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International Conference on Bio-Inspired Computing: Theories and Applications

BIC-TA 2018: Bio-inspired Computing: Theories and Applications pp 411–422Cite as

A Multi Ant System Based Hybrid Heuristic Algorithm for Vehicle Routing Problem with Service Time Customization

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Part of the book series: Communications in Computer and Information Science ((CCIS,volume 951))

Abstract

This paper addresses the Vehicle Routing Problem with Service Time Customization (VRPTW-STC), which is an extension of the classic Vehicle Routing Problem with Time Window (VRPTW). In VRPTW-STC, the decision maker tries to find an optimum solution with the smallest fleet size, the lowest travelling distance as well as the largest total service time of all customers. The objective to enlarge each customer’s service time obviously conflicts with the need of reducing both changeable and fixed transport costs, i.e. travelling distance and fleet size. At the same time, the routing plan must meet the time window constraint and the vehicle capacity constraint. To solve this problem, we designed a Multi Ant System (MAS) based hybrid heuristic algorithm inspired by to decompose a multi-objective problem into several single objective ones. Then, Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) algorithms are applied to every single-objective problem. A unique global best solution is maintained to record the current best solution. The global best solution will be updated when a new feasible solution found by any ACO dominate current global best solution. Several local search algorithms are also incorporated into MAS to help improve the solution quality. Solomon’s benchmark tests are used to test the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm. The computation experiment results show that our proposed MAS based hybrid heuristic algorithm performs better than typical existing algorithms.

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Acknowledgments

This work is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant numbers: 71701203, 71690233).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Systems Engineering, National University of Defense Technology, Changsha, People’s Republic of China

    Yuan Wang & Lining Xing

Authors
  1. Yuan Wang
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  2. Lining Xing
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Lining Xing .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Beijing, China

    Jianyong Qiao

  2. Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Beijing, China

    Xinchao Zhao

  3. Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China

    Linqiang Pan

  4. Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Beijing, China

    Xingquan Zuo

  5. Anhui University, Hefei, China

    Xingyi Zhang

  6. City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong

    Qingfu Zhang

  7. Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Beijing, China

    Shanguo Huang

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Wang, Y., Xing, L. (2018). A Multi Ant System Based Hybrid Heuristic Algorithm for Vehicle Routing Problem with Service Time Customization. In: Qiao, J., et al. Bio-inspired Computing: Theories and Applications. BIC-TA 2018. Communications in Computer and Information Science, vol 951. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-2826-8_36

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-2826-8_36

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore

  • Print ISBN: 978-981-13-2825-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-981-13-2826-8

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

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