Constrained multiple traveling salesman problem based on self-organizing optimization algorithm

Abstract

The Multiple Traveling Salesman Problem(MTSP) is an extension of the traveling salesman problem(TSP).MTSP is a classical combinatorial optimization problem with more complexity and applicability.The MTSP with the up-limit of the cities to be visited for each salesman was studied and the self-organizing algorithm(SOA) was introduced to solve the problem.The MTSP was transformed into a TSP by introducing virtual cities and the local fitness of virtual city was defined to deal with the relevant constraints.The computational results with a number of benchmark problems show that SOA can be effectively applied in solving the proposed MTSP with superior performance.