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VRoptBees: A Bee-Inspired Framework for Solving Vehicle Routing Problems

VRoptBees: A Bee-Inspired Framework for Solving Vehicle Routing Problems

Thiago A.S. Masutti, Leandro Nunes de Castro
Copyright: © 2018 |Volume: 7 |Issue: 1 |Pages: 25
ISSN: 1947-928X|EISSN: 1947-9298|EISBN13: 9781522544807|DOI: 10.4018/IJNCR.2018010103
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MLA

Masutti, Thiago A.S., and Leandro Nunes de Castro. "VRoptBees: A Bee-Inspired Framework for Solving Vehicle Routing Problems." IJNCR vol.7, no.1 2018: pp.32-56. http://doi.org/10.4018/IJNCR.2018010103

APA

Masutti, T. A. & Nunes de Castro, L. (2018). VRoptBees: A Bee-Inspired Framework for Solving Vehicle Routing Problems. International Journal of Natural Computing Research (IJNCR), 7(1), 32-56. http://doi.org/10.4018/IJNCR.2018010103

Chicago

Masutti, Thiago A.S., and Leandro Nunes de Castro. "VRoptBees: A Bee-Inspired Framework for Solving Vehicle Routing Problems," International Journal of Natural Computing Research (IJNCR) 7, no.1: 32-56. http://doi.org/10.4018/IJNCR.2018010103

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Abstract

Combinatorial optimization problems are broadly studied in the literature. On the one hand, their challenging characteristics, such as the constraints and number of potential solutions, inspires their use to test new solution techniques. On the other hand, the practical application of these problems provides support of daily tasks of people and companies. Vehicle routing problems constitute a well-known class of combinatorial optimization problems, from which the Traveling Salesman Problem (TSP) is one of the most elementary ones. TSP corresponds to finding the shortest route that visits all cities within a path returning to the start city. Despite its simplicity, the difficulty in finding its exact solution and its direct application in practical problems in multiple areas make it one of the most studied problems in the literature. Algorithms inspired by biological phenomena are being successfully applied to solve optimization tasks, mainly combinatorial optimization problems. Those inspired by the collective behavior of insects produce good results for solving such problems. This article proposes the VRoptBees, a framework inspired by honeybee behavior to tackle vehicle routing problems. The framework provides a flexible and modular tool to easily build solutions to vehicle routing problems. Together with the framework, two examples of implementation are described, one to solve the TSP and the other to solve the Capacitated Vehicle Routing Problem (CVRP). Tests were conducted with benchmark instances from the literature, showing competitive results.

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