2019. More information can be found on his homepage.

Last seen: Quantitative Researcher at Cubist Systematic Strategies.

T. Huang. Improving Decision-Making in Search Algorithms for Combinatorial Optimization with Machine Learning. PhD thesis, Department of Computer Science, University of Southern California, Los Angeles (California), 2024. [downloadable]

T. Huang, V. Shivashankar, M. Caldara, J. Durham, J. Li, B. Dilkina and S. Koenig. Deadline-Aware Multi-Agent Tour Planning. In International Conference on Automated Planning and Scheduling (ICAPS), 189-197, 2023. [downloadable]
T. Huang, J. Li, S. Koenig and B. Dilkina. Anytime Multi-Agent Path Finding via Machine Learning-Guided Large Neighborhood Search. In AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence (AAAI), 9368-9376, 2022. [downloadable]
S. Zhang, J. Li, T. Huang, S. Koenig and B. Dilkina. Learning a Priority Ordering for Prioritized Planning in Multi-Agent Path Finding. In Symposium on Combinatorial Search (SoCS), 208-216, 2022. [downloadable]
T. Huang, S. Koenig and B. Dilkina. Learning to Resolve Conflicts for Multi-Agent Path Finding with Conflict-Based Search. In AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence (AAAI), 11246-11253, 2021. [downloadable]
T. Huang, B. Dilkina and S. Koenig. Learning Node-Selection Strategies in Bounded-Suboptimal Conflict-Based Search for Multi-Agent Path Finding. In International Joint Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems (AAMAS), 611-619, 2021. [downloadable]

Dr. Jiaoyang Li (Former Graduate Student)

Jiaoyang received a B.Eng. in Automation from Tsinghua University in 2017 and a Ph.D. in Computer Science from USC in 2022 for her dissertation "". She is interested in artificial intelligence, heuristic search, scheduling and planning for robotics, transportation, and supply chain management. More information can be found on her homepage.

Last seen: Assistant Professor at Carnegie Mellon University

J. Li. Efficient and Effective Techniques for Large-Scale Multi-Agent Path Finding. PhD thesis, Department of Computer Science, University of Southern California, Los Angeles (California), 2022. [downloadable]

H. Zhang, S.-H. Chan, J. Zhong, J. Li, P. Kolapo, S. Koenig, Z. Agioutantis, S. Schafrik and S. Nikolaidis. Multi-Robot Geometric Task-and-Motion Planning for Collaborative Manipulation Tasks. Autonomous Robots, 47, (8), 1537-1558, 2023. [downloadable]
J. Li, T. Hoang, E. Lin, H. Vu and S. Koenig. Intersection Coordination with Priority-Based Search for Autonomous Vehicles. In AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence (AAAI), 11578-11585, 2023. [downloadable]
C. Ge, H. Zhang, J. Li and S. Koenig. Cost Splitting for Multi-Objective Conflict-Based Search. In International Conference on Automated Planning and Scheduling (ICAPS), 128-137, 2023. [downloadable]
Z. Ren, J. Li, H. Zhang, S. Koenig, S. Rathinam and H. Choset. Binary Branching Multi-Objective Conflict-Based Search for Multi-Agent Path Finding. In International Conference on Automated Planning and Scheduling (ICAPS), 361-369, 2023. [downloadable]
T. Huang, V. Shivashankar, M. Caldara, J. Durham, J. Li, B. Dilkina and S. Koenig. Deadline-Aware Multi-Agent Tour Planning. In International Conference on Automated Planning and Scheduling (ICAPS), 189-197, 2023. [downloadable]
H. Zhang, J. Li, P. Surynek, S. Kumar and S. Koenig. Multi-Agent Path Finding with Mutex Propagation. Artificial Intelligence, 311, 103766, 2022. [downloadable]
J. Li, Z. Chen, D. Harabor, P. Stuckey and S. Koenig. MAPF-LNS2: Fast Repairing for Multi-Agent Path Finding via Large Neighborhood Search. In AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence (AAAI), 10256-10265, 2022. [downloadable]
C. Leet, J. Li and S. Koenig. Shard Systems: Scalable, Robust and Persistent Multi-Agent Path Finding with Performance Guarantees. In AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence (AAAI), 9386-9395, 2022. [downloadable]
S.-H. Chan, J. Li, G. Gange, D. Harabor, P. Stuckey and S. Koenig. Flex Distribution for Bounded-Suboptimal Multi-Agent Path Finding. In AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence (AAAI), 9313-9322, 2022. [downloadable]
H. Zhang, J. Chen, J. Li, B. Williams and S. Koenig. Multi-Agent Path Finding for Precedence-Constrained Goal Sequences. In International Joint Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems (AAMAS), 1464-1472, 2022. [downloadable]
X. Zhong, J. Li, S. Koenig and H. Ma. Optimal and Bounded-Suboptimal Multi-Goal Task Assignment and Path Finding. In IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), 10731-10737, 2022. [downloadable]
Q. Xu, J. Li, S. Koenig and H. Ma. Multi-Goal Multi-Agent Pickup and Delivery. In IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS), 9964-9971, 2022. [downloadable]
S. Zhang, J. Li, T. Huang, S. Koenig and B. Dilkina. Learning a Priority Ordering for Prioritized Planning in Multi-Agent Path Finding. In Symposium on Combinatorial Search (SoCS), 208-216, 2022. [downloadable]
S. Varambally, J. Li and S. Koenig. Which MAPF Model Works Best for Automated Warehousing?. In Symposium on Combinatorial Search (SoCS), 190-198, 2022. [downloadable]
H. Zhang, Y. Li, J. Li, S. Kumar and S. Koenig. Mutex Propagation in Multi-Agent Path Finding for Large Agents [Short Paper]. In Symposium on Combinatorial Search (SoCS), 249-253, 2022. [downloadable]
J. Li, D. Harabor, P. Stuckey, H. Ma, G. Gange and S. Koenig. Pairwise Symmetry Reasoning for Multi-Agent Path Finding Search. Artificial Intelligence, 301, 103574, 2021. [downloadable]
S. Koenig, S.-H. Chan, J. Li and Y. Zheng. Artificial Intelligence and Automation. In Handbook of Automation, S. Nof (editor), Springer, 2021. [downloadable]
J. Li, Z. Chen, D. Harabor, P. Stuckey and S. Koenig. Anytime Multi-Agent Path Finding via Large Neighborhood Search. In International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence (IJCAI), 4127-4135, 2021. [downloadable]
J. Li, W. Ruml and S. Koenig. EECBS: A Bounded-Suboptimal Search for Multi-Agent Path Finding. In AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence (AAAI), 12353-12362, 2021. [downloadable]
J. Li, A. Tinka, S. Kiesel, J. Durham, S. Kumar and S. Koenig. Lifelong Multi-Agent Path Finding in Large-Scale Warehouses. In AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence (AAAI), 11272-11281, 2021. [downloadable]
J. Li, Z. Chen, Y. Zheng, S.-H. Chan, D. Harabor, P. Stuckey, H. Ma and S. Koenig. Scalable Rail Planning and Replanning: Winning the 2020 Flatland Challenge. In International Conference on Automated Planning and Scheduling (ICAPS), 477-485, 2021. [downloadable]
H. Zhang, M. Yao, Z. Liu, J. Li, L. Terr, S.-H. Chan, S. Kumar and S. Koenig. A Hierarchical Approach to Multi-Agent Path Finding. In ICAPS-21 Workshop on Hierarchical Planning (HPLAN), 2021. [downloadable]
D. Atzmon, J. Li, A. Felner, E. Nachmani, S. Shperberg, N. Sturtevant and S. Koenig. Multi-Directional Heuristic Search. In International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence (IJCAI), 4062-4068, 2020. [downloadable]
E. Boyarski, A. Felner, D. Harabor, P. Stuckey, L. Cohen, J. Li and S. Koenig. Iterative-Deepening Conflict-Based Search. In International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence (IJCAI), 4084-4090, 2020. [downloadable]
J. Li, G. Gange, D. Harabor, P. Stuckey, H. Ma and S. Koenig. New Techniques for Pairwise Symmetry Breaking in Multi-Agent Path Finding. In International Conference on Automated Planning and Scheduling (ICAPS), 193-201, 2020. [downloadable]
H. Zhang, J. Li, P. Surynek, S. Koenig and S. Kumar. Multi-Agent Path Finding with Mutex Propagation. In International Conference on Automated Planning and Scheduling (ICAPS), 323-332, 2020. [downloadable]
J. Li, K. Sun, H. Ma, A. Felner, S. Kumar and S. Koenig. Moving Agents in Formation in Congested Environments. In International Joint Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems (AAMAS), 726-734, 2020. [downloadable]
S.-H. Chan, J. Li, D. Harabor, P. Stuckey, G. Gange, L. Cohen and S. Koenig. Nested ECBS for Bounded-Suboptimal Multi-Agent Path Finding. In IJCAI-20 Workshop on Multi-Agent Path Finding, 2020. [downloadable]
T. Neller, S. Keeley, M. Guerzhoy, W. Hoenig, J. Li, S. Koenig, A. Soni, K. Thomason, L. Zhang, B. Sebatian, C. Resnick, A. Oliver, S. Bhupatiraju, K. Agrawal, J. Allingham, S. Yoon, J. Chen, T. Larsen, M. Neumann, N. Norouzi, R. Hausen and M. Evett. Model AI Assignments 2020. In Symposium on Educational Advances in Artificial Intelligence (EAAI), 13509-13511, 2020. [downloadable]
P. Surynek, J. Li, H. Zhang, S. Kumar and S. Koenig. Mutex Propagation for SAT-Based Multi-Agent Path Finding. In International Conference on Principles and Practice of Multi-Agent Systems (PRIMA), 2020. [downloadable]
J. Li, A. Felner, E. Boyarski, H. Ma and S. Koenig. Improved Heuristics for Multi-Agent Path Finding with Conflict-Based Search. In International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence (IJCAI), 442-449, 2019. [downloadable]
H. Ma, D. Harabor, P. Stuckey, J. Li and S. Koenig. Searching with Consistent Prioritization for Multi-Agent Path Finding. In AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence (AAAI), 7643-7650, 2019. [downloadable]
J. Li, P. Surynek, A. Felner, H. Ma, S. Kumar and S. Koenig. Multi-Agent Path Finding for Large Agents. In AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence (AAAI), 7627-7634, 2019. [downloadable]
J. Li, D. Harabor, P. Stuckey, H. Ma and S. Koenig. Symmetry-Breaking Constraints for Grid-Based Multi-Agent Path Finding. In AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence (AAAI), 6087-6095, 2019. [downloadable]
M. Liu, H. Ma, J. Li and S. Koenig. Task and Path Planning for Multi-Agent Pickup and Delivery. In International Joint Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems (AAMAS), 1152-1160, 2019. [downloadable]
J. Wang, J. Li, H. Ma, S. Koenig and S. Kumar. A New Constraint Satisfaction Perspective on Multi-Agent Path Finding: Preliminary Results [Short Paper]. In International Joint Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems (AAMAS), 2253-2255, 2019. [downloadable]
J. Li, D. Harabor, P. Stuckey, A. Felner, H. Ma and S. Koenig. Disjoint Splitting for Multi-Agent Path Finding with Conflict-Based Search [Short Paper]. In International Conference on Automated Planning and Scheduling (ICAPS), 279-283, 2019. [downloadable]
J. Li, A. Felner, S. Koenig and S. Kumar. Using FastMap to Solve Graph Problems in a Euclidean Space. In International Conference on Automated Planning and Scheduling (ICAPS), 273-278, 2019. [downloadable]
J. Li, H. Zhang, M. Gong, Z. Liang, W. Liu, Z. Tong, L. Yi, R. Morris, C. Pasareanu and S. Koenig. Scheduling and Airport Taxiway Path Planning under Uncertainty. In AIAA Aviation Forum and Exposition (AIAA), 2930, 2019. [downloadable]
R. Stern, N. Sturtevant, A. Felner, S. Koenig, H. Ma, T. Walker, J. Li, D. Atzmon, L. Cohen, S. Kumar, E. Boyarski and R. Bartak. Multi-Agent Pathfinding: Definitions, Variants, and Benchmarks [Position Paper]. In Symposium on Combinatorial Search (SoCS), 151-159, 2019. [downloadable]
H. Ma, G. Wagner, A. Felner, J. Li, S. Kumar and S. Koenig. Multi-Agent Path Finding with Deadlines. In International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence (IJCAI), 417-423, 2018. [downloadable]
A. Felner, J. Li, E. Boyarski, H. Ma, L. Cohen, S. Kumar and S. Koenig. Adding Heuristics to Conflict-Based Search for Multi-Agent Path Finding [Short Paper]. In International Conference on Automated Planning and Scheduling (ICAPS), 83-87, 2018. [downloadable]
H. Ma, G. Wagner, A. Felner, J. Li, S. Kumar and S. Koenig. Multi-Agent Path Finding with Deadlines: Preliminary Results [Short Paper]. In International Joint Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems (AAMAS), 2004-2006, 2018. [downloadable]
H. Ma, J. Li, S. Kumar and S. Koenig. Lifelong Multi-Agent Path Finding for Online Pickup and Delivery Tasks. In International Joint Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems (AAMAS), 837-845, 2017. [downloadable]

Dr. Yaxin Liu (Former Graduate Student)

Yaxin received a B.S. in Computer Science from Peking University in 1994, an M.S. in Computer Science from Peking University in 1997, and a Ph.D. in Computer Science from Georgia Institute of Technology in 2005 for his dissertation "Decision-Theoretic Planning Under Risk-Sensitive Planning Objectives." He received IBM Fellowship Awards in 2002 and 2003, the Outstanding Graduate Research Assistant Award from the College of Computing at Georgia Institute of Technology in 2002, and the Outstanding Dissertation Award from the College of Computing at Georgia Institute of Technology in 2007.

Previously seen: Research Scientist at the University of Texas at Austin
Previously seen: Lead Scientist at Isaac
Last seen: Software Engineer at Google

Y. Liu. Decision-Theoretic Planning under Risk-Sensitive Planning Objectives. PhD thesis, College of Computing, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta (Georgia), 2005. [downloadable]

Y. Liu and S. Koenig. An Exact Algorithm for Solving MDPs under Risk-Sensitve Planning Objectives with One-Switch Utility Functions. In International Joint Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems (AAMAS), 453-460, 2008. [downloadable]
Y. Liu and S. Koenig. Functional Value Iteration for Decision-Theoretic Planning with General Utility Functions. In AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence (AAAI), 1186-1193, 2006. [downloadable]
Y. Liu and S. Koenig. Risk-Sensitive Planning with One-Switch Utility Functions: Value Iteration. In AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence (AAAI), 993-999, 2005. [downloadable]
Y. Liu and S. Koenig. Existence and Finiteness Conditions for Risk-Sensitive Planning: Results and Conjectures. In International Conference on Uncertainty in Artificial Intelligence (UAI), 354-363, 2005. [downloadable]
S. Koenig, M. Likhachev, Y. Liu and D. Furcy. Incremental Heuristic Search in Artificial Intelligence. Artificial Intelligence Magazine, 25, (2), 99-112, 2004. [downloadable]
S. Koenig and Y. Liu. The Interaction of Representations and Planning Objectives for Decision-Theoretic Planning Tasks. Journal of Experimental and Theoretical Artificial Intelligence, 14, 303-326, 2002. [downloadable]
Y. Liu, S. Koenig and D. Furcy. Speeding Up the Calculation of Heuristics for Heuristic Search-Based Planning. In AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence (AAAI), 484-491, 2002. [downloadable]
S. Koenig, B. Szymanski and Y. Liu. Efficient and Inefficient Ant Coverage Methods. Annals of Mathematics and Artificial Intelligence - Special Issue on Ant Robotics, 31, 41-76, 2001. [downloadable]
S. Koenig and Y. Liu. Terrain Coverage with Ant Robots: A Simulation Study. In International Conference on Autonomous Agents (AGENTS), 600-607, 2001. [downloadable]
S. Koenig and Y. Liu. Representations of Decision-Theoretic Planning Tasks. In International Conference on Artificial Intelligence Planning Systems (AIPS), 187-195, 2000. [downloadable]
S. Koenig and Y. Liu. Sensor Planning with Non-Linear Utility Functions. In European Conference on Planning (ECP), 265-277, Springer, 1999. [downloadable]

Dr. Hang Ma (Former Graduate Student)

Hang received a B.S. (First Class with Distinction) in Computing Science from Simon Fraser University in 2012, a B.Eng. in Computer Science and Technology from Zhejiang University in 2012 and an M.S. in Computer Science from McGill University in 2014. Hang is interested in artificial intelligence, machine learning and robotics. He received a USC Annenberg Graduate Fellowship in 2014, an Outstanding Paper Award in the Robotics Track of the International Conference on Automated Planning and Scheduling in 2016, and a Technology Commercialization Award from the USC Stevens Center for Innovation in 2019. More information can be found on his homepage.

Last seen: Assistant Professor at Simon Fraser University

H. Ma. Target Assignment and Path Planning for Navigation Tasks with Teams of Agents. PhD thesis, Department of Computer Science, University of Southern California, Los Angeles (California), 2020. [downloadable]

Y. Zheng, H. Ma, S. Koenig, E. Kline and S. Kumar. Priority-Based Search for the Virtual Network Embedding Problem. In International Conference on Automated Planning and Scheduling (ICAPS), 472-480, 2023. [downloadable]
X. Zhong, J. Li, S. Koenig and H. Ma. Optimal and Bounded-Suboptimal Multi-Goal Task Assignment and Path Finding. In IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), 10731-10737, 2022. [downloadable]
Q. Xu, J. Li, S. Koenig and H. Ma. Multi-Goal Multi-Agent Pickup and Delivery. In IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS), 9964-9971, 2022. [downloadable]
J. Li, D. Harabor, P. Stuckey, H. Ma, G. Gange and S. Koenig. Pairwise Symmetry Reasoning for Multi-Agent Path Finding Search. Artificial Intelligence, 301, 103574, 2021. [downloadable]
J. Li, Z. Chen, Y. Zheng, S.-H. Chan, D. Harabor, P. Stuckey, H. Ma and S. Koenig. Scalable Rail Planning and Replanning: Winning the 2020 Flatland Challenge. In International Conference on Automated Planning and Scheduling (ICAPS), 477-485, 2021. [downloadable]
H. Zhang, N. Tiruviluamala, S. Koenig and S. Kumar. Temporal Reasoning with Kinodynamic Networks. In International Conference on Automated Planning and Scheduling (ICAPS), 415-425, 2021. [downloadable]
J. Li, G. Gange, D. Harabor, P. Stuckey, H. Ma and S. Koenig. New Techniques for Pairwise Symmetry Breaking in Multi-Agent Path Finding. In International Conference on Automated Planning and Scheduling (ICAPS), 193-201, 2020. [downloadable]
J. Li, K. Sun, H. Ma, A. Felner, S. Kumar and S. Koenig. Moving Agents in Formation in Congested Environments. In International Joint Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems (AAMAS), 726-734, 2020. [downloadable]
J. Li, A. Felner, E. Boyarski, H. Ma and S. Koenig. Improved Heuristics for Multi-Agent Path Finding with Conflict-Based Search. In International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence (IJCAI), 442-449, 2019. [downloadable]
H. Ma, D. Harabor, P. Stuckey, J. Li and S. Koenig. Searching with Consistent Prioritization for Multi-Agent Path Finding. In AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence (AAAI), 7643-7650, 2019. [downloadable]
H. Ma, W. Hoenig, S. Kumar, N. Ayanian and S. Koenig. Lifelong Path Planning with Kinematic Constraints for Multi-Agent Pickup and Delivery. In AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence (AAAI), 7651-7658, 2019. [downloadable]
J. Li, P. Surynek, A. Felner, H. Ma, S. Kumar and S. Koenig. Multi-Agent Path Finding for Large Agents. In AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence (AAAI), 7627-7634, 2019. [downloadable]
J. Li, D. Harabor, P. Stuckey, H. Ma and S. Koenig. Symmetry-Breaking Constraints for Grid-Based Multi-Agent Path Finding. In AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence (AAAI), 6087-6095, 2019. [downloadable]
M. Liu, H. Ma, J. Li and S. Koenig. Task and Path Planning for Multi-Agent Pickup and Delivery. In International Joint Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems (AAMAS), 1152-1160, 2019. [downloadable]
J. Wang, J. Li, H. Ma, S. Koenig and S. Kumar. A New Constraint Satisfaction Perspective on Multi-Agent Path Finding: Preliminary Results [Short Paper]. In International Joint Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems (AAMAS), 2253-2255, 2019. [downloadable]
J. Li, D. Harabor, P. Stuckey, A. Felner, H. Ma and S. Koenig. Disjoint Splitting for Multi-Agent Path Finding with Conflict-Based Search [Short Paper]. In International Conference on Automated Planning and Scheduling (ICAPS), 279-283, 2019. [downloadable]
R. Stern, N. Sturtevant, A. Felner, S. Koenig, H. Ma, T. Walker, J. Li, D. Atzmon, L. Cohen, S. Kumar, E. Boyarski and R. Bartak. Multi-Agent Pathfinding: Definitions, Variants, and Benchmarks [Position Paper]. In Symposium on Combinatorial Search (SoCS), 151-159, 2019. [downloadable]
H. Ma, G. Wagner, A. Felner, J. Li, S. Kumar and S. Koenig. Multi-Agent Path Finding with Deadlines. In International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence (IJCAI), 417-423, 2018. [downloadable]
L. Cohen, M. Greco, H. Ma, C. Hernandez, A. Felner, S. Kumar and S. Koenig. Anytime Focal Search with Applications. In International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence (IJCAI), 1434-1441, 2018. [downloadable]
A. Felner, J. Li, E. Boyarski, H. Ma, L. Cohen, S. Kumar and S. Koenig. Adding Heuristics to Conflict-Based Search for Multi-Agent Path Finding [Short Paper]. In International Conference on Automated Planning and Scheduling (ICAPS), 83-87, 2018. [downloadable]
H. Ma, G. Wagner, A. Felner, J. Li, S. Kumar and S. Koenig. Multi-Agent Path Finding with Deadlines: Preliminary Results [Short Paper]. In International Joint Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems (AAMAS), 2004-2006, 2018. [downloadable]
H. Ma, W. Hoenig, L. Cohen, T. Uras, H. Xu, S. Kumar, N. Ayanian and S. Koenig. Overview: A Hierarchical Framework for Plan Generation and Execution in Multirobot Systems. IEEE Intelligent Systems, 32, (6), 6-12, 2017. [downloadable]
H. Ma, S. Kumar and S. Koenig. Multi-Agent Path Finding with Delay Probabilities. In AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence (AAAI), 3605-3612, 2017. [downloadable]
H. Ma, J. Li, S. Kumar and S. Koenig. Lifelong Multi-Agent Path Finding for Online Pickup and Delivery Tasks. In International Joint Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems (AAMAS), 837-845, 2017. [downloadable]
H. Ma and S. Koenig. AI Buzzwords Explained: Multi-Agent Path Finding (MAPF). AI Matters, 3, (3), 15-19, 2017. [downloadable]
H. Ma, C. Tovey, G. Sharon, S. Kumar and S. Koenig. Multi-Agent Path Finding with Payload Transfers and the Package-Exchange Robot-Routing Problem. In AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence (AAAI), 3166-3173, 2016. [downloadable]
H. Ma and S. Koenig. Optimal Target Assignment and Path Finding for Teams of Agents. In International Joint Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems (AAMAS), 1144-1152, 2016. [downloadable]
W. Hoenig, S. Kumar, L. Cohen, H. Ma, H. Xu, N. Ayanian and S. Koenig. Multi-Agent Path Finding with Kinematic Constraints. In International Conference on Automated Planning and Scheduling (ICAPS), 477-485, 2016. [downloadable]
W. Hoenig, S. Kumar, H. Ma, S. Koenig and N. Ayanian. Formation Change for Robot Groups in Occluded Environments. In IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS), 4836-4842, 2016. [downloadable]
R. Morris, C. Pasareanu, K. Luckow, W. Malik, H. Ma, S. Kumar and S. Koenig. Planning, Scheduling and Monitoring for Airport Surface Operations. In AAAI-16 Workshop on Planning for Hybrid Systems, 2016. [downloadable]
H. Ma, S. Koenig, N. Ayanian, L. Cohen, W. Hoenig, S. Kumar, T. Uras, H. Xu, C. Tovey and G. Sharon. Overview: Generalizations of Multi-Agent Path Finding to Real-World Scenarios. In IJCAI-16 Workshop on Multi-Agent Path Finding, 2016. [downloadable]

Dr. Alex Nash (Former Graduate Student)

Alex received a B.S. in Computer Science from Yale University in 2004, an M.S. in Computer Science from USC in 2006 and a Ph.D. in Computer Science from USC in 2012 for his dissertation "Any-Angle Path Planning." He received a fellowship from Northrop Grumman Corporation, where he had worked since 2005 and his IR&D team had received two Gold Awards.

Previously seen: Group Lead at Northrop Grumman Corporation
Last seen: Group Lead at Amazon Prime Air

A. Nash. Any-Angle Path Planning. PhD thesis, Department of Computer Science, University of Southern California, Los Angeles (California), 2012. [downloadable]

A. Nash and S. Koenig. Any-Angle Path Planning. Artificial Intelligence Magazine, 34, (4), 85-107, 2013. [downloadable]
K. Daniel, A. Nash, S. Koenig and A. Felner. Theta*: Any-Angle Path Planning on Grids. Journal of Artificial Intelligence Research, 39, 533-579, 2010. [downloadable]
A. Nash, S. Koenig and C. Tovey. Lazy Theta*: Any-Angle Path Planning and Path Length Analysis in 3D. In AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence (AAAI), 2010. [downloadable]
T. Neller, J. DeNero, D. Klein, S. Koenig, W. Yeoh, X. Zheng, K. Daniel, A. Nash, Z. Dodds, G. Carenini, D. Poole and C. Brooks. Model AI Assignments. In Symposium on Educational Advances in Artificial Intelligence (EAAI), 2010. [downloadable]
A. Nash, S. Koenig and M. Likhachev. Incremental Phi*: Incremental Any-Angle Path Planning on Grids. In International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence (IJCAI), 1824-1830, 2009. [downloadable]
S. Koenig, K. Daniel and A. Nash. A Project on Any-Angle Path Planning for Computer Games for 'Introduction to Artificial Intelligence' Classes. Technical Report, Department of Computer Science, University of Southern California, Los Angeles (California), 2008. [downloadable]
A. Nash, K. Daniel, S. Koenig and A. Felner. Theta*: Any-Angle Path Planning on Grids. In AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence (AAAI), 1177-1183, 2007. [downloadable]

Dr. Xiaoxun Sun (Former Graduate Student)

Xiaoxun received a B.E. in Computer Science from Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics in 2003, an M.S. (with honors) in Media and Knowledge Engineering from Delft University of Technology in 2005, an M.S. in Computer Science from USC in 2008, and a Ph.D. in Computer Science from USC in 2013 for his dissertation "Incremental Search-Based Path-Planning for Moving Target Search." He received a USC Annenberg Graduate Fellowship in 2007.

Previously seen: Software Engineer at Google
Last seen: Founder and CEO of LaiOffer

X. Sun. Incremental Search-Based Path-Planning for Moving Target Search. PhD thesis, Department of Computer Science, University of Southern California, Los Angeles (California), 2013. [downloadable]

W. Yeoh, P. Varakantham, X. Sun and S. Koenig. Incremental DCOP Search Algorithms for Solving Dynamic DCOP Problems. In IEEE/WIC/ACM International Conference on Intelligent Agent Technology (IAT), 257-264, 2015. [downloadable]
C. Hernandez, T. Uras, S. Koenig, J. Baier, X. Sun and P. Meseguer. Reusing Cost-Minimal Paths for Goal-Directed Navigation in Partially Known Terrains. Journal of Autonomous Agents and Multi-Agent Systems, 29, (5), 850-895, 2015. [downloadable]
X. Sun, T. Uras, S. Koenig and W. Yeoh. Incremental ARA*: An Incremental Anytime Search Algorithm for Moving-Target Search. In International Conference on Automated Planning and Scheduling (ICAPS), 2012. [downloadable]
C. Hernandez, X. Sun, S. Koenig and P. Meseguer. Tree Adaptive A*. In International Joint Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems (AAMAS), 123-130, 2011. [downloadable]
W. Yeoh, P. Varakantham, X. Sun and S. Koenig. Incremental DCOP Search Algorithms for Solving Dynamic DCOPs [Short Paper]. In International Joint Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems (AAMAS), 169-170, 2011. [downloadable]
X. Sun, W. Yeoh and S. Koenig. Generalized Fringe-Retrieving A*: Faster Moving Target Search on State Lattices. In International Joint Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems (AAMAS), 1081-1088, 2010. [downloadable]
X. Sun, W. Yeoh and S. Koenig. Moving Target D* Lite. In International Joint Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems (AAMAS), 67-74, 2010. [downloadable]
S. Koenig and X. Sun. Comparing Real-Time and Incremental Heuristic Search for Real-Time Situated Agents. Journal of Autonomous Agents and Multi-Agent Systems, 18, (3), 313-341, 2009. [downloadable]
X. Sun, W. Yeoh and S. Koenig. Efficient Incremental Search for Moving Target Search. In International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence (IJCAI), 615-620, 2009. [downloadable]
W. Yeoh, X. Sun and S. Koenig. Trading Off Solution Quality for Faster Computation in DCOP Search Algorithms. In International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence (IJCAI), 354-360, 2009. [downloadable]
X. Sun, W. Yeoh, P. Chen and S. Koenig. Simple Optimization Techniques for A*-Based Search. In International Joint Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems (AAMAS), 931-936, 2009. [downloadable]
C. Hernandez, P. Meseguer, X. Sun and S. Koenig. Path-Adaptive A* for Incremental Heuristic Search in Unknown Terrain. In International Conference on Automated Planning and Scheduling (ICAPS), 358-361, 2009. [downloadable]
X. Sun, S. Koenig and W. Yeoh. Generalized Adaptive A*. In International Joint Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems (AAMAS), 469-476, 2008. [downloadable]
W. Yeoh, S. Koenig and X. Sun. Trading Off Solution Cost for Smaller Runtime in DCOP Search Algorithms [Short Paper]. In International Joint Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems (AAMAS), 1445-1448, 2008.
W. Yeoh, S. Koenig and X. Sun. Trading Off Solution Cost for Smaller Runtime in DCOP Search Algorithms (Extended Version). In International Workshop on Distributed Constraint Reasoning (DCR), 25-35, 2008.
X. Sun and S. Koenig. The Fringe-Saving A* Search Algorithm - A Feasibility Study. In International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence (IJCAI), 2391-2397, 2007. [downloadable]
S. Koenig, M. Likhachev and X. Sun. Speeding up Moving-Target Search. In International Joint Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems (AAMAS), 2007. [downloadable]

Tansel Uras (Former Graduate Student)

Tansel received a B.S. in Computer Science (with a minor in Mathematics) in 2009, an M.S. in Computer Science in 2011 from Sabanci University, and a Ph.D. in Computer Science from USC in 2019 for his dissertation "Speeding Up Path Planning on State Lattices and Grid Graphs by Exploiting Freespace Structure." He had the fastest entry in the Grid-Based Path Planning Competition among all optimal entries that solved all planning problems in 2012 and 2013. He received a Best Research Assistant Award from the Computer Science Department of USC in 2014, a Best Teaching Assistant Award from the Computer Science Department of USC in 2016, and a Technology Commercialization Award from the USC Stevens Center for Innovation in 2019.

Previously seen: Software Engineer at Waymo Last seen: Software Engineer at Motional

T. Uras. Speeding Up Path Planning on State Lattices and Grid Graphs by Exploiting Freespace Structure. PhD thesis, Department of Computer Science, University of Southern California, Los Angeles (California), 2020. [downloadable]

J. Han, T. Uras and S. Koenig. Toward a String-Pulling Approach to Path Smoothing on Grid Graphs. In Symposium on Combinatorial Search (SoCS), 106-110, 2020. [downloadable]
S. Koenig, T. Uras and L. Cohen. Teaching Undergraduate Artificial Intelligence Classes: An Experiment with an Attendance Requirement. In Symposium on Educational Advances in Artificial Intelligence (EAAI), 13374-13380, 2020. [downloadable]
D. Harabor, T. Uras, P. Stuckey and S. Koenig. Regarding Jump Point Search and Subgoal Graphs. In International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence (IJCAI), 1241-1248, 2019. [downloadable]
T. Uras and S. Koenig. Understanding Subgoal Graphs by Augmenting Contraction Hierarchies. In International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence (IJCAI), 1506-1513, 2018. [downloadable]
L. Cohen, T. Uras, S. Jahangiri, A. Arunasalam, S. Koenig and S. Kumar. The FastMap Algorithm for Shortest Path Computations. In International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence (IJCAI), 1427-1433, 2018. [downloadable]
T. Uras and S. Koenig. Fast Near-Optimal Path Planning on State Lattices with Subgoal Graphs. In Symposium on Combinatorial Search (SoCS), 106-114, 2018. [downloadable]
H. Ma, W. Hoenig, L. Cohen, T. Uras, H. Xu, S. Kumar, N. Ayanian and S. Koenig. Overview: A Hierarchical Framework for Plan Generation and Execution in Multirobot Systems. IEEE Intelligent Systems, 32, (6), 6-12, 2017. [downloadable]
T. Uras and S. Koenig. Feasibility Study: Subgoal Graphs on State Lattices. In Symposium on Combinatorial Search (SoCS), 100-108, 2017. [downloadable]
L. Cohen, T. Uras, S. Kumar, H. Xu, N. Ayanian and S. Koenig. Improved Solvers for Bounded-Suboptimal Multi-Agent Path Finding. In International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence (IJCAI), 3067-3074, 2016. [downloadable]
H. Ma, S. Koenig, N. Ayanian, L. Cohen, W. Hoenig, S. Kumar, T. Uras, H. Xu, C. Tovey and G. Sharon. Overview: Generalizations of Multi-Agent Path Finding to Real-World Scenarios. In IJCAI-16 Workshop on Multi-Agent Path Finding, 2016. [downloadable]
J. Bailey, C. Tovey, T. Uras, S. Koenig and A. Nash. Path Planning on Grids: The Effect of Vertex Placement on Path Length. In Artificial Intelligence and Interactive Digital Entertainment Conference (AIIDE), 108-114, 2015. [downloadable]
N. Sturtevant, J. Traish, J. Tulip, T. Uras, S. Koenig, B. Strasser, A. Botea, D. Harabor and S. Rabin. The Grid-Based Path Planning Competition: 2014 Entries and Results. In Symposium on Combinatorial Search (SoCS), 241ff, 2015. [downloadable]
L. Cohen, T. Uras and S. Koenig. Feasibility Study: Using Highways for Bounded-Suboptimal Multi-Agent Path Finding. In Symposium on Combinatorial Search (SoCS), 2-8, 2015. [downloadable]
T. Uras and S. Koenig. An Empirical Comparison of Any-Angle Path-Planning Algorithms [Short Paper]. In Symposium on Combinatorial Search (SoCS), 206-210, 2015. [downloadable]
T. Uras and S. Koenig. Speeding-up Any-Angle Path-Planning on Grids [Short Paper]. In International Conference on Automated Planning and Scheduling (ICAPS), 234-238, 2015. [downloadable]
M. Cirillo, T. Uras and S. Koenig. A Lattice-Based Approach to Multi-Robot Motion Planning for Non-Holonomic Vehicles. In IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS), 232-239, 2014. [downloadable]
C. Hernandez, T. Uras, S. Koenig, J. Baier, X. Sun and P. Meseguer. Reusing Cost-Minimal Paths for Goal-Directed Navigation in Partially Known Terrains. Journal of Autonomous Agents and Multi-Agent Systems, 29, (5), 850-895, 2015. [downloadable]
T. Uras and S. Koenig. Identifying Hierarchies for Fast Optimal Search. In AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence (AAAI), 2014. [downloadable]
M. Cirillo, F. Pecora, H. Andreasson, T. Uras and S. Koenig. Integrated Motion Planning and Coordination for Industrial Vehicles. In International Conference on Automated Planning and Scheduling (ICAPS), 463-471, 2014. [downloadable]
T. Uras, S. Koenig and C. Hernandez. Subgoal Graphs for Optimal Pathfinding in Eight-Neighbor Grids. In International Conference on Automated Planning and Scheduling (ICAPS), 2013. [downloadable]
X. Sun, T. Uras, S. Koenig and W. Yeoh. Incremental ARA*: An Incremental Anytime Search Algorithm for Moving-Target Search. In International Conference on Automated Planning and Scheduling (ICAPS), 2012. [downloadable]
C. Hernandez, J. Baier, T. Uras and S. Koenig. Time-Bounded Adaptive A*. In International Joint Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems (AAMAS), 997-1006, 2012. [downloadable]
T. Uras, S. Koenig and C. Hernandez. Subgoal Graphs for Eight-Neighbor Gridworlds [Competition Abstract]. In Symposium on Combinatorial Search (SoCS), 2012. [downloadable]
C. Hernandez, J. Baier, T. Uras and S. Koenig. Position Paper: Incremental Search Algorithms Considered Poorly Understood. In Symposium on Combinatorial Search (SoCS), 2012. [downloadable]
C. Hernandez, J. Baier, T. Uras and S. Koenig. Demonstration Abstract: New Developments in Real-Time Heuristic Search: A Demo. In International Conference on Automated Planning and Scheduling (ICAPS), 2012. [downloadable]
C. Hernandez, J. Baier, T. Uras and S. Koenig. Paper Summary: Time-Bounded Adaptive A*. In Symposium on Combinatorial Search (SoCS), 2012. [downloadable]

Dr. Daniel Wong (Former Undergraduate Student)

Daniel received a B.S in Computer Engineering/Computer Science from USC in 2009 and then entered the Ph.D. program in Electrical Engineering at USC as a recipient of a USC Provost Graduate Fellowship. He was a recipient of the Rose Hills Foundation Science and Engineering Fellowship in 2009 and the Rose Hills Foundation Scholarship. He is a member of Tau Beta Pi and Eta Kappa Nu. More information can be found on his homepage.

Previously seen: Graduate Student at USC
Last seen: Associate Professor at the University of California at Riverside

D. Wong, D. Earl, F. Zyda, R. Zink, S. Koenig, A. Pan, S. Shlosberg, J. Singh and N. Sturtevant. Implementing Games on Pinball Machines. In International Conference on the Foundations of Digital Games (FDG), 240-247, 2010. [downloadable]

Dr. Hong Xu (Former Graduate Student)

Hong received his B.S. in Physics from the University of Science and Technology of China in 2012. He is interested in combinatorial search problems, such as constraint satisfaction and optimization, in computer science, physics and other natural sciences. He received an Outstanding Paper Award in the Robotics Track of the International Conference on Automated Planning and Scheduling in 2016 and a Technology Commercialization Award from the USC Stevens Center for Innovation in 2019. More information can be found on his homepage.

Last seen: Software Engineer at IBM

H. Xu. Exploiting Structure in the Boolan Weighted Constraint Satisfaction Problem: A Constraint Composite Graph-Based Approach. PhD thesis, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Southern California, Los Angeles (California), 2019. [downloadable]

H. Xu, K. Sun, S. Koenig and S. Kumar. Decision-Tree Learning-Inspired Dynamic Variable Ordering for the Weighted CSP. In Symposium on Combinatorial Search (SoCS), 91-100, 2020. [downloadable]
H. Xu, K. Sun, S. Koenig, I. Hen and S. Kumar. Hybrid Quantum-Classical Algorithms for Solving the Weighted CSP. In International Symposium on Artificial Intelligence and Mathematics (ISAIM), 2020. [downloadable]
K. Yip, H. Xu, S. Koenig and S. Kumar. Quadratic Reformulation of Nonlinear Pseudo-Boolean Functions via the Constraint Composite Graph. In International Conference on the Integration of Constraint Programming, Artificial Intelligence, and Operations Research (CPAIOR), 643-660, 2019. [downloadable]
H. Xu, S. Koenig and S. Kumar. Towards Effective Deep Learning for Constraint Satisfaction Problems. In International Conference on Principles and Practice of Constraint Programming (CP), 588-597, 2018. [downloadable]
H. Xu, K. Sun, S. Koenig and S. Kumar. A Warning Propagation-Based Linear-Time-and-Space Algorithm for the Minimum Vertex Cover Problem on Giant Graphs. In International Conference on the Integration of Constraint Programming, Artificial Intelligence, and Operations Research (CPAIOR), 567-584, 2018. [downloadable]
H. Xu, C. Cheng, S. Koenig and S. Kumar. Message Passing Algorithms for Semiring-Based and Valued Constraint Satisfaction Problems. In Symposium on Combinatorial Search (SoCS), 115-123, 2018. [downloadable]
F. Fioretto, H. Xu, S. Koenig and S. Kumar. Solving Multiagent Constraint Optimization Problems on the Constraint Composite Graph. In International Conference on Principles and Practice of Multi-Agent Systems (PRIMA), 106-122, 2018. [downloadable]
M. Nakajima, H. Xu, S. Koenig and S. Kumar. Towards Understanding the Min-Sum Message Passing Algorithm for the Minimum Weighted Vertex Cover Problem: An Analytical Approach. In International Symposium on Artificial Intelligence and Mathematics (ISAIM), 2018. [downloadable]
H. Xu, X.-Z. Wu, C. Cheng, S. Koenig and S. Kumar. The Buss Reduction for the k-Weighted Vertex Cover Problem. In International Symposium on Artificial Intelligence and Mathematics (ISAIM), 2018. [downloadable]
H. Ma, W. Hoenig, L. Cohen, T. Uras, H. Xu, S. Kumar, N. Ayanian and S. Koenig. Overview: A Hierarchical Framework for Plan Generation and Execution in Multirobot Systems. IEEE Intelligent Systems, 32, (6), 6-12, 2017. [downloadable]
H. Xu, S. Koenig and S. Kumar. A Constraint Composite Graph-Based ILP Encoding of the Boolean Weighted CSP. In International Conference on Principles and Practice of Constraint Programming (CP), 630-638, 2017. [downloadable]
H. Xu, S. Kumar and S. Koenig. The Nemhauser-Trotter Reduction and Lifted Message Passing for the Weighted CSP. In International Conference on Integration of Artificial Intelligence and Operations Research Techniques in Constraint Programming (CPAIOR), 387-402, 2017. [downloadable]
H. Xu, S. Kumar and S. Koenig. Min-Max Message Passing and Local Consistency in Constraint Networks. In Australasian Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence (AI), 340-352, 2017. [downloadable]
H. Xu, S. Kumar and S. Koenig. A Linear-Time and Linear-Space Algorithm for the Minimum Vertex Cover Problem on Giant Graphs [Short Paper]. In Symposium on Combinatorial Search (SoCS), 173-175, 2017. [downloadable]
L. Cohen, T. Uras, S. Kumar, H. Xu, N. Ayanian and S. Koenig. Improved Solvers for Bounded-Suboptimal Multi-Agent Path Finding. In International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence (IJCAI), 3067-3074, 2016. [downloadable]
W. Hoenig, S. Kumar, L. Cohen, H. Ma, H. Xu, N. Ayanian and S. Koenig. Multi-Agent Path Finding with Kinematic Constraints. In International Conference on Automated Planning and Scheduling (ICAPS), 477-485, 2016. [downloadable]
H. Xu, S. Kumar and S. Koenig. A New Solver for the Minimum Weighted Vertex Cover Problem. In International Conference on Integration of Artificial Intelligence and Operations Research Techniques in Constraint Programming (CPAIOR), 392-405, 2016. [downloadable]
H. Xu, S. Kumar, D. Johnke, N. Ayanian and S. Koenig. SAGL: A New Heuristic for Multi-Robot Routing with Complex Tasks. In IEEE International Conference on Tools with Artificial Intelligence (ICTAI), 530-535, 2016. [downloadable]
H. Ma, S. Koenig, N. Ayanian, L. Cohen, W. Hoenig, S. Kumar, T. Uras, H. Xu, C. Tovey and G. Sharon. Overview: Generalizations of Multi-Agent Path Finding to Real-World Scenarios. In IJCAI-16 Workshop on Multi-Agent Path Finding, 2016. [downloadable]

Dr. William Yeoh (Former Graduate Student)

William received a B.S.E. (Magna cum Laude) and M.S. in Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics from the University in Pennsylvania in 2004, an M.S. in Computer Science from USC in 2007, and a Ph.D. in Computer Science from USC in 2010 for his dissertation "Speeding up Distributed Constraint Optimization Search Algorithms." He received an Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award from the Computer Science Department of USC in both 2004 and 2007, was nominated for the University Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award in 2008, received an Award for Excellence in Teaching from the USC Center for Excellence in Teaching in 2008, was nominated for the Pragnesh Jay Modi Best Student Paper Award of the International Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multi-Agent Systems in 2009, received the Outstanding Research Assistant Award from the Computer Science Department of USC in 2009, and is a member of both Phi Kappa Phi and Pi Tau Sigma. He was selected by IEEE Intelligent Systems in 2015 as one of the "AI's 10 to Watch." The call for nominations stated: "Every two years, IEEE Intelligent Systems acknowledges and celebrates 10 young stars in the field of AI as "AI's 10 to Watch." These accomplished researchers have all completed their doctoral work in the past five years. Despite being relatively junior in their career, each one has made impressive research contributions and had an impact in the literature - and in some cases, in real-world applications as well." More information can be found on his homepage.

Previously seen: Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst
Previously seen: Research Scientist at Singapore Management University
Previously seen: Assistant Professor at New Mexico State University
Last seen: Associate Professor at Washington University in St. Louis

W. Yeoh. Speeding up Distributed Constraint Optimization Search Algorithms. PhD thesis, Department of Computer Science, University of Southern California, Los Angeles (California), 2010. [downloadable]

C. Hernandez, W. Yeoh, J. Baier, H. Zhang, L. Suazo, S. Koenig and O. Salzman. Simple and Efficient Bi-Objective Search Algorithms via Fast Dominance Checks. Artificial Intelligence, 314, 2023. [downloadable]
S. Skyler, D. Atzmon, A. Felner, O. Salzman, H. Zhang, S. Koenig, W. Yeoh and C. Hernandez. Bounded-Cost Bi-Objective Heuristic Search [Short Paper]. In Symposium on Combinatorial Search (SoCS), 239-243, 2022. [downloadable]
C. Hernandez, W. Yeoh, J. Baier, H. Zhang, L. Suazo and S. Koenig. A Simple and Fast Bi-Objective Search Algorithm. In International Conference on Automated Planning and Scheduling (ICAPS), 143-151, 2020. [downloadable]
D. Sigurdson, V. Bulitko, W. Yeoh, C. Hernandez and S. Koenig. Multi-Agent Pathfinding with Real-Time Heuristic Search. In IEEE Conference on Computational Intelligence and Games (CIG), 1-8, 2018. [downloadable]
W. Yeoh, P. Varakantham, X. Sun and S. Koenig. Incremental DCOP Search Algorithms for Solving Dynamic DCOP Problems. In IEEE/WIC/ACM International Conference on Intelligent Agent Technology (IAT), 257-264, 2015. [downloadable]
S. Kumar, D. Nguyen, W. Yeoh and S. Koenig. A Simple Polynomial-Time Randomized Distributed Algorithm for Connected Row Convex Constraints. In AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence (AAAI), 2308-2314, 2014. [downloadable]
X. Sun, T. Uras, S. Koenig and W. Yeoh. Incremental ARA*: An Incremental Anytime Search Algorithm for Moving-Target Search. In International Conference on Automated Planning and Scheduling (ICAPS), 2012. [downloadable]
W. Yeoh, P. Varakantham, X. Sun and S. Koenig. Incremental DCOP Search Algorithms for Solving Dynamic DCOPs [Short Paper]. In International Joint Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems (AAMAS), 169-170, 2011. [downloadable]
W. Yeoh, A. Felner and S. Koenig. BnB-ADOPT: An Asynchronous Branch-and-Bound DCOP Algorithm. Journal of Artificial Intelligence Research, 38, 85-133, 2010. [downloadable]
T. Neller, J. DeNero, D. Klein, S. Koenig, W. Yeoh, X. Zheng, K. Daniel, A. Nash, Z. Dodds, G. Carenini, D. Poole and C. Brooks. Model AI Assignments. In Symposium on Educational Advances in Artificial Intelligence (EAAI), 2010. [downloadable]
X. Sun, W. Yeoh and S. Koenig. Efficient Incremental Search for Moving Target Search. In International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence (IJCAI), 615-620, 2009. [downloadable]
W. Yeoh, X. Sun and S. Koenig. Trading Off Solution Quality for Faster Computation in DCOP Search Algorithms. In International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence (IJCAI), 354-360, 2009. [downloadable]
X. Sun, W. Yeoh, P. Chen and S. Koenig. Simple Optimization Techniques for A*-Based Search. In International Joint Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems (AAMAS), 931-936, 2009. [downloadable]
W. Yeoh, P. Varakantham and S. Koenig. Caching Schemes for DCOP Search Algorithms. In International Joint Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems (AAMAS), 609-616, 2009. [downloadable]
W. Yeoh, R. Zivan and S. Koenig. Discrepancy-Based Approach for Solving Distributed Constraint Optimization Problems. In International Workshop on Distributed Constraint Reasoning (DCR), 132-144, 2009. [downloadable]
W. Yeoh, A. Felner and S. Koenig. BnB-ADOPT: An Asynchronous Branch-and-Bound DCOP Algorithm. In International Joint Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems (AAMAS), 591-598, 2008. [downloadable]
X. Sun, S. Koenig and W. Yeoh. Generalized Adaptive A*. In International Joint Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems (AAMAS), 469-476, 2008. [downloadable]
W. Yeoh, S. Koenig and X. Sun. Trading Off Solution Cost for Smaller Runtime in DCOP Search Algorithms [Short Paper]. In International Joint Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems (AAMAS), 1445-1448, 2008.
W. Yeoh, S. Koenig and X. Sun. Trading Off Solution Cost for Smaller Runtime in DCOP Search Algorithms (Extended Version). In International Workshop on Distributed Constraint Reasoning (DCR), 25-35, 2008.
S. Koenig and W. Yeoh. A Project on Fast Trajectory Replanning for Computer Games for 'Introduction to Artificial Intelligence' Classes. Technical Report, Department of Computer Science, University of Southern California, Los Angeles (California), 2008. [downloadable]
W. Yeoh, S. Koenig and A. Felner. IDB-ADOPT: A Depth-First Search DCOP Algorithm. In International Workshop on Distributed Constraint Reasoning (DCR), 60-70, 2007. [downloadable]
W. Yeoh, A. Felner and S. Koenig. BnB-ADOPT: An Asynchronous Branch-and-Bound DCOP Algorithm. In International Workshop on Distributed Constraint Reasoning (DCR), 2007. [downloadable]

Dr. Han Zhang (Former Graduate Student)

Han received a B.Eng. in Mechanical Engineering from Tongji University in 2016 and an M.S. in Computer Science from the University of Southern California in 2018. He is interested in path planning, heuristic search and machine learning. He received a USC Annenberg Graduate Fellowship in 2019.

Last seen: Software Engineer at Symbotic.

S.-H. Chan, Z. Chen, T. Guo, H. Zhang, Y. Zhang, D. Harabor, S. Koenig, C. Wu and J. Yu. The League of Robot Runners: Competition Goals, Designs, and Implementation [System Demonstration]. In International Conference on Automated Planning and Scheduling (ICAPS), (in print), 2024. [downloadable]
C. Hernandez, W. Yeoh, J. Baier, H. Zhang, L. Suazo, S. Koenig and O. Salzman. Simple and Efficient Bi-Objective Search Algorithms via Fast Dominance Checks. Artificial Intelligence, 314, 2023. [downloadable]
O. Salzman, A. Felner, C. Hernandez, H. Zhang, S.-H. Chan and S. Koenig. Heuristic-Search Approaches for the Multi-Objective Shortest-Path Problem: Progress and Research Opportunities [Survey Track]. In International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence (IJCAI), 6759-6768, 2023. [downloadable]
H. Zhang, O. Salzman, A. Felner, S. Kumar, C. Hernandez and S. Koenig. Efficient Multi-Query Bi-Objective Search via Contraction Hierarchies. In International Conference on Automated Planning and Scheduling (ICAPS), 452-461, 2023. [downloadable]
C. Ge, H. Zhang, J. Li and S. Koenig. Cost Splitting for Multi-Objective Conflict-Based Search. In International Conference on Automated Planning and Scheduling (ICAPS), 128-137, 2023. [downloadable]
Z. Ren, J. Li, H. Zhang, S. Koenig, S. Rathinam and H. Choset. Binary Branching Multi-Objective Conflict-Based Search for Multi-Agent Path Finding. In International Conference on Automated Planning and Scheduling (ICAPS), 361-369, 2023. [downloadable]
H. Zhang, O. Salzman, A. Felner, S. Kumar, S. Skyler, C. Hernandez and S. Koenig. Towards Effective Multi-Valued Heuristics for Bi-Objective Shortest-Path Algorithms via Differential Heuristics. In Symposium on Combinatorial Search (SoCS), 101-109, 2023. [downloadable]
H. Zhang, J. Li, P. Surynek, S. Kumar and S. Koenig. Multi-Agent Path Finding with Mutex Propagation. Artificial Intelligence, 311, 103766, 2022. [downloadable]
H. Zhang, O. Salzman, S. Kumar, A. Felner, C. Hernandez and S. Koenig. A*pex: Efficient Approximate Multi-Objective Search on Graphs. In International Conference on Automated Planning and Scheduling (ICAPS), 423-433, 2022. [downloadable]
H. Zhang, J. Chen, J. Li, B. Williams and S. Koenig. Multi-Agent Path Finding for Precedence-Constrained Goal Sequences. In International Joint Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems (AAMAS), 1464-1472, 2022. [downloadable]
H. Zhang, Y. Li, J. Li, S. Kumar and S. Koenig. Mutex Propagation in Multi-Agent Path Finding for Large Agents [Short Paper]. In Symposium on Combinatorial Search (SoCS), 249-253, 2022. [downloadable]
S. Skyler, D. Atzmon, A. Felner, O. Salzman, H. Zhang, S. Koenig, W. Yeoh and C. Hernandez. Bounded-Cost Bi-Objective Heuristic Search [Short Paper]. In Symposium on Combinatorial Search (SoCS), 239-243, 2022. [downloadable]
H. Zhang, M. Yao, Z. Liu, J. Li, L. Terr, S.-H. Chan, S. Kumar and S. Koenig. A Hierarchical Approach to Multi-Agent Path Finding. In ICAPS-21 Workshop on Hierarchical Planning (HPLAN), 2021. [downloadable]
H. Zhang, J. Li, P. Surynek, S. Koenig and S. Kumar. Multi-Agent Path Finding with Mutex Propagation. In International Conference on Automated Planning and Scheduling (ICAPS), 323-332, 2020. [downloadable]
C. Hernandez, W. Yeoh, J. Baier, H. Zhang, L. Suazo and S. Koenig. A Simple and Fast Bi-Objective Search Algorithm. In International Conference on Automated Planning and Scheduling (ICAPS), 143-151, 2020. [downloadable]
P. Surynek, J. Li, H. Zhang, S. Kumar and S. Koenig. Mutex Propagation for SAT-Based Multi-Agent Path Finding. In International Conference on Principles and Practice of Multi-Agent Systems (PRIMA), 2020. [downloadable]
J. Li, H. Zhang, M. Gong, Z. Liang, W. Liu, Z. Tong, L. Yi, R. Morris, C. Pasareanu and S. Koenig. Scheduling and Airport Taxiway Path Planning under Uncertainty. In AIAA Aviation Forum and Exposition (AIAA), 2930, 2019. [downloadable]

Last seen: TBD

Dr. Xiaoming Zheng (Former Graduate Student)

Xiaoming received a B.E. in Computer Science from the University of Science and Technology of China in 2004, an M.S in Computer Science from USC in 2007, an M.A. in Economics from USC in 2008, and a Ph.D. in Computer Science from USC in 2014 for his dissertation "Auction and Negotiation Algorithms for Cooperative Task Allocations." Xiaoming is interested in coordinating agents with market mechanisms. Market mechanisms, such as auctions and negotiations, are decentralized approaches and appear to perform well in many situations. Auctions, for example, are efficient in terms of both the required amount of computation and communication (since information is compressed into numeric bids that the agents can compute in parallel) and can result in near-optimal task allocations. Market-based coordination algorithms apply to robotics, for example for planetary exploration or search and rescue. His research centers on exploring the trade-off between the computation/communication effort and the resulting team performance and on extending the functionality of market-based coordination algorithms. More information can be found on his homepage.

Last seen: Researcher at Facebook

X. Zheng and S. Koenig. Generalized Reaction Functions for Solving Complex-Task Allocation Problems. In International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence (IJCAI), 478-483, 2011. [downloadable]
X. Zheng, S. Koenig, D. Kempe and S. Jain. Multi-Robot Forest Coverage for Weighted and Unweighted Terrain. IEEE Transactions on Robotics, 26, (6), 1018-1031, 2010. [downloadable]
X. Zheng and S. Koenig. Sequential Incremental-Value Auctions. In AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence (AAAI), 2010. [downloadable]
X. Zheng and S. Koenig. Market-Based Algorithms for Allocating Complex Tasks [Student Abstract]. In AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence (AAAI), 2010. [downloadable]
T. Neller, J. DeNero, D. Klein, S. Koenig, W. Yeoh, X. Zheng, K. Daniel, A. Nash, Z. Dodds, G. Carenini, D. Poole and C. Brooks. Model AI Assignments. In Symposium on Educational Advances in Artificial Intelligence (EAAI), 2010. [downloadable]
X. Zheng and S. Koenig. A Project on Gesture Recognition with Neural Networks for 'Introduction to Artificial Intelligence' Classes. Technical Report, Department of Computer Science, University of Southern California, Los Angeles (California), 2010. [downloadable]
X. Zheng and S. Koenig. K-Swaps: Cooperative Negotiation for Solving Task-Allocation Problems. In International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence (IJCAI), 373-379, 2009. [downloadable]
X. Zheng and S. Koenig. Negotiation with Reaction Functions for Solving Complex Task Allocation Problems. In IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS), 4811-4816, 2009. [downloadable]
S. Koenig, X. Zheng, C. Tovey, R. Borie, P. Kilby, V. Markakis and P. Keskinocak. Agent Coordination with Regret Clearing. In AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence (AAAI), 101-107, 2008. [downloadable]
X. Zheng and S. Koenig. Reaction Functions for Task Allocation to Cooperative Agents. In International Joint Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems (AAMAS), 559-566, 2008. [downloadable]
X. Zheng and S. Koenig. Greedy Approaches for Solving Task-Allocation Problems with Coalitions. In AAMAS-08 Workshop on Formal Models and Methods for Multi-Robot Systems, 35-40, 2008. [downloadable]
S. Koenig, C. Tovey, X. Zheng and I. Sungur. Sequential Bundle-Bid Single-Sale Auction Algorithms for Decentralized Control. In International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence (IJCAI), 1359-1365, 2007. [downloadable]
X. Zheng and S. Koenig. Robot Coverage of Terrain with Non-Uniform Traversability. In IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS), 3757-3764, 2007. [downloadable]
X. Zheng, S. Koenig and C. Tovey. Improving Sequential Single-Item Auctions. In IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS), 2238-2244, 2006. [downloadable]
X. Zheng, S. Jain, S. Koenig and D. Kempe. Multi-Robot Forest Coverage. In IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS), 2318-2323, 2005. [downloadable]

Former Visitors

Giuseppe Caggianese

Giuseppe received a second-level degree in Computer Science in 2010 with a thesis on "A GPU Implementation of Path-Finding Algorithms for Massive Numbers of Agents in Dynamic Environments." Giuseppe is now a Ph.D. student in Methods and Technologies for Environmental Monitoring at the Department of Environmental Engineering and Physics, University of Basilicata (Italy). Giuseppe is interested in parallel programming with the CUDA architecture and general-purpose computing on GPUs, behavioral models for mobile agents, multi-agent path finding, real-time computer animation, motion planning with heuristic search, robot simulations, and sensors and sensing technologies for environmental applications. Giuseppe visited our lab for 12 months in 2012/2013.

Dr. Marcello Cirillo

Marcello received an M.S. in Computer Science Engineering in 2005 from Politecnico di Milano and a Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of Örebro for his dissertation "Planning in Inhabited Environments: Human-Aware Task Planning and Activity Recognition". Marcello's main research interests are automated planning, graph search algorithms and their application to real-world domains. His research currently focuses on motion planning for non-holonomic vehicles and multi-robot coordination. Marcello visited our lab for 6 months in 2012/2013.

M. Cirillo, T. Uras and S. Koenig. A Lattice-Based Approach to Multi-Robot Motion Planning for Non-Holonomic Vehicles. In IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS), 232-239, 2014. [downloadable]
M. Cirillo, F. Pecora, H. Andreasson, T. Uras and S. Koenig. Integrated Motion Planning and Coordination for Industrial Vehicles. In International Conference on Automated Planning and Scheduling (ICAPS), 463-471, 2014. [downloadable]
S. Kumar, M. Cirillo and S. Koenig. Simple Temporal Problems with Taboo Regions. In AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence (AAAI), 2013. [downloadable]
S. Kumar, M. Cirillo and S. Koenig. On the Traveling Salesman Problem with Simple Temporal Constraints. In Symposium on Abstraction, Reformulation, and Approximation (SARA), 2013. [downloadable]

Dr. Ariel Felner

Ariel is an Associate Professor at Ben Gurion University (Israel). He received a B.S. with distinction from Hebrew University in Jerusalem in 1993, an M.S. from the same university in 1995, and a Ph.D. in Computer Science from Bar-Ilan University (Israel) in 2002 for his dissertation "Improving Search Techniques and Using them in Different Environments." He is interested in heuristic search. Ariel visited our lab for 6 months in 2006/2007 and 5.5 months in 2017. More information can be found on his homepage.

Z. Ren, S. Hernandez, M. Likhachev, A. Felner, S. Koenig, O. Salzman, S. Rahinam and H. Choset. EMOA*: A Framework for Search-Based Multi-Objective Path Planning. Artificial Intelligence, 339, 2025. [downloadable]
O. Salzman, A. Felner, C. Hernandez, H. Zhang, S.-H. Chan and S. Koenig. Heuristic-Search Approaches for the Multi-Objective Shortest-Path Problem: Progress and Research Opportunities [Survey Track]. In International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence (IJCAI), 6759-6768, 2023. [downloadable]
H. Zhang, O. Salzman, A. Felner, S. Kumar, C. Hernandez and S. Koenig. Efficient Multi-Query Bi-Objective Search via Contraction Hierarchies. In International Conference on Automated Planning and Scheduling (ICAPS), 452-461, 2023. [downloadable]
H. Zhang, O. Salzman, A. Felner, S. Kumar, S. Skyler, C. Hernandez and S. Koenig. Towards Effective Multi-Valued Heuristics for Bi-Objective Shortest-Path Algorithms via Differential Heuristics. In Symposium on Combinatorial Search (SoCS), 101-109, 2023. [downloadable]
H. Zhang, O. Salzman, S. Kumar, A. Felner, C. Hernandez and S. Koenig. A*pex: Efficient Approximate Multi-Objective Search on Graphs. In International Conference on Automated Planning and Scheduling (ICAPS), 423-433, 2022. [downloadable]
S. Skyler, D. Atzmon, A. Felner, O. Salzman, H. Zhang, S. Koenig, W. Yeoh and C. Hernandez. Bounded-Cost Bi-Objective Heuristic Search [Short Paper]. In Symposium on Combinatorial Search (SoCS), 239-243, 2022. [downloadable]
E. Boyarski, A. Felner, P. Le Bodic, D. Harabor, P. Stuckey and S. Koenig. f-Aware Conflict Prioritization & Improved Heuristics for Conflict-Based Search. In AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence (AAAI), 12241-12248, 2021. [downloadable]
D. Atzmon, J. Li, A. Felner, E. Nachmani, S. Shperberg, N. Sturtevant and S. Koenig. Multi-Directional Heuristic Search. In International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence (IJCAI), 4062-4068, 2020. [downloadable]
E. Boyarski, A. Felner, D. Harabor, P. Stuckey, L. Cohen, J. Li and S. Koenig. Iterative-Deepening Conflict-Based Search. In International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence (IJCAI), 4084-4090, 2020. [downloadable]
D. Atzmon, R. Stern, A. Felner, N. Sturtevant and S. Koenig. Probabilistic Robust Multi-Agent Path Finding. In International Conference on Automated Planning and Scheduling (ICAPS), 29-37, 2020. [downloadable]
J. Li, K. Sun, H. Ma, A. Felner, S. Kumar and S. Koenig. Moving Agents in Formation in Congested Environments. In International Joint Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems (AAMAS), 726-734, 2020. [downloadable]
J. Li, A. Felner, E. Boyarski, H. Ma and S. Koenig. Improved Heuristics for Multi-Agent Path Finding with Conflict-Based Search. In International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence (IJCAI), 442-449, 2019. [downloadable]
J. Li, P. Surynek, A. Felner, H. Ma, S. Kumar and S. Koenig. Multi-Agent Path Finding for Large Agents. In AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence (AAAI), 7627-7634, 2019. [downloadable]
J. Li, D. Harabor, P. Stuckey, A. Felner, H. Ma and S. Koenig. Disjoint Splitting for Multi-Agent Path Finding with Conflict-Based Search [Short Paper]. In International Conference on Automated Planning and Scheduling (ICAPS), 279-283, 2019. [downloadable]
J. Li, A. Felner, S. Koenig and S. Kumar. Using FastMap to Solve Graph Problems in a Euclidean Space. In International Conference on Automated Planning and Scheduling (ICAPS), 273-278, 2019. [downloadable]
R. Stern, N. Sturtevant, A. Felner, S. Koenig, H. Ma, T. Walker, J. Li, D. Atzmon, L. Cohen, S. Kumar, E. Boyarski and R. Bartak. Multi-Agent Pathfinding: Definitions, Variants, and Benchmarks [Position Paper]. In Symposium on Combinatorial Search (SoCS), 151-159, 2019. [downloadable]
H. Ma, G. Wagner, A. Felner, J. Li, S. Kumar and S. Koenig. Multi-Agent Path Finding with Deadlines. In International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence (IJCAI), 417-423, 2018. [downloadable]
L. Cohen, M. Greco, H. Ma, C. Hernandez, A. Felner, S. Kumar and S. Koenig. Anytime Focal Search with Applications. In International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence (IJCAI), 1434-1441, 2018. [downloadable]
A. Felner, J. Li, E. Boyarski, H. Ma, L. Cohen, S. Kumar and S. Koenig. Adding Heuristics to Conflict-Based Search for Multi-Agent Path Finding [Short Paper]. In International Conference on Automated Planning and Scheduling (ICAPS), 83-87, 2018. [downloadable]
H. Ma, G. Wagner, A. Felner, J. Li, S. Kumar and S. Koenig. Multi-Agent Path Finding with Deadlines: Preliminary Results [Short Paper]. In International Joint Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems (AAMAS), 2004-2006, 2018. [downloadable]
K. Daniel, A. Nash, S. Koenig and A. Felner. Theta*: Any-Angle Path Planning on Grids. Journal of Artificial Intelligence Research, 39, 533-579, 2010. [downloadable]
W. Yeoh, A. Felner and S. Koenig. BnB-ADOPT: An Asynchronous Branch-and-Bound DCOP Algorithm. Journal of Artificial Intelligence Research, 38, 85-133, 2010. [downloadable]
W. Yeoh, A. Felner and S. Koenig. BnB-ADOPT: An Asynchronous Branch-and-Bound DCOP Algorithm. In International Joint Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems (AAMAS), 591-598, 2008. [downloadable]
A. Nash, K. Daniel, S. Koenig and A. Felner. Theta*: Any-Angle Path Planning on Grids. In AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence (AAAI), 1177-1183, 2007. [downloadable]
W. Yeoh, S. Koenig and A. Felner. IDB-ADOPT: A Depth-First Search DCOP Algorithm. In International Workshop on Distributed Constraint Reasoning (DCR), 60-70, 2007. [downloadable]
W. Yeoh, A. Felner and S. Koenig. BnB-ADOPT: An Asynchronous Branch-and-Bound DCOP Algorithm. In International Workshop on Distributed Constraint Reasoning (DCR), 2007. [downloadable]

Dr. Jihee Han

Jihee received a B.S. in Industrial Engineering from Korea University in 2010, an M.S. from Seoul National University in 2014, and a Ph.D. from Korea University in 2017 for her dissertation "A Surrounding Point Set Approach to Mobile Robot Path Planning." She is interested in heuristic search, meta-heuristics, path planning, and drone/vehicle routing.

J. Han, T. Uras and S. Koenig. Toward a String-Pulling Approach to Path Smoothing on Grid Graphs. In Symposium on Combinatorial Search (SoCS), 106-110, 2020. [downloadable]

Dr. Carlos Hernández

Carlos is an Associate Professor at the Universidad Católica de la Ssma. Concepción (Chile). He received a B.S. in Computer Engineering from the Universidad de Concepción (Chile) in 1996 and a Ph.D. in Computer Science from Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona (Spain) in 2008 for his dissertation "Bounded Propagation in Real-Time Heuristic Search." Carlos is interested in heuristic search, automated planning, real-time heuristic search, incremental heuristic search, path planning, multi-agent systems and sensor networks, among other topics. Carlos visited our lab for 3.5 months in 2009, 1 month in 2010, 8 months in 2011/2012, 1 month in 2013, and 2.5 months in 2017.

Z. Ren, S. Hernandez, M. Likhachev, A. Felner, S. Koenig, O. Salzman, S. Rahinam and H. Choset. EMOA*: A Framework for Search-Based Multi-Objective Path Planning. Artificial Intelligence, 339, 2025. [downloadable]
C. Hernandez, W. Yeoh, J. Baier, H. Zhang, L. Suazo, S. Koenig and O. Salzman. Simple and Efficient Bi-Objective Search Algorithms via Fast Dominance Checks. Artificial Intelligence, 314, 2023. [downloadable]
O. Salzman, A. Felner, C. Hernandez, H. Zhang, S.-H. Chan and S. Koenig. Heuristic-Search Approaches for the Multi-Objective Shortest-Path Problem: Progress and Research Opportunities [Survey Track]. In International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence (IJCAI), 6759-6768, 2023. [downloadable]
H. Zhang, O. Salzman, A. Felner, S. Kumar, C. Hernandez and S. Koenig. Efficient Multi-Query Bi-Objective Search via Contraction Hierarchies. In International Conference on Automated Planning and Scheduling (ICAPS), 452-461, 2023. [downloadable]
H. Zhang, O. Salzman, A. Felner, S. Kumar, S. Skyler, C. Hernandez and S. Koenig. Towards Effective Multi-Valued Heuristics for Bi-Objective Shortest-Path Algorithms via Differential Heuristics. In Symposium on Combinatorial Search (SoCS), 101-109, 2023. [downloadable]
H. Zhang, O. Salzman, S. Kumar, A. Felner, C. Hernandez and S. Koenig. A*pex: Efficient Approximate Multi-Objective Search on Graphs. In International Conference on Automated Planning and Scheduling (ICAPS), 423-433, 2022. [downloadable]
S. Skyler, D. Atzmon, A. Felner, O. Salzman, H. Zhang, S. Koenig, W. Yeoh and C. Hernandez. Bounded-Cost Bi-Objective Heuristic Search [Short Paper]. In Symposium on Combinatorial Search (SoCS), 239-243, 2022. [downloadable]
C. Hernandez, W. Yeoh, J. Baier, H. Zhang, L. Suazo and S. Koenig. A Simple and Fast Bi-Objective Search Algorithm. In International Conference on Automated Planning and Scheduling (ICAPS), 143-151, 2020. [downloadable]
C. Hernandez, T. Uras, S. Koenig, J. Baier, X. Sun and P. Meseguer. Reusing Cost-Minimal Paths for Goal-Directed Navigation in Partially Known Terrains. Journal of Autonomous Agents and Multi-Agent Systems, 29, (5), 850-895, 2015. [downloadable]
T. Uras, S. Koenig and C. Hernandez. Subgoal Graphs for Optimal Pathfinding in Eight-Neighbor Grids. In International Conference on Automated Planning and Scheduling (ICAPS), 2013. [downloadable]
C. Hernandez, J. Baier, T. Uras and S. Koenig. Time-Bounded Adaptive A*. In International Joint Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems (AAMAS), 997-1006, 2012. [downloadable]
T. Uras, S. Koenig and C. Hernandez. Subgoal Graphs for Eight-Neighbor Gridworlds [Competition Abstract]. In Symposium on Combinatorial Search (SoCS), 2012. [downloadable]
C. Hernandez, J. Baier, T. Uras and S. Koenig. Position Paper: Incremental Search Algorithms Considered Poorly Understood. In Symposium on Combinatorial Search (SoCS), 2012. [downloadable]
C. Hernandez, J. Baier, T. Uras and S. Koenig. Demonstration Abstract: New Developments in Real-Time Heuristic Search: A Demo. In International Conference on Automated Planning and Scheduling (ICAPS), 2012. [downloadable]
C. Hernandez, J. Baier, T. Uras and S. Koenig. Paper Summary: Time-Bounded Adaptive A*. In Symposium on Combinatorial Search (SoCS), 2012. [downloadable]
C. Hernandez, X. Sun, S. Koenig and P. Meseguer. Tree Adaptive A*. In International Joint Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems (AAMAS), 123-130, 2011. [downloadable]
C. Hernandez, P. Meseguer, X. Sun and S. Koenig. Path-Adaptive A* for Incremental Heuristic Search in Unknown Terrain. In International Conference on Automated Planning and Scheduling (ICAPS), 358-361, 2009. [downloadable]

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research group celebrating a productive year

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