# Efficient, High-Quality Stack Rearrangement

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/1706.09949 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/1706.09949/

## Key facts

- Cited by 1 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 29 Jun 2017.

## Built on by (most cited first, 1 of 1)

- [Virtues of Ordered Chaos: Planning with Topple Actions in Tabletop Stack Rearrangement](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2605.17815/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

This work studies rearrangement problems involving the sorting of robots or objects in stack-like containers, which can be accessed only from one side. Two scenarios are considered: one where every robot or object needs to reach a particular stack, and a setting in which each robot has a distinct position within a stack. In both cases, the goal is to minimize the number of stack removals that need to be performed. Stack rearrangement is shown to be intimately connected to pebble motion problems, a useful abstraction in multi-robot path planning. Through this connection, feasibility of stack rearrangement can be readily addressed. The paper continues to establish lower and upper bounds on optimality, which differ only by a logarithmic factor, in terms of stack removals. An algorithmic solution is then developed that produces suboptimal paths much quicker than a pebble motion solver. Furthermore, informed search-based methods are proposed for finding high-quality solutions. The efficiency and desirable scalability of the methods is demonstrated in simulation.