{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,23]],"date-time":"2026-01-23T11:14:10Z","timestamp":1769166850189,"version":"3.49.0"},"reference-count":66,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2018,3,2]],"date-time":"2018-03-02T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1519948800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Sensors"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Multi-sensor systems can play an important role in monitoring tasks and detecting targets. However, real-time allocation of heterogeneous sensors to dynamic targets\/tasks that are unknown a priori in their locations and priorities is a challenge. This paper presents a Modified Distributed Bees Algorithm (MDBA) that is developed to allocate stationary heterogeneous sensors to upcoming unknown tasks using a decentralized, swarm intelligence approach to minimize the task detection times. Sensors are allocated to tasks based on sensors\u2019 performance, tasks\u2019 priorities, and the distances of the sensors from the locations where the tasks are being executed. The algorithm was compared to a Distributed Bees Algorithm (DBA), a Bees System, and two common multi-sensor algorithms, market-based and greedy-based algorithms, which were fitted for the specific task. Simulation analyses revealed that MDBA achieved statistically significant improved performance by 7% with respect to DBA as the second-best algorithm, and by 19% with respect to Greedy algorithm, which was the worst, thus indicating its fitness to provide solutions for heterogeneous multi-sensor systems.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/s18030759","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2018,3,2]],"date-time":"2018-03-02T11:53:40Z","timestamp":1519991620000},"page":"759","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":28,"title":["A Modified Distributed Bees Algorithm for Multi-Sensor Task Allocation"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"18","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4032-8425","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Itshak","family":"Tkach","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Industrial Engineering and Management, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, 8410501 Beer-Sheva, Israel"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4229-2606","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Aleksandar","family":"Jevti\u0107","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institut de Rob\u00f2tica i Inform\u00e0tica Industrial, CSIC-UPC, 08028 Barcelona, Spain"}]},{"given":"Shimon","family":"Nof","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"PRISM Center and School of Industrial Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA"}]},{"given":"Yael","family":"Edan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Industrial Engineering and Management, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, 8410501 Beer-Sheva, Israel"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2018,3,2]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"537","DOI":"10.1016\/j.adhoc.2008.06.003","article-title":"Energy conservation in wireless sensor networks: A survey","volume":"7","author":"Anastasi","year":"2009","journal-title":"Ad Hoc Netw."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"65621A","DOI":"10.1117\/12.723514","article-title":"A survey of sensor selection schemes in wireless sensor networks","volume":"6562","author":"Rowaihy","year":"2007","journal-title":"Proc. SPIE"},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1116","DOI":"10.1109\/JSEN.2016.2638853","article-title":"Automated Moving Object Classification in Wireless Multimedia Sensor Networks","volume":"17","author":"Civelek","year":"2016","journal-title":"IEEE Sens. J."},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Bian, F., Kempe, D., and Govindan, G. (2006, January 19\u201321). Utility-based sensor selection. Proceedings of the IEEE Conference on Information Processing in Sensor Network, Nashville, TN, USA.","DOI":"10.1145\/1127777.1127783"},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"393","DOI":"10.1016\/S1389-1286(01)00302-4","article-title":"Wireless sensor networks: A survey","volume":"38","author":"Akyildiz","year":"2002","journal-title":"Comput. Netw."},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2292","DOI":"10.1016\/j.comnet.2008.04.002","article-title":"Wireless sensor network survey","volume":"52","author":"Yick","year":"2008","journal-title":"Comput. Netw."},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Tkach, I., Edan, Y., Jevti\u0107, A., and Nof, S.Y. (2013, January 13\u201316). Automatic Multi-Sensor Task Allocation using Modified Distributed Bees Algorithm. Proceedings of the IEEE International Conference on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics (SMC), Manchester, UK.","DOI":"10.1109\/SMC.2013.242"},{"key":"ref_8","unstructured":"Panta, L., and Teodorovic, D. (2002, January 4\u20136). Transportation modeling: An artificial life approach. Proceedings of the 14th IEEE International Conference on Tools with Artificial Intelligence, Washington, DC, USA."},{"key":"ref_9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Zlot, R., Stentz, A., Dias, M.B., and Thayer, S. (2002, January 11\u201315). Multi-robot exploration controlled by a market economy. Proceedings of the IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, Washington, DC, USA.","DOI":"10.21236\/ADA529530"},{"key":"ref_10","first-page":"347","article-title":"Broadcast of Local Eligibility for Multi-Target Observation","volume":"Volume 4","author":"Parker","year":"2000","journal-title":"Distributed Autonomous Robotic System"},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"163","DOI":"10.1016\/S1566-2535(02)00055-6","article-title":"Multi-sensor management for sensor fusion: Issues and approaches","volume":"3","author":"Xiong","year":"2002","journal-title":"Inf. Fusion"},{"key":"ref_12","unstructured":"Colby, M., Chung, J.J., and Tumer, K. (October, January 28). Implicit adaptive multi-robot coordination in dynamic environments. Proceedings of the IEEE\/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS), Hamburg, Germany."},{"key":"ref_13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"758","DOI":"10.1109\/TRA.2002.803462","article-title":"Sold!: Auction methods for multirobot coordination","volume":"18","author":"Gerkey","year":"2002","journal-title":"IEEE Trans. Robot. Autom."},{"key":"ref_14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1295","DOI":"10.1016\/j.robot.2012.06.004","article-title":"Multi-robot coalition formation in real-time scenarios","volume":"60","author":"Guerrero","year":"2012","journal-title":"J. Robot. Auton. Syst."},{"key":"ref_15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1458","DOI":"10.1016\/j.engappai.2013.03.001","article-title":"Multi-objective optimization for dynamic task allocation in a multi-robot system","volume":"26","author":"Tolmidis","year":"2013","journal-title":"Eng. Appl. Artif. Intell."},{"key":"ref_16","unstructured":"Vachtsevanos, G., Tang, L., and Reinmann, J. (2004, January 7\u201310). An Intelligent Approach to Coordinated Control of Multiple Unmanned Aerial Vehicles. Proceedings of the American Helicopter Society 60th Annual Forum, Baltimore, MD, USA."},{"key":"ref_17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"963","DOI":"10.1109\/TASE.2015.2430932","article-title":"Optimal sensor deployment for manufacturing process monitoring based on quantitative cause-effect graph","volume":"13","author":"He","year":"2016","journal-title":"IEEE Trans. Autom. Sci. Eng."},{"key":"ref_18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"5481","DOI":"10.1109\/JSEN.2016.2565263","article-title":"Distributed multi-target tracking based on the K-MTSCF algorithm in camera networks","volume":"16","author":"Chen","year":"2016","journal-title":"IEEE Sens. J."},{"key":"ref_19","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"255","DOI":"10.1023\/A:1022291921717","article-title":"Multi-robot task allocation in uncertain environments","volume":"14","author":"Sukhatme","year":"2003","journal-title":"Auton. Robots"},{"key":"ref_20","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Michael, N., Zavlanos, M.M., Kumar, V., and Pappas, G.J. (2008, January 19\u201323). Distributed multi-robot task assignment and formation control. Proceedings of the 2008 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, Pasadena, CA, USA.","DOI":"10.1109\/ROBOT.2008.4543197"},{"key":"ref_21","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"4505","DOI":"10.1080\/00207540210155873","article-title":"TestLAN approach and protocols for the integration of distributed assembly and test networks","volume":"40","author":"Williams","year":"2002","journal-title":"Int. J. Prod. Res."},{"key":"ref_22","unstructured":"Gerkey, B.P., and Matari\u0107, M.J. (2002, January 25\u201327). A market-based formulation of sensor-actuator network coordination. Proceedings of the AAAI Spring Symposium on Intelligent Embedded and Distributed Systems, Stanford, CA, USA."},{"key":"ref_23","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"114","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijpe.2004.05.015","article-title":"Decentralized Control of Cooperative and Autonomous agents for solving the Distributed Resource Allocation Problem","volume":"98","author":"Anussornnitisarn","year":"2005","journal-title":"Int. J. Prod. Econ."},{"key":"ref_24","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"65","DOI":"10.1109\/JSYST.2010.2040225","article-title":"Consensus control for a system of under-water swarm robots","volume":"4","author":"Joordens","year":"2010","journal-title":"IEEE Syst."},{"key":"ref_25","unstructured":"Jones, C., Shell, D., Matari\u0107, M.J., and Gerkey, B.P. (October, January 28). Principled approaches to the design of multi-robot systems. Proceedings of the IEEE\/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS 2004), Sendai, Japan."},{"key":"ref_26","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Nanjanath, M. (2010, January 15\u201318). Decision and coordination strategies for RoboCup rescue agents. Proceedings of the Simulation, Modeling, and Programming for Autonomous Robots, Darmstadt, Germany.","DOI":"10.1007\/978-3-642-17319-6_43"},{"key":"ref_27","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"225","DOI":"10.1177\/0278364906063426","article-title":"Analysis of dynamic task allocation in multi-robot systems","volume":"25","author":"Lerman","year":"2006","journal-title":"Int. J. Robot. Res."},{"key":"ref_28","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1289","DOI":"10.1109\/JPROC.2006.876933","article-title":"Building multirobot coalitions through automated task solution synthesis","volume":"94","author":"Parker","year":"2006","journal-title":"Proc. IEEE."},{"key":"ref_29","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"516","DOI":"10.1109\/TASE.2012.2201470","article-title":"Coalition-based approach to task allocation of multiple robots with resource constraints","volume":"9","author":"Chen","year":"2012","journal-title":"IEEE Trans. Autom. Sci. Eng."},{"key":"ref_30","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"177","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijpe.2011.06.005","article-title":"Design and application of task administration protocols for collaborative production and service systems","volume":"135","author":"Ko","year":"2012","journal-title":"Int. J. Prod. Econ."},{"key":"ref_31","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Greve, G.H., Hopkinson, K.M., and Lamont, G.B. (2017). Evolutionary sensor allocation for the Space Surveillance Network. J. Def. Model. Simul.","DOI":"10.1177\/1548512917712614"},{"key":"ref_32","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"28","DOI":"10.1109\/MCI.2006.329691","article-title":"Ant colony optimization","volume":"1","author":"Dorigo","year":"2006","journal-title":"IEEE Comput. Intell. Mag."},{"key":"ref_33","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"292","DOI":"10.1016\/j.neucom.2015.05.116","article-title":"A review of swarm robotics tasks","volume":"172","year":"2016","journal-title":"Neurocomputing"},{"key":"ref_34","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3","DOI":"10.1007\/s11721-007-0004-y","article-title":"The biological principles of swarm intelligence","volume":"1","author":"Garnier","year":"2007","journal-title":"Swarm Intell."},{"key":"ref_35","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Blum, C., and Gro\u00df, G. (2015). Swarm intelligence in optimization and robotics. Springer Handbook of Computational Intelligence, Springer.","DOI":"10.1007\/978-3-662-43505-2_66"},{"key":"ref_36","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"33","DOI":"10.1007\/s11721-007-0002-0","article-title":"Particle swarm optimization","volume":"1","author":"Poli","year":"2007","journal-title":"Swarm Intell."},{"key":"ref_37","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Ball, M.G., Qela, B., and Wesolkowski, S. (2016). A Review of the Use of Computational Intelligence in the Design of Military Surveillance Networks. Recent Advances in Computational Intelligence in Defense and Security, Springer International Publishing.","DOI":"10.1007\/978-3-319-26450-9_24"},{"key":"ref_38","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Bonabeau, E., Dorigo, M., and Theraulaz, G. (1999). Swarm Intelligence: From Natural to Artificial Systems, Oxford University Press, Inc.","DOI":"10.1093\/oso\/9780195131581.001.0001"},{"key":"ref_39","unstructured":"Gro\u03b2, R., Nouyan, S., Bonani, M., Mondada, F., and Dorigo, M. (2008, January 7\u201312). Division of labor in self-organized groups. Proceedings of the 10th Intnational Conference on Simulation of Adaptive Behavior: From Animals to Animats, Osaka, Japan."},{"key":"ref_40","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Upadhyay, D., and Banerjee, P. (2016). An Energy Efficient Proposed Framework for Time Synchronization Problem of Wireless Sensor Network. Information Systems Design and Intelligent Applications, Springer.","DOI":"10.1007\/978-81-322-2757-1_38"},{"key":"ref_41","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Berman, S., Halasz, A., Kumar, V., and Pratt, S. (2007, January 10\u201314). Bio-inspired group behaviors for the deployment of a swarm of robots to multiple destinations. Proceedings of the IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, Roma, Italy.","DOI":"10.1109\/ROBOT.2007.363665"},{"key":"ref_42","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2028","DOI":"10.1109\/TCYB.2015.2460261","article-title":"Survey of GPU-Based Implementation of Swarm Intelligence Algorithms","volume":"46","author":"Tan","year":"2016","journal-title":"IEEE Trans. Cybern."},{"key":"ref_43","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"4","DOI":"10.1145\/1152934.1152936","article-title":"Division of labor in a group of robots inspired by ants\u2019 foraging behavior","volume":"1","author":"Labella","year":"2006","journal-title":"ACM Trans. Auton. Adapt. Syst."},{"key":"ref_44","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Zhang, S.Z., and Lee, C.K.M. (2015, January 9\u201312). An Improved Artificial Bee Colony Algorithm for the Capacitated Vehicle Routing Problem. Proceedings of the IEEE International Conference on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics (SMC), Kowloon, China.","DOI":"10.1109\/SMC.2015.371"},{"key":"ref_45","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1656","DOI":"10.1109\/TSMCB.2012.2227469","article-title":"Particle swarm optimization for feature selection in classification: A multi-objective approach","volume":"43","author":"Xue","year":"2013","journal-title":"IEEE Trans. Cybern."},{"key":"ref_46","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"103","DOI":"10.1109\/TCYB.2014.2320717","article-title":"Bio-inspired Group Modeling and Analysis for Intruder Detection in Mobile Sensor\/Robotic Networks","volume":"45","author":"Fu","year":"2015","journal-title":"IEEE Trans. Cybern."},{"key":"ref_47","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"845","DOI":"10.1016\/j.engappai.2010.05.004","article-title":"Honey bee social foraging algorithms for resource allocation: Theory and application","volume":"23","author":"Quijano","year":"2010","journal-title":"Eng. Appl. Artif. Intell."},{"key":"ref_48","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"296","DOI":"10.1109\/JSYST.2011.2167820","article-title":"Distributed Bees Algorithm for Task Allocation in Swarm of Robots","volume":"6","author":"Gutierrez","year":"2012","journal-title":"IEEE Syst. J."},{"key":"ref_49","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"422","DOI":"10.1016\/j.robot.2015.08.010","article-title":"Search and tracking algorithms for swarms of robots: A survey","volume":"75","author":"Senanayake","year":"2016","journal-title":"Robot. Auton. Syst."},{"key":"ref_50","unstructured":"Eberhart, R.C., Shi, Y., and Kennedy, J. (2001). Swarm Intelligence, Elsevier."},{"key":"ref_51","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"10880","DOI":"10.3390\/s111110880","article-title":"Distributed bees algorithm parameters optimization for a cost efficient target al.location in swarms of robots","volume":"11","year":"2011","journal-title":"Sensors"},{"key":"ref_52","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"807","DOI":"10.1007\/s00521-010-0380-x","article-title":"Collective decision-making based on social odometry","volume":"19","author":"Campo","year":"2010","journal-title":"Neural Comput. Appl."},{"key":"ref_53","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Ducatelle, F., Di Caro, G.A., Pinciroli, C., Mondada, F., and Gambardella, L. (2011, January 25\u201330). Communication assisted navigation in robotic swarms: Self-organization and cooperation. Proceedings of the IEEE\/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS), San Francisco, CA, USA.","DOI":"10.1109\/IROS.2011.6048110"},{"key":"ref_54","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1257","DOI":"10.1109\/JPROC.2006.876939","article-title":"Market-based multirobot coordination: A survey and analysis","volume":"94","author":"Dias","year":"2006","journal-title":"Proc. IEEE"},{"key":"ref_55","unstructured":"Tang, F., and Parker, L.E. (2005, January 18\u201322). Asymtre: Automated synthesis of multi-robot task solutions through software reconfiguration. Proceedings of the IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, Barcelona, Spain."},{"key":"ref_56","unstructured":"Neapolitan, R.E., and Naimipour, K. (1996). Foundations of Algorithms, D. C. Heath and Company."},{"key":"ref_57","unstructured":"Coello, C.A., Lamont, G.B., and Van Veldhuizen, D.A. (2007). Evolutionary Algorithms for Solving Multi-Objective Problems, Springer."},{"key":"ref_58","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"5202","DOI":"10.1080\/00207543.2017.1286047","article-title":"Multi-sensor task allocation framework for supply networks security using task administration protocols","volume":"55","author":"Tkach","year":"2017","journal-title":"Int. J. Prod. Res."},{"key":"ref_59","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"898","DOI":"10.1109\/TRO.2005.847567","article-title":"Motion Planning for Multitarget Surveillance with Mobile Sensor Agents","volume":"21","author":"Tang","year":"2005","journal-title":"IEEE Trans. Robot."},{"key":"ref_60","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"4216","DOI":"10.1080\/00207543.2013.869632","article-title":"A RFID-based Recursive Process Mining System for Quality Assurance in the Garment Industry","volume":"52","author":"Lee","year":"2014","journal-title":"Int. J. Prod. Res."},{"key":"ref_61","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"369","DOI":"10.1007\/s11461-008-0054-3","article-title":"Forest Fire Detection System Based on a ZigBee Wireless Sensor Network","volume":"3","author":"Zhang","year":"2008","journal-title":"Front. For. China"},{"key":"ref_62","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"729","DOI":"10.1007\/s10514-015-9491-7","article-title":"Multi-robot target detection and tracking: Taxonomy and survey","volume":"40","author":"Robin","year":"2016","journal-title":"Auton. Robots"},{"key":"ref_63","unstructured":"Byers, J., and Nasser, G. (2000, January 11). Utility-Based Decision-Making in Wireless Sensor Networks. Proceedings of the 1st ACM international symposium on Mobile ad hoc networking & computing, Boston, MA, USA."},{"key":"ref_64","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1473","DOI":"10.1109\/TCYB.2013.2250955","article-title":"An efficient genetic algorithm for maximum coverage deployment in wireless sensor networks","volume":"43","author":"Yoon","year":"2013","journal-title":"IEEE Trans. Cybern."},{"key":"ref_65","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"106","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cie.2008.11.007","article-title":"A collaborative sensor network middleware for automated production systems","volume":"57","author":"Jeong","year":"2009","journal-title":"Int. J. Comput. Ind. Eng."},{"key":"ref_66","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"29","DOI":"10.1109\/3477.484436","article-title":"Ant system: Optimization by a colony of cooperating agents","volume":"26","author":"Dorigo","year":"1996","journal-title":"IEEE Tran. Syst. Man Cybern. B Cybern."}],"container-title":["Sensors"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/1424-8220\/18\/3\/759\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,11]],"date-time":"2025-10-11T14:57:19Z","timestamp":1760194639000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/1424-8220\/18\/3\/759"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2018,3,2]]},"references-count":66,"journal-issue":{"issue":"3","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2018,3]]}},"alternative-id":["s18030759"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/s18030759","relation":{},"ISSN":["1424-8220"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1424-8220","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2018,3,2]]}}}