# Improving the Parallel Execution of Behavior Trees

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/1809.04898 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/1809.04898/

## Key facts

- Cited by 2 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 13 Sep 2018.

## Built on by (most cited first, 2 of 2)

- [A Study on Training and Developing Large Language Models for Behavior Tree Generation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2401.08089/) (2024)
- [Behavior Tree-Based Task Planning for Multiple Mobile Robots using a Data Distribution Service](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2201.10918/) (2022)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Behavior Trees (BTs) have become a popular framework for designing controllers of autonomous agents in the computer game and in the robotics industry. One of the key advantages of BTs lies in their modularity, where independent modules can be composed to create more complex ones. In the classical formulation of BTs, modules can be composed using one of the three operators: Sequence, Fallback, and Parallel. The Parallel operator is rarely used despite its strong potential against other control architectures as Finite State Machines. This is due to the fact that concurrent actions may lead to unexpected problems similar to the ones experienced in concurrent programming. In this paper, we introduce Concurrent BTs (CBTs) as a generalization of BTs in which we introduce the notions of progress and resource usage. We show how CBTs allow safe concurrent executions of actions and we analyze the approach from a mathematical standpoint. To illustrate the use of CBTs, we provide a set of use cases in robotics scenarios.