Bio-inspired Algorithms for the Vehicle Routing Problem

• 28 oktober 2010
• 9783642098871

Samenvatting:

The vehicle routing problem (VRP) is one of the most famous combinatorial optimization problems. Additionally, and from a research oriented perspective, the VRP is a challenging NP-hard problem providing excellent benchmarks to access the e?ciency of new global optimization algorithms.

The vehicle routing problem (VRP) is one of the most famous combinatorial optimization problems. In simple terms, the goal is to determine a set of routes with overall minimum cost that can satisfy several geographical scattered demands. Biological inspired computation is a field devoted to the development of computational tools modeled after principles that exist in natural systems. The adoption of such design principles enables the production of problem solving techniques with enhanced robustness and flexibility, able to tackle complex optimization situations.

The goal of the volume is to present a collection of state-of-the-art contributions describing recent developments concerning the application of bio-inspired algorithms to the VRP. Over the 9 chapters, different algorithmic approaches are considered and a diverse set of problem variants are addressed. Some contributions focus on standard benchmarks widely adopted by the research community, while others address real-world situations.