Submodular Stochastic Probing with Prices

Abstract: We introduce Stochastic Probing with Prices (SPP), a variant of the Stochastic Probing (SP) model in which we must pay a price to probe an element. A SPP problem involves two set systems $(N,\mathcal{I}{in})$ and $(N,\mathcal{I}{out})$ where each $e\in N$ is active with probability $p_e$. To discover whether $e$ is active, it must be probed by paying the price $\Delta_e$. If it is probed and active, then it is irrevocably added to the solution. Moreover, at all times, the set of probed elements must lie in $\mathcal{I}{out}$, and the solution (the set of probed and active elements) must lie in $\mathcal{I}{in}$. The goal is to maximize a set function $f$ minus the cost of the probes. We give a bi-criteria approximation algorithm to the online version of this problem, in which the elements are shown to the algorithm in a possibly adversarial order. Our results translate to state-of-the-art approximations for the traditional (online) stochastic probing problem.