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Smart surface is a new conveying technology composed of a 2D planar surface presenting a matrix of distributed autonomous blocks. Every block contains a micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) actuator that controls the transfer of a possible object located above the block to the neighboring blocks, using air-jet forces. The spatial characteristics of the blocks impose some limits on the memory, energy and computation capabilities of the MEMS blocks. On the other hand, the system can reach several thousands of blocks making necessary to propose scalable algorithmic solutions. This paper studies different distributed algorithms to convey an object from an initial to a target position in the smart surface. The conveying policy emphasizes the long term use of the smart surface and the objects conveying efficiency measured by the time of the transfer. The problem stands as an original case of multi-objective Shortest Path problem (MOSP). Original because the quality of a given path is not evaluated by the sum of the weights of its segments, and because the segment weights change according to the used paths as provided by the algorithm itself. Therefore, the efficiency of a given algorithm is assessed on the basis of its performance during a long period of time. We describe here the best way to combine these two objectives and we propose a scalable incremental distributed protocol for objects conveying. The path optimality is adjusted according to the required calculation complexity. The performances of the different algorithmic and modeling variations are analyzed in terms of memory, time, computation and exchanged messages complexity. The obtained results prove the scalability of the algorithm, with linear computational, memory and convergence time complexity, and confirm the improvement of smart surface usage compared to a naive approach. The system lifespan increases of up to 130% on 40 × 40 smart surface, while the transfer cost (time and energy) is reduced. We show also that the computation time of the path with the incremental algorithm can be significantly reduced without significant degradation of the conveying system performance. For example, in a 40 × 40 smart surface, the number of messages is divided by 4 while the number of conveyed objects is only reduced by a ratio of 4%. • The smartsurface is new distributed conveying plateform • The smarsurface allows the manipulation and the transportation of fragile and tiny objects. • The distributed architecture ensures the modularity and maintainability of the system. • The smartsurface conveying problem is an original problem. • The conveying algorithm manages the tradeoff between the transfer time and the surface lifespan. • The computational complexity of the algorithm is less than O (m) • The algorithm convergence is reached with a time complexity of O (m). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We introduce Shortest Connection Game , a two-player game played on a directed graph with edge costs. Given two designated vertices in which the players start, the players take turns in choosing edges emanating from the vertex they are currently located at. This way, each of the players forms a path that origins from its respective starting vertex. The game ends as soon as the two paths meet, i.e., a connection between the players is established. Each player has to carry the cost of its chosen edges and thus aims at minimizing its own total cost. In this work we analyse the computational complexity of Shortest Connection Game . On the negative side, Shortest Connection Game turns out to be computationally hard even on restricted graph classes such as bipartite, acyclic and cactus graphs. On the positive side, we can give a polynomial time algorithm for cactus graphs when the game is restricted to simple paths. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Network routing problems are often modeled with the assumption that the network structure is deterministic, though they are often subject to uncertainty in many real-life scenarios. In this paper, we study the traveling salesman and the shortest path problems with uncertain topologies modeled by arc failures. We present the formulations that incorporate chance constraints to ensure reliability of the selected route considering all arc failure scenarios. Due to the computational complexity and large scales of these stochastic network optimization problems, we consider two cutting plane methods and a Benders decomposition algorithm to respectively solve them. We also consider to solve the reformulations of the problems obtained by taking the logarithm transformation of the chance constraints. Numerical experiments are performed to obtain results for comparisons among these proposed methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work we address a game theoretic variant of the shortest path problem, in which two decision makers (players) move together along the edges of a graph from a given starting vertex to a given destination. The two players take turns in deciding in each vertex which edge to traverse next. The decider in each vertex also has to pay the cost of the chosen edge. We want to determine the path where each player minimizes its costs taking into account that also the other player acts in a selfish and rational way. Such a solution is a subgame perfect equilibrium and can be determined by backward induction in the game tree of the associated finite game in extensive form. We show that the decision problem associated with such a path is PSPACE-complete even for bipartite graphs both for the directed and the undirected version. The latter result is a surprising deviation from the complexity status of the closely related game Geography . On the other hand, we can give polynomial time algorithms for directed acyclic graphs and for cactus graphs even in the undirected case. The latter is based on a decomposition of the graph into components and their resolution by a number of fairly involved dynamic programming arrays. Finally, we give some arguments about closing the gap of the complexity status for graphs of bounded treewidth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• An auxiliary algorithm is proposed to construct initial stage of the MCDM methods. • A multi-objective fuzzy optimization model is formulated. • An extensive comparative analysis is conducted in terms of the addressed methods. • The stability and validity of the results are tested and discussed. • Key findings and managerial insights are provided. This paper examines the performances of the multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) methods and optimization model in solving multi-attribute shortest path problems such as the safest shortest path under a fuzzy environment. To the best of the knowledge of the authors, this is the first study performing comparative analysis on finding the multi-attribute shortest path by employing well-known techniques in terms of computational effort and results in a fuzzy environment. To this end, the safest shortest path problem, where the risk and distance values concerning arcs on a directed network are defined as triangular fuzzy numbers, is handled. The solution process is carried out under two main headings: (i) To start the solution with MCDM methods, an auxiliary algorithm that constructs a fuzzy decision matrix is proposed. Then, Fuzzy-Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (F-TOPSIS), Fuzzy Simple Additive Weighting (F-SAW), and Fuzzy Evaluation Based on Distance from Average Solution (F-EDAS), that are fuzzy-based MCDM methods, are employed to rank the alternative paths. (ii) A multi-objective fuzzy optimization model is formulated, and the most reasonable paths are obtained considering different α-cut levels. Following that, comparative analysis is performed through a set of scenarios considering the different weights of the criteria to see the variability in the rankings. Besides, the addressed fuzzy-based MCDM methods are compared in terms of computational complexity. Overall, the main findings and managerial insights regarding the effectiveness and performance of the methods discussed in the solution process are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A supply chain network design needs to consider the future probability of reconfiguration due to some problems of disaster or price changes. The objective of this article is to design a reconfigurable supply chain network by optimizing inventory allocation and transportation routing. A two-stage programming is composed according to Benders decomposition by allocating inventory in advance and anticipating the changes of transportation routings; thus the transportation routing is stochastic in nature. In addition, the fuzzy shortest path is developed to solve the problem complexity in terms of the multi-criteria of lead time and capacity with an efficient computational method. The results and analysis indicate that the proposed two-stage programming with fuzzy shortest path surpasses the performance of shortest path problem with time windows and capacity constraint (SPPTWCC) in terms of less computational time and CPU memory consumption. Finally, management decision-making is discussed among other concluding remarks. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In this study, we introduce a Fuzzy Time-Dependent Network (FTDN) and analyze its shortest path problem. The FTDN is a network in which travel times are represented as fuzzy sets and are also time-dependent. Under these circumstances, the shortest path problem on the FTDN is far more complex in comparison with the shortest path problem on the existing networks. To highlight the complexity, we show that on the FTDN, "standard" shortest path algorithms (e.g., the well-known Dijkstra algorithm) are not able to come up with solutions. Subsequently, we construct a suitable method which is suitable to deal with the shortest problem. A fuzzy programming model is presented for finding the shortest path on the FTDN. The proposed model is handled through the techniques which combine mechanisms of fuzzy simulation and genetic optimization. In this particular setting, fuzzy simulation is exploited to estimate the value of uncertain functions, which do not exist in the general networks. The proposed model is evaluated with the use of numerical experimentation. A comparative analysis demonstrates that the proposed model leads to the shortest path while standard algorithms are not capable of finding the path when dealing with the shortest path problem on the FTDN. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a new maximum likelihood (ML) symbol detection algorithm for multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) systems. To achieve the ML performance with low complexity, we search the integer points corresponding to symbol vectors in increasing order of the distance from the unconstrained least-squares solution. For each integer point, we test if it is the ML solution, and continue the integer point search until one of searched points is determined to be the ML solution. We present an efficient iterative search strategy, which is based on the shortest path algorithm for a graph. The simulation results show that the proposed algorithm has the lower complexity compared to the sphere decoding for channel matrices having low condition numbers. For further complexity reduction, we propose to use scaling, lattice-reduction, and regularization techniques. By applying these techniques, the computational complexity of proposed algorithm is reduced significantly when the channel matrix has a high condition number. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper solves the online obstacle avoidance problem using the Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman (HJB) theory. Formulating the shortest path problem as a time optimal control problem, the shortest paths are generated by following the negative gradient of the return function, which is the solution of the HJB equation. To account for multiple obstacles, we avoid obstacles optimally one at a time. This is equivalent to following the pseudo-return function, which is an approximation of the true return function for the multi-obstacle problem. Paths generated by this method are near-optimal and guaranteed to reach the goal, at which the pseudo-return function is shown to have a unique minimum. The proposed method is computationally very efficient, and applicable for online applications. Examples for circular obstacles demonstrate the advantages of the proposed approach over traditional path planning methods. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]