A Distributed Cooperative Model for Resource Supply Networks

Abstract—Resource allocation problems are an important domain of distributed cooperative problem solving. Such prob-lems have a dedicated representation of resource allocation and need appropriate solvers that can be applied to them. As an approach to handling these problems, formalizations of distributed constraint optimization problems (DCOPs) can be applied. We propose a distributed cooperative model motivated by power supply networks that contain distributed power sources. The model is represented as a DCOP. The optimal solution of the problem represents the appropriate assignment of amounts of the resource that are consumed or supplied in each node of the network. A conventional algorithm is modified to apply to the problem. Behaviors of the proposed model and the solver are experimentally evaluated. Index Terms—multiagent, distributed problem solving, coop-eration, smart grid, resource allocation. I