On the “Onion Husk” Algorithm for Approximate Solution of the Traveling Salesman Problem

The paper describes some implementation aspects of an algorithm for approximate solution of the traveling salesman problem based on the construction of convex closed contours on the initial set of points (“cities”) and their subsequent combination into a closed path (the so-called contour algorithm or “onion husk” algorithm). A number of heuristics related to the different stages of the algorithm are considered, and various variants of the algorithm based on these heuristics are analyzed. Sets of randomly generated points of different sizes (from 4 to 90 and from 500 to 10,000) were used to test the algorithms. The numerical results obtained are compared with the results of two well-known combinatorial optimization algorithms, namely the algorithm based on the branch and bound method and the simulated annealing algorithm. .

K-DSA for the multiple traveling salesman problem

Aimed at a multiple traveling salesman problem(MTSP)with multiple depots and closed paths,this paper proposes a k-means clustering donkey and a smuggler algorithm(KDSA).The algorithm first uses the k-means clustering method to divide all cities into several categories based on the center of various samples;the large-scale MTSP is divided into multiple separate traveling salesman problems(TSPs),and the TSP is solved through the DSA.The proposed algorithm adopts a solution strategy of clustering first and then carrying out,which can not only greatly reduce the search space of the algorithm but also make the search space more fully explored so that the optimal solution of the problem can be more quickly obtained.The experimental results from solving several test cases in the TSPLIB database show that compared with other related intelligent algorithms,the K-DSA has good solving performance and computational efficiency in MTSPs of different scales,especially with large-scale MTSP and when the convergence speed is faster;thus,the advantages of this algorithm are more obvious compared to other algorithms.

A Scheme Library-Based Ant Colony Optimization with 2-Opt Local Search for Dynamic Traveling Salesman Problem

The dynamic traveling salesman problem(DTSP)is significant in logistics distribution in real-world applications in smart cities,but it is uncertain and difficult to solve.This paper proposes a scheme library-based ant colony optimization(ACO)with a two-optimization(2-opt)strategy to solve the DTSP efficiently.The work is novel and contributes to three aspects:problemmodel,optimization framework,and algorithmdesign.Firstly,in the problem model,traditional DTSP models often consider the change of travel distance between two nodes over time,while this paper focuses on a special DTSP model in that the node locations change dynamically over time.Secondly,in the optimization framework,the ACO algorithm is carried out in an offline optimization and online application framework to efficiently reuse the historical information to help fast respond to the dynamic environment.The framework of offline optimization and online application is proposed due to the fact that the environmental change inDTSPis caused by the change of node location,and therefore the newenvironment is somehowsimilar to certain previous environments.This way,in the offline optimization,the solutions for possible environmental changes are optimized in advance,and are stored in a mode scheme library.In the online application,when an environmental change is detected,the candidate solutions stored in the mode scheme library are reused via ACO to improve search efficiency and reduce computational complexity.Thirdly,in the algorithm design,the ACO cooperates with the 2-opt strategy to enhance search efficiency.To evaluate the performance of ACO with 2-opt,we design two challenging DTSP cases with up to 200 and 1379 nodes and compare them with other ACO and genetic algorithms.The experimental results show that ACO with 2-opt can solve the DTSPs effectively.

An Improved Farmland Fertility Algorithm with Hyper-Heuristic Approach for Solving Travelling Salesman Problem

Travelling Salesman Problem(TSP)is a discrete hybrid optimization problem considered NP-hard.TSP aims to discover the shortest Hamilton route that visits each city precisely once and then returns to the starting point,making it the shortest route feasible.This paper employed a Farmland Fertility Algorithm(FFA)inspired by agricultural land fertility and a hyper-heuristic technique based on the Modified Choice Function(MCF).The neighborhood search operator can use this strategy to automatically select the best heuristic method formaking the best decision.Lin-Kernighan(LK)local search has been incorporated to increase the efficiency and performance of this suggested approach.71 TSPLIB datasets have been compared with different algorithms to prove the proposed algorithm’s performance and efficiency.Simulation results indicated that the proposed algorithm outperforms comparable methods of average mean computation time,average percentage deviation(PDav),and tour length.

Use the Power of a Genetic Algorithm to Maximize and Minimize Cases to Solve Capacity Supplying Optimization and Travelling Salesman in Nested Problems

Using Genetic Algorithms (GAs) is a powerful tool to get solution to large scale design optimization problems. This paper used GA to solve complicated design optimization problems in two different applications. The aims are to implement the genetic algorithm to solve these two different (nested) problems, and to get the best or optimization solutions.

A Hybrid Genetic Algorithm for the Traveling Salesman Problem with Pickup and Delivery

In this paper, a hybrid genetic algorithm （GA） is proposed for the traveling salesman problem （TSP） with pickup and delivery （TSPPD）. In our algorithm, a novel pheromone-based crossover operator is advanced that utilizes both local and global information to construct offspring. In addition, a local search procedure is integrated into the GA to accelerate convergence. The proposed GA has been tested on benchmark instances, and the computational results show that it gives better convergence than existing heuristics.

Improved ant colony optimization algorithm for the traveling salesman problems

Ant colony optimization （ACO） is a new heuristic algo- rithm which has been proven a successful technique and applied to a number of combinatorial optimization problems. The traveling salesman problem （TSP） is among the most important combinato- rial problems. An ACO algorithm based on scout characteristic is proposed for solving the stagnation behavior and premature con- vergence problem of the basic ACO algorithm on TSP. The main idea is to partition artificial ants into two groups： scout ants and common ants. The common ants work according to the search manner of basic ant colony algorithm, but scout ants have some differences from common ants, they calculate each route＇s muta- tion probability of the current optimal solution using path evaluation model and search around the optimal solution according to the mutation probability. Simulation on TSP shows that the improved algorithm has high efficiency and robustness.

Traveling Salesman Problem Using an Enhanced Hybrid Swarm Optimization Algorithm

The traveling salesman problem( TSP) is a well-known combinatorial optimization problem as well as an NP-complete problem. A dynamic multi-swarm particle swarm optimization and ant colony optimization( DMPSO-ACO) was presented for TSP.The DMPSO-ACO combined the exploration capabilities of the dynamic multi-swarm particle swarm optimizer( DMPSO) and the stochastic exploitation of the ant colony optimization( ACO) for solving the traveling salesman problem. In the proposed hybrid algorithm,firstly,the dynamic swarms,rapidity of the PSO was used to obtain a series of sub-optimal solutions through certain iterative times for adjusting the initial allocation of pheromone in ACO. Secondly,the positive feedback and high accuracy of the ACO were employed to solving whole problem. Finally,to verify the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed hybrid algorithm,various scale benchmark problems were tested to demonstrate the potential of the proposed DMPSO-ACO algorithm. The results show that DMPSO-ACO is better in the search precision,convergence property and has strong ability to escape from the local sub-optima when compared with several other peer algorithms.

Collision-free Scheduling of Multi-bridge Machining Systems： A Colored Traveling Salesman Problem-based Approach

Multi-bridge machining systems(MBMS) have gained wide applications in industry due to their high production capacity and efficiency. They contain multiple bridge machines working in parallel within their partially overlapping workspaces.Their scheduling problems can be abstracted into a serial-colored travelling salesman problem in which each salesman has some exclusive cities and some cities shared with its neighbor(s). To solve it, we develop a greedy algorithm that selects a neighboring city satisfying proximity. The algorithm allows a salesman to select randomly its shared cities and runs accordingly many times. It can thus be used to solve job scheduling problems for MBMS. Subsequently, a collision-free scheduling method is proposed to address both job scheduling and collision resolution issues of MBMS. It is an extension of the greedy algorithm by introducing time window constraints and a collision resolution mechanism. Thus, the augmented greedy algorithm can try its best to select stepwise a job for an individual machine such that no time overlaps exist between it and the job sequence of the neighboring machine dealt in the corresponding overlapping workspace; and remove such a time overlap only when it is inevitable. Finally, we conduct a case study of a large triplebridge waterjet cutting system by applying the proposed method.

Tabu Search Implementation on Traveling Salesman Problem and Its Variations: A Literature Survey

The Traveling Salesman Problem (TSP) and its allied problems like Vehicle Routing Problem (VRP) are one of the most widely studied problems in combinatorial optimization. It has long been known to be NP-hard and hence research on developing algorithms for the TSP has focused on approximate methods in addition to exact methods. Tabu search is one of the most widely applied metaheuristic for solving the TSP. In this paper, we review the tabu search literature on the TSP and its variations, point out trends in it, and bring out some interesting research gaps in this literature.

ISPO: A New Way to Solve Traveling Salesman Problem

This paper first introduces the concepts of mobile operators and mobile sequence, with which it redefines the rate of particle swarm optimization algorithm and the formula of position updating. Combining this discrete PSO algorithm with neighbors, the paper puts forward Hybrd Particle Swarm Optimization Algorithm, whose effectiveness is verified at the end of this paper.

Parallel discrete lion swarm optimization algorithm for solving traveling salesman problem

As a typical representative of the NP-complete problem, the traveling salesman problem(TSP) is widely utilized in computer networks, logistics distribution, and other fields. In this paper, a discrete lion swarm optimization(DLSO) algorithm is proposed to solve the TSP. Firstly, we introduce discrete coding and order crossover operators in DLSO. Secondly, we use the complete 2-opt(C2-opt) algorithm to enhance the local search ability.Then in order to enhance the efficiency of the algorithm, a parallel discrete lion swarm optimization(PDLSO) algorithm is proposed.The PDLSO has multiple populations, and each sub-population independently runs the DLSO algorithm in parallel. We use the ring topology to transfer information between sub-populations. Experiments on some benchmarks TSP problems show that the DLSO algorithm has a better accuracy than other algorithms, and the PDLSO algorithm can effectively shorten the running time.

The Quantum Approximate Algorithm for Solving Traveling Salesman Problem

The Quantum Approximate Optimization Algorithm(QAOA)is an algorithmic framework for finding approximate solutions to combinatorial optimization problems.It consists of interleaved unitary transformations induced by two operators labelled the mixing and problem Hamiltonians.To fit this framework,one needs to transform the original problem into a suitable form and embed it into these two Hamiltonians.In this paper,for the well-known NP-hard Traveling Salesman Problem(TSP),we encode its constraints into the mixing Hamiltonian rather than the conventional approach of adding penalty terms to the problem Hamiltonian.Moreover,we map edges(routes)connecting each pair of cities to qubits,which decreases the search space significantly in comparison to other approaches.As a result,our method can achieve a higher probability for the shortest round-trip route with only half the number of qubits consumed compared to IBM Q’s approach.We argue the formalization approach presented in this paper would lead to a generalized framework for finding,in the context of QAOA,high-quality approximate solutions to NP optimization problems.

基于蚁群算法的Traveling Salesman Problem研究

本文介绍了一种求解复杂组合优化问题的新的拟生态算法——蚁群算法.阐述了该算法的基本原理以及蚁群算法在TSP问题上的应用,并提出了改进算法,使得算法有更好的全局性.

Applying the Method for Solving Traveling Salesman Problem Based on Backtracking Algorithm to Order Picking

In the distribution center, the way of order picking personnel to pick goods has two kinds: single picking and batch picking. Based on the way of the single picking and assumed warehouse model, in order to reduce the walking path of order picking, the order picking problem is transformed into the traveling salesman problem in this paper. Based on backtracking algorithm, the order picking path gets optimized. Finally verifing the optimization method under the environment of VC++6.0, order picking path in the warehouse model get optimized, and compared with the traditional order picking walking paths. The results show that in small and medium-sized warehouse, the optimization method proposed in this paper can reduce order picking walking path and improve the work efficiency as well as reduce the time cost.

A Simulated Annealing-Based Algorithm for Traveling Salesman Problem

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A Multi-Agent Approach for Solving Traveling Salesman Problem

The traveling salesman problem （TSP） is a classical optimization problem and it is one of a class of NP- Problem. This paper presents a new method named multiagent approach based genetic algorithm and ant colony system to solve the TSP. Three kinds of agents with different function were designed in the multi-agent architecture proposed by this paper. The first kind of agent is ant colony optimization agent and its function is generating the new solution continuously. The second kind of agent is selection agent, crossover agent and mutation agent, their function is optimizing the current solutions group. The third kind of agent is fast local searching agent and its function is optimizing the best solution from the beginning of the trial. At the end of this paper, the experimental results have shown that the proposed hybrid ap proach has good performance with respect to the quality of solution and the speed of computation.

Information in the Traveling Salesman Problem

In the Simulated Annealing algorithm applied to the Traveling Salesman Problem, the total tour length decreases with temperature. Empirical observation shows that the tours become more structured as the temperature decreases. We quantify this fact by proposing the use of the Shannon information content of the probability distribution function of inter–city step lengths. We find that information increases as the Simulated Annealing temperature decreases. We also propose a practical use of this insight to improve the standard algorithm by switching, at the end of the algorithm, the cost function from the total length to information content. In this way, the final tour should not only be shorter, but also smoother.

Solving a Traveling Salesman Problem with a Flower Structure

This works aims to give an answer to the problem P = NP? The result is positive with the criteria that solve the Traveling Salesman Problem in polynomial cost of the input size and a proof is given. This problem gets a solution because a polyhedron, with a cut flower looking, is introduced instead of graph (e.g. tree).

Novel Local Search Method for the Traveling Salesman Problem

A new local search method for the traveling salesman problem based on an original greedy representation of solution space and neighborhood structure is proposed. First, a partial closed route that only consists of three cities is given; then other cities are added to this route by a greedy procedure successively. Implemented on a personal computer, this algorithm finds optimal solutions for 24 out of 27 standard benchmarks, and outperforms the Full Subpath Ejection Algorithm (F-SEC) proposed by Rego in 1998.