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Toward the Formal Foundation of Ant Programming

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Ant Algorithms (ANTS 2002)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNCS,volume 2463))

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Abstract

This paper develops the formal framework of ant programming with the goal of gaining a deeper understanding on ant colony optimization and, more in general, on the principles underlying the use of an iterated Monte Carlo approach for the multi-stage solution of combinatorial optimization problems. Ant programming searches for the optimal policy of a multi-stage decision problem to which the original combinatorial problem is reduced. In order to describe ant programming we adopt on the one hand concepts of optimal control, and on the other hand the ant metaphor suggested by ant colony optimization. In this context, a critical analysis is given of notions such as state, representation, and sequential decision process under incomplete information.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. IRIDIA, Université Libre de Bruxelles, CP 194/6, Av. Franklin D. Roosevelt 50, 1050, Brussels, Belgium

    Mauro Birattari, Gianni Di Caro & Marco Dorigo

Authors
  1. Mauro Birattari
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  2. Gianni Di Caro
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  3. Marco Dorigo
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. IRIDIA, Université de Bruxelles, CP 194/6 Avenue Franklin D. Roosevelt 50, 1050, Brussels, Belgium

    Marco Dorigo , Gianni Di Caro  & Michael Sampels ,  & 

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© 2002 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Birattari, M., Di Caro, G., Dorigo, M. (2002). Toward the Formal Foundation of Ant Programming. In: Dorigo, M., Di Caro, G., Sampels, M. (eds) Ant Algorithms. ANTS 2002. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 2463. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-45724-0_16

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-45724-0_16

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-540-44146-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-540-45724-4

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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