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The integrated planning of several activities implicated in paper production can lead to remarkable gains in terms of raw materials and resource usage. However, activities such as order assignment, production sequencing and cutting planning are usually addressed separately while ignoring the interactions among these processes. But the quality of the solution resulting from the juxtaposition of the partial solutions is not guaranteed, and may have a significant impact in terms of inefficiency of global performance. This article considers production planning in a pulp and paper industry in order to meet a set of orders of diverse types of products, admitting the possibility of producing simultaneously in two or more paper machines with their own features. The developed approach, ASC-3Steps, considers not only cutting optimisation but also extends itself to the processes of assigning orders to paper machines and production sequencing at each machine. Minimisation of wasted paper is assumed to be the overall goal. A set of computational results based on real data is presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the main issues in a paper mill is the minimization of trim loss when cutting master reels and stocked reels into reels of smaller required widths. The losses produced in trimming at a paper mill are reprocessed by using different chemicals which contributes to significant discharge of effluent to surface water and causes environmental damage. This paper presents a real-world industrial problem of production planning and cutting optimization of reels at a paper mill and differs from other cutting stock problems by considering production and cutting of master reels of flexible widths and cutting already stocked over-produced and useable leftover reels of smaller widths. The cutting process of reels is performed with a limited number of cutting knives at the winder. The problem is formulated as a linear programming model where the generation of all feasible cutting patterns determines the columns of the constraint matrix. The model is solved optimally using simplex algorithm with the objective of trim loss minimization while satisfying a set of constraints. The solution obtained is rounded in a post-optimization procedure in order to satisfy integer constraints. When tested on data from the paper mill, the results of the proposed model showed a significant reduction in trim loss and outperformed traditional exact approaches. The cutting optimization resulted in minimum losses in paper trimming and a lesser amount of paper is reprocessed to make new reels which reduced the discharge of effluent to the environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the main issues in a paper mill is the minimization of trim loss when cutting master reels and stocked reels into reels of smaller required widths. The losses produced in trimming at a paper mill are reprocessed by using different chemicals which contributes to significant discharge of effluent to surface water and causes environmental damage. This paper presents a real-world industrial problem of production planning and cutting optimization of reels at a paper mill and differs from other cutting stock problems by considering production and cutting of master reels of flexible widths and cutting already stocked over-produced and useable leftover reels of smaller widths. The cutting process of reels is performed with a limited number of cutting knives at the winder. The problem is formulated as a linear programming model where the generation of all feasible cutting patterns determines the columns of the constraint matrix. The model is solved optimally using simplex algorithm with the objective of trim loss minimization while satisfying a set of constraints. The solution obtained is rounded in a post-optimization procedure in order to satisfy integer constraints. When tested on data from the paper mill, the results of the proposed model showed a significant reduction in trim loss and outperformed traditional exact approaches. The cutting optimization resulted in minimum losses in paper trimming and a lesser amount of paper is reprocessed to make new reels which reduced the discharge of effluent to the environment.

We study the quadratic cycle cover problem (QCCP), which aims to find a node-disjoint cycle cover in a directed graph with minimum interaction cost between successive arcs. We derive several semidefinite programming (SDP) relaxations and use facial reduction to make these strictly feasible. We investigate a nontrivial relationship between the transformation matrix used in the reduction and the structure of the graph, which is exploited in an efficient algorithm that constructs this matrix for any instance of the problem. To solve our relaxations, we propose an algorithm that incorporates an augmented Lagrangian method into a cutting-plane framework by utilizing Dykstra's projection algorithm. Our algorithm is suitable for solving SDP relaxations with a large number of cutting-planes. Computational results show that our SDP bounds and efficient cutting-plane algorithm outperform other QCCP bounding approaches from the literature. Finally, we provide several SDP-based upper bounding techniques, among which is a sequential Q-learning method that exploits a solution of our SDP relaxation within a reinforcement learning environment. Summary of Contribution: The quadratic cycle cover problem (QCCP) is the problem of finding a set of node-disjoint cycles covering all the nodes in a graph such that the total interaction cost between successive arcs is minimized. The QCCP has applications in many fields, among which are robotics, transportation, energy distribution networks, and automatic inspection. Besides this, the problem has a high theoretical relevance because of its close connection to the quadratic traveling salesman problem (QTSP). The QTSP has several applications, for example, in bioinformatics, and is considered to be among the most difficult combinatorial optimization problems nowadays. After removing the subtour elimination constraints, the QTSP boils down to the QCCP. Hence, an in-depth study of the QCCP also contributes to the construction of strong bounds for the QTSP. In this paper, we study the application of semidefinite programming (SDP) to obtain strong bounds for the QCCP. Our strongest SDP relaxation is very hard to solve by any SDP solver because of the large number of involved cutting-planes. Because of that, we propose a new approach in which an augmented Lagrangian method is incorporated into a cutting-plane framework by utilizing Dykstra's projection algorithm. We emphasize an efficient implementation of the method and perform an extensive computational study. This study shows that our method is able to handle a large number of cuts and that the resulting bounds are currently the best QCCP bounds in the literature. We also introduce several upper bounding techniques, among which is a distributed reinforcement learning algorithm that exploits our SDP relaxations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bin packing problem (BPP) is one of the fastest-growing research issues within the field of combinatorial optimization. Over the last years, several studies carried out various BPP variants, mathematical models, and proposed methods to the BPPs. The classical BPP consists of packing a set of rectangular items in a minimum number of rectangular bins while respecting some constraints.Throughout the years, an improved typology was introduced by Wäscher et al. (2007), providing an excellent instrument for the organization and categorization criteria that defined the problem categories different from those of Dyckhoff (1990). Several early literature reviews have been conducted on various aspects of related packing problem variants.The contribution of this paper is to provide a comprehensive and refined taxonomy intended for BPPs. In addition to that, it is an up-to-date review based on a chronological taxonomy of the literature and depicts further research horizons.This systematic review allowed us to identify other characteristics and constraints, based on Wäscher's original ideas, mainly distinguished according to real cases studies. The detailed analysis provides a valuable framework for understanding the research gaps for future studies that should be acknowledged while proposing and solving new extensions. Note: The addresses of second and third authors have been corrected online. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The conversion of ethanol from paper sludge using the separate hydrolysis and fermentation (SHF) process with cellulase and Saccharomyces cerevisiae GIM-2 were investigated in this paper. Optimization strategy based on statistical experimental designs was employed to enhance degree of saccharification by enzymatic hydrolysis of paper sludge. Based on the Plackett–Burman design, hydrolysis time, substrate concentration and cellulase dosage were selected as the most significant variable on the degree of saccharification. Subsequently, the optimum combination of the selected factors was investigated by a Box-Behnken approach. A mathematical model was developed to show the effects of each factor and their combinatorial interactions on the degree of saccharification. The optimal conditions were hydrolysis time 82.7 h, substrate concentration 40.8 g L−1 and cellulase dosage 18.1 FPU g−1 substrate, and a degree of saccharification of 82.1% can be achieved. When hydrolysate was further fermented with S. cerevisiae GIM-2, the conversion rate of sugar to ethanol was 34.2% and the ethanol yield was 190 g kg−1 of dry paper sludge, corresponding to an overall conversion yield of 56.3% of the available carbohydrates on the initial substrate. The results derived from this study indicate that the response surface methodology is a useful tool for optimizing the hydrolysis conditions to converse paper sludge to ethanol. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The continuation education is very important for people who have left school to work to increase their competence and skills. To avoid the disadvantages of the common test paper generating methods, genetic algorithm is used to generate the test paper automatically. The concrete design process of test paper generating based on genetic algorithm is discussed in this paper, and some corresponding parameters setting have been compared and defined. The application results demonstrated that the genetic algorithm was an effective tool in the test paper generating. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Hyper-heuristics have arisen as methods that increase the generality of existing solvers. They have proven helpful for dealing with complex problems, particularly those related to combinatorial optimization. Their recent growth in popularity has increased the daily amount of text in the related literature. This information is primarily unstructured, mainly text that traditional computer data systems cannot process. Traditional systematic literature review studies exhibit multiple limitations, including high time consumption, lack of replicability, and subjectivity of the results. For this reason, text mining has become essential for researchers in recent years. Therefore, efficient text mining techniques are needed to extract meaningful information, patterns, and relationships. This study adopts a literature review of 963 journal and conference papers on hyper-heuristic-related works. We first describe the essential text mining techniques, including text preprocessing, word clouds, clustering, and frequent association rule learning in hyper-heuristic publications. With that information, we implement visualization tools to understand the most frequent relations and topics in the hyper-heuristic domain. The main findings highlight the most dominant topics in the literature. We use text mining analysis to find widespread manifestations, representing the significance of the different areas of hyper-heuristics. Furthermore, we apply clustering to provide seven categories showing the associations between the topics related to hyper-heuristic literature. The vast amount of data available that we find opens up a new opportunity for researchers to analyze the status of hyper-heuristics and help create strategic plans regarding the scope of hyper-heuristics. Lastly, we remark that future work will address the limitations of collecting information from multiple data sources and analyze book chapters related to hyper-heuristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Damage detection and localization in civil engineering constructions using dynamic analysis has become an important topic in recent years. This paper presents a methodology based on non-destructive detection, localization and quantification of multiple damages in simple and continuous beams, and a more complex structure, namely two-dimensional frame structure. The proposed methodology makes used of Firefly Algorithm and Genetic Algorithm as optimization tools and the Coordinate Modal Assurance Criterion as an objective function. The results show that the proposed combination of Coordinate Modal Assurance Criterion and Firefly Algorithm or Genetic Algorithm can be easily used to identify multiple local structural damages in complex structures. However, the convergence rate becomes slower for the case of multiple damages compared to the case of single damage. The effect of noise on the algorithm is further investigated. It is found that the proposed technique is able to detect the damage location and its severity with high accuracy in the presence of noise, although the convergence rate became slower than in the case when no noise is present. It is also found that the convergence rate of Firefly Algorithm is much faster than that of Genetic Algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The one-dimensional cutting stock problem (1D-CSP) is one of the representative combinatorial optimization problems which arises in many industrial applications. Although the primary objective of 1D-CSP is to minimize the total length of used stock rolls, the efficiency of cutting processes has become more important in recent years. The crucial bottleneck of the cutting process often occurs at handling operations in semiautomated manufacturers such as those in the paper tube industry. To reduce interruptions and errors at handling operations in the paper tube industry, we consider a variant of 1D-CSP that minimizes the total length of used stock rolls while constraining (C1) the number of setups of each stock roll type, (C2) the combination of piece lengths occurring in open stacks simultaneously, and (C3) the number of open stacks. For this problem, we propose a generalization of the cutting pattern called the 'cutting group,' which is a sequence of cutting patterns that satisfies the given upper bounds of setups of each stock roll type and open stacks. To generate good cutting groups, we decompose the 1D-CSP into a number of auxiliary bin packing problems. We develop a tabu search algorithm based on a shift neighborhood that solves the auxiliary bin packing problems by the first-fit decreasing heuristic algorithm. Experimental results show that our algorithm improves the quality of solutions compared to the existing algorithm used in a paper tube factory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper combines the digital twin system modeling method to conduct an in-depth study and analysis of graph-theoretic combinatorial optimization. This paper provides new ideas and approaches for optimal numerical analysis work by studying the digital twin modeling method that integrates digital modeling and graph theory combination, provides theoretical support for safe, stable, and economic operation of the system, proposes a solution for digital twin model based on big data platform, focuses on the nearest neighbor propagation (AP) and graph theory combination, solves the digital twin real-time monitoring data asynchronous, incomplete problem, and applies the algorithm to the digital twin model based on the big data platform for data preprocessing to achieve better results. This paper also presents a web-based digital twin system based on intelligent practical needs, analysis, and comparison of existing models, combined with digital twin technology, detailing the differences and connections between the various levels of numerical analysis and the implementation of this data in various fields, such as user management, equipment health management, product quality management, and workshop 3D navigation and detailed modeling of the digital twin system based on this numerical analysis to realize remote online monitoring, analysis, and management. In this paper, for the numerical analysis process, firstly, the key technologies of modeling and simulation operation control of production line based on digital twin are studied, and the rapid response manufacturing system based on a digital twin is designed and validated. Secondly, a scheduling technology framework for capacity simulation evaluation and optimization is established, and batching optimization, outsourcing decision, and rolling scheduling techniques are thus proposed to form a batching optimization algorithm based on priority rules, which realizes batching processing, outsourcing decision, and rolling scheduling of production orders to optimize equipment utilization and capacity. Finally, digital twin-based modeling is designed, and the validation results demonstrate the system's superior performance in achieving information interaction between physical and virtual production lines, optimization of numerical analysis, and display of results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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This paper analyzes some details of artificial intelligence algorithms to paper-reviewer assignment problem. In particular, the study on most common algorithms like genetic algorithm (GA), ant colony optimization (ACO) and tabu-search (TS) is made and the performance of these algorithms in paper-reviewer assignment problem is tested. Moreover, two hybrid methods that efficiently combine the above-mentioned algorithms are proposed: the ACO-GA and GA-TS algorithms. To measure the performance of these algorithms, extensive computational experiments are conducted. Evaluation using different data sets shows that the proposed algorithms are effective and achieve good results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The buffer allocation problem is an NP-hard combinatorial optimization problem, and it is an important design problem in manufacturing systems. The research proposed in this paper concerns a product line consisting of n unreliable machines with n − 1 buffers and a preventive maintenance policy. The focus of the research is to obtain a better trade-off between the buffer level and the preventive maintenance actions. This paper proposes a dynamic control of the buffers' level and the interval between two consecutive preventive actions. The set of the parameter of the proposed policy allows choosing the reduction in the costs or the increment of the throughput rate. A simulation model is developed to test the proposed model to the solution proposed in the literature. The proposed policy leads to better results in terms of total costs reduction keeping high production rate, while the design of a fixed level of buffer works better for lower production rates required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper investigates the skiving and cutting stock problem (SCSP) encountered in the paper and plastic film industries, in which a set of nonstandard reels generated from previous cutting processes are used to produce finished rolls through the skiving and cutting process. First, reels are skived together lengthwise to form a reel‐pyramid (a polygon), and then the reel‐pyramid is cut into finished rolls of small widths. Depending on if a reel can be divided lengthwise into subreels to form the reel‐pyramid, the problem can be classified into divisible SCSP (DSCSP) and indivisible SCSP (ISCSP). In this paper, two integer programming (IP) models are proposed for DSCSP and ISCSP, respectively. A sequential value correction procedure combined with the two IP models (SVCTIP) is developed to solve the two SCSPs. The effectiveness of the SVCTIP is demonstrated through extensive computational tests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The importance of linear programming, and especially mixed-integer linear programming, has increased over time as computers have gotten more capable, algorithms have improved and more software solutions have become available. This approach has been successfully applied for solving hard problems in operations research (like traveling salesman problem, routing problems and telecommunications network design problems). In the eighteenth paper, "Exact method for the two-machine flow-shop problem with time delays" Mkadem, Moukrim and Serairi propose an exact method for solving the two-machine flow-shop problem with time delays. [Extracted from the article]

The split delivery vehicle routing problem (SDVRP) is a classic combinatorial optimization problem, which is usually solved using a heuristic algorithm. The ant colony optimization algorithm is an excellent heuristic algorithm that has been successfully applied to solve various practical problems, and it has achieved good results. However, in the existing ant colony optimization algorithms, there are issues with weak targeting of different customer selection strategies, difficulty in balancing convergence speed and global search ability, and a predisposition to become trapped in local optima. To solve these problems, this paper proposes an improved ant colony algorithm (IACA). First, in terms of customer point selection, the initial customer and noninitial customer selection strategies are proposed for different customers, and the adaptive selection threshold is designed. Second, in terms of pheromone processing, an initial pheromone distribution method based on a greedy strategy, a pheromone backtracking mechanism, and an adaptive pheromone volatile factor are proposed. Finally, based on the 2-opt local search method, vehicle path self-search and intervehicle path search are proposed to further improve the quality of the solution. This paper tests the performance of the IACA on datasets of different scales. The experimental results show that compared with the clustering algorithm, artificial bee colony algorithm, particle swarm optimization algorithm, traditional ant colony algorithm, and other algorithms, the IACA can achieve more competitive results. Specifically, compared to the path length calculated by other algorithms, the path length calculated by IACA decreased by an average of 1.58%, 4.28%, and 3.64% in small, medium, and large-scale tests, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dynamic task scheduling problem in cloud manufacturing (CMfg) is always challenging because of changing manufacturing requirements and services. To make instant decisions for task requirements, deep reinforcement learning-based (DRL-based) methods have been broadly applied to learn the scheduling policies of service providers. However, the current DRL-based scheduling methods struggle to fine-tune a pre-trained policy effectively. The resulting training from scratch takes more time and may easily overfit the environment. Additionally, most DRL-based methods with uneven action distribution and inefficient output masks largely reduce the training efficiency, thus degrading the solution quality. To this end, this paper proposes an improved DRL-based approach for dynamic task scheduling in CMfg. First, the paper uncovers the causes behind the inadequate fine-tuning ability and low training efficiency observed in existing DRL-based scheduling methods. Subsequently, a novel approach is proposed to address these issues by updating the scheduling policy while considering the distribution distance between the pre-training dataset and the in-training policy. Uncertainty weights are introduced to the loss function, and the output mask is extended to the updating procedures. Numerical experiments on thirty actual scheduling instances validate that the solution quality and generalization of the proposed approach surpass other DRL-based methods at most by 32.8% and 28.6%, respectively. Additionally, our method can effectively fine-tune a pre-trained scheduling policy, resulting in an average reward increase of up to 23.8%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cooperative multi-agent systems make it possible to employ miniature robots in order to perform different experiments for data collection in wide open areas to physical interactions with test subjects in confined environments such as a hive. This paper proposes a new multi-agent path-planning approach to determine a set of trajectories where the agents do not collide with each other or any obstacle. The proposed algorithm leverages a risk-aware probabilistic roadmap algorithm to generate a map, employs node classification to delineate exploration regions, and incorporates a customized genetic framework to address the combinatorial optimization, with the ultimate goal of computing safe trajectories for the team. Furthermore, the proposed planning algorithm makes the agents explore all subdomains in the workspace together as a formation to allow the team to perform different tasks or collect multiple datasets for reliable localization or hazard detection. The objective function for minimization includes two major parts, the traveling distance of all the agents in the entire mission and the probability of collisions between the agents or agents with obstacles. A sampling method is used to determine the objective function considering the agents' dynamic behavior influenced by environmental disturbances and uncertainties. The algorithm's performance is evaluated for different group sizes by using a simulation environment, and two different benchmark scenarios are introduced to compare the exploration behavior. The proposed optimization method establishes stable and convergent properties regardless of the group size. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As potent approaches for addressing computationally expensive optimization problems, surrogate-assisted evolutionary algorithms (SAEAs) have garnered increasing attention. Prevailing endeavors in evolutionary computation predominantly concentrate on expensive continuous optimization problems, with a notable scarcity of investigations directed toward expensive combinatorial optimization problems (ECOPs). Nevertheless, numerous ECOPs persist in practical applications. The widespread prevalence of such problems starkly contrasts the limited development of relevant research. Motivated by this disparity, this paper conducts a comprehensive survey on SAEAs tailored to address ECOPs. This survey comprises two primary segments. The first segment synthesizes prevalent global, local, hybrid, and learning search strategies, elucidating their respective strengths and weaknesses. Subsequently, the second segment furnishes an overview of surrogate-based evaluation technologies, delving into three pivotal facets: model selection, construction, and management. The paper also discusses several potential future directions for SAEAs with a focus towards expensive combinatorial optimization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The problem of finding optimal block designs can be formulated as a combinatorial optimization, but its resolution is still a formidable challenge. This paper presents a general and user-friendly algorithm, namely Modified Particle Swarm Optimization (MPSO), to construct optimal or near-optimal block designs. It can be used for several classes of block designs such as binary, non-binary and test-control block designs with correlated or uncorrelated observations. In order to evaluate the algorithm, we compare our results with the optimal designs presented in some published papers. An advantage of our algorithm is its independency to the sizes of blocks and the structure of correlations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simultaneous allocation of service times and buffer capacities in manufacturing systems in a random environment is a NP-hard combinatorial optimisation problem. This paper presents a sophisticated simulation-based optimisation approach for the design of unreliable production lines to maximise the production rate. The proposed method allows for a global search using a Genetic Algorithm (GA), which is coupled with Finite Perturbation Analysis (FPA) as a local search technique. Traditional techniques based on perturbation analysis optimise decision variables of the same nature (e.g. service time only, buffer capacity only), whereas the proposed technique simultaneously provides an allocation of service times and buffer capacities. One of the main focuses of this paper is the investigation of the persistence or absence of the buffer and service rate allocation patterns which are among the most essential insights that come from designing production lines. The results show the superiority of the combined GA-FPA approach regarding GA and FPA in terms of solution quality and convergence behaviour. Moreover, considering instances ranging from 3 to 100 machines, our numerical experiments are in line with the literature for small instances (as similar allocation patterns are identified in our work), but important differences are highlighted for medium/large instances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Job shop scheduling problem (JSP) is a widely studied NP-complete combinatorial optimisation problem. Neighbourhood structures play a critical role in solving JSP. At present, there are three state-of-the-art neighbourhood structures, i.e. N5, N6, and N7. Improving the upper bounds of some famous benchmarks is inseparable from the role of these neighbourhood structures. However, these existing neighbourhood structures only consider the movement of critical operations within a critical block. According to our experiments, it is also possible to improve the makespan of a scheduling scheme by moving a critical operation outside its critical block. According to the above finding, this paper proposes a new N8 neighbourhood structure considering the movement of critical operations within a critical block and the movement of critical operations outside the critical block. Besides, a neighbourhood clipping method is designed to avoid invalid movement, discarding non-improving moves. Tabu search (TS) is a commonly used algorithm framework combined with neighbourhood structures. This paper uses this framework to compare the N8 neighbourhood structure with N5, N6, and N7 neighbourhood structures on four famous benchmarks. The experimental results verify that the N8 neighbourhood structure is more effective and efficient in solving JSP than the other state-of-the-art neighbourhood structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The flexible job-shop scheduling problem (FJSP) with parallel batch processing machine (PBM) is one of those long-standing issues that needs cutting-edge approaches. It is a recent extension of standard flexible job shop scheduling problems. Despite their wide application and prevalence in practical production, it seems that current research on these types of combinatorial optimization problems remains limited and uninvestigated. More specifically, existing research mainly concentrates on the flow shop scenarios in parallel batch machines for job shop scheduling but few literature emphasis on the flexible job shop integration in these contexts. To directly address the above mentioned problems, this paper establishes an optimization model considering parallel batch processing machines, aiming to minimize the maximum completion time in operating and production environments. The proposed solution merges variable neighborhood search with multi-population genetic algorithms, conducting a neighborhood search on the elite population to reduce the likelihood of falling into local optima. Subsequently, its applicability was evaluated in computational experiments using real production scenarios from a partnering enterprise and extended datasets. The findings from the analyses indicate that the enhanced algorithm can decrease the objective value by as much as 15% compared to other standard algorithms. Importantly, the proposed approach effectively resolves flexible job shop scheduling problems involving parallel batch processing machines. The contribution of the research is providing substantial theoretical support for enterprise production scheduling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: A fleet of mobile robots has been effectively used in various application domains such as industrial plant inspection. This paper proposes a solution to the combined problem of task allocation and motion planning problem for a fleet of mobile robots which are requested to operate in an intelligent industry. More specifically, the robots are requested to serve a set of inspection points within given service time windows. In comparison with the conventional time windows, our problem considers fuzzy time windows to express the decision maker's satisfaction for visiting an inspection point. Design/methodology/approach: The paper develops a unified approach to the combined problem of task allocation and motion planning for a fleet of mobile robots with three objectives: (a) minimizing the total travel cost considering all robots and tasks, (b) balancing fairly the workloads among robots and (c) maximizing the satisfaction grade of the decision maker for receiving the services. The optimization problem is solved by using a novel combination of a Genetic Algorithm with pareto solutions and fuzzy set theory. Findings: The computational results illustrate the efficiency and effectiveness of the proposed approach. The experimental analysis leverages the potential for using fuzzy time windows to reflect real situations and respond to demanding situations. Originality/value: This paper provides trade-off solutions to a realistic combinatorial multi-objective optimization problem considering concurrently the motion and path planning problem for a fleet of mobile robots with fuzzy time windows. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When a system of one-sided max-plus linear equations is inconsistent, the approximate solutions within an admissible error bound may be desired instead, particularly with some sparsity property. It is demonstrated in this paper that obtaining the sparsest approximate solution within a given L8 error bound may be transformed in polynomial time into the set covering problem, which is known to be NP-hard. Besides, the problem of obtaining the sparsest approximate solution within a given L1 error bound may be reformulated as a polynomial-sized mixed integer linear programming problem, which may be regarded as a special scenario of the facility location-allocation problem. By this reformulation approach, this paper reveals some interesting connections between the sparsest approximate solution problems in max-plus algebra and some well known problems in discrete and combinatorial optimization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The problem of finding a maximum size matching in a graph (known as the maximum matching problem) is one of the most classical problems in computer science. Despite a significant body of work dedicated to the study of this problem in the data stream model, the state-of-the-art single-pass semi-streaming algorithm for it is still a simple greedy algorithm that computes a maximal matching, and this way obtains 1 / 2 -approximation. Some previous works described two/three-pass algorithms that improve over this approximation ratio by using their second and third passes to improve the above mentioned maximal matching. One contribution of this paper continues this line of work by presenting new three-pass semi-streaming algorithms that work along these lines and obtain improved approximation ratios of 0.6111 and 0.5694 for triangle-free and general graphs, respectively. Unfortunately, a recent work Konrad and Naidu (Approximation, randomization, and combinatorial optimization. Algorithms and techniques, APPROX/RANDOM 2021, August 16–18, 2021. LIPIcs, vol 207, pp 19:1–19:18, 2021. https://doi.org/10.4230/LIPIcs.APPROX/RANDOM.2021.19) shows that the strategy of constructing a maximal matching in the first pass and then improving it in further passes has limitations. Additionally, this technique is unlikely to get us closer to single-pass semi-streaming algorithms obtaining a better than 1 / 2 -approximation. Therefore, it is interesting to come up with algorithms that do something else with their first pass (we term such algorithms non-maximal-matching-first algorithms). No such algorithms were previously known, and the main contribution of this paper is describing such algorithms that obtain approximation ratios of 0.5384 and 0.5555 in two and three passes, respectively, for general graphs. The main significance of our results is not in the numerical improvements, but in demonstrating the potential of non-maximal-matching-first algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study presents theHalfMax InsertionHeuristic (HMIH) as a novel approach to solving the Travelling Salesman Problem (TSP). The goal is to outperform existing techniques such as the Farthest Insertion Heuristic (FIH) and Nearest Neighbour Heuristic (NNH). The paper discusses the limitations of current construction tour heuristics, focusing particularly on the significant margin of error in FIH. It then proposes HMIH as an alternative that minimizes the increase in tour distance and includes more nodes. HMIH improves tour quality by starting with an initial tour consisting of a 'minimum' polygon and iteratively adding nodes using our novel Half Max routine. The paper thoroughly examines and compares HMIH with FIH and NNH via rigorous testing on standard TSP benchmarks. The results indicate that HMIH consistently delivers superior performance, particularly with respect to tour cost and computational efficiency. HMIH's tours were sometimes 16% shorter than those generated by FIH and NNH, showcasing its potential and value as a novel benchmark for TSP solutions. The study used statistical methods, including Friedman's Non-parametric Test, to validate the performance of HMIH over FIH and NNH. This guarantees that the identified advantages are statistically significant and consistent in various situations. This comprehensive analysis emphasizes the reliability and efficiency of the heuristic, making a compelling case for its use in solving TSP issues. The research shows that, in general, HMIH fared better than FIH in all cases studied, except for a few instances (pr439, eil51, and eil101) where FIH either performed equally or slightly better than HMIH. HMIH's efficiency is shown by its improvements in error percentage (d) and goodness values (g) compared to FIH and NNH. In the att48 instance, HMIH had an error rate of 6.3%, whereas FIH had 14.6% and NNH had 20.9%, indicating that HMIH was closer to the optimal solution. HMIH consistently showed superior performance across many benchmarks, with lower percentage error and higher goodness values, suggesting a closer match to the optimal tour costs. This study substantially contributes to combinatorial optimization by enhancing current insertion algorithms and presenting a more efficient solution for the Travelling Salesman Problem. It also creates new possibilities for progress in heuristic design and optimization methodologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scheduling is an important technique being used widely in numerous applications especially in industry. Flexible Job Shop Scheduling Problem (FJSP) is an extension of job scheduling which has several practical applications, (FJSP) is NPhard combinatorial optimization problem. Owing to its importance and intricacy a lot of attention has been paid to this topic. Many swarm intelligent algorithms have drawn inspiration from nature; one particularly notable example is Ant Colony Optimization (ACO), which has shown to be incredibly successful and productive when applied to highcomplexity (NP-hard) combinatorial optimization tasks. The paper presents a literature survey on ACO variants types and applications in Scheduling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Replacing traditional manual sweeping with unmanned sweepers in closed parks can not only greatly reduce labor costs, but also improve sweeping efficiency. Efficient path planning is the key technology for unmanned sweepers to complete the sweeping task. Existing unmanned sweepers are often based on fixed path sweeping or completely traversing the sweeping mode, this mode does not have the environmental adaptability, in the actual sweeping is often high energy cost, and sweeping is not complete. In this paper, an environment-adaptive sweeping path planning method is proposed to improve the sweeping intelligence and environmental adaptability of unmanned sweepers, reduce the energy consumption of sweeping and improve the efficiency of sweeping. Specifically, in this paper, we first use YOLOv5 to complete the accurate identification of individual garbage and obstacles in the road, and then work with LIDAR and Gaussian Mixture Model(GMM) to remove redundant targets. We also propose a Permutation Entropy(PE) value-based discrimination method to complete the target distribution posture analysis of each complex garbage pile. Finally, the traditional path planning problem is transformed into a combinatorial optimization problem of garbage areas, and a sweeping path accurate method based on Simulated Annealing(SA) algorithm is proposed. Through comprehensive theoretical analysis and simulation study, the optimality and effectiveness of the proposed method are proved by comparing A star and Coverage Path Planning(CPP) algorithms in a variety of experimental scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The gradient descent is one of the most common methods to modify the gradient parameters of the neural network, however, it may fall into the local optimum in the training process. As we all know, genetic algorithm can find the global optimal solution through global search, but it may not be efficient, always takes a lot of running time. These two methods are complementary in the running time and the cost, which inspired us to consider the combination of gradient descent and genetic algorithm. In this paper, a multi-start combinatorial optimization method based on the genetic algorithm and the gradient descent is proposed. First, the initial point is selected through the genetic algorithm. Then the combination of multi-start and gradient descent is used, which can quickly achieve the global search and improve the performance with relatively less running time and cost. Compared with the traditional genetic algorithm and gradient descent method, this proposed algorithm has a better performance in computing the global optimum efficiently. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper introduces the Cyclic Production Routing Problem (CPRP). The CPRP is an extension of the well-known NP-hard Production Routing Problem (PRP), which is a hard-to-solve combinatorial optimisation problem with numerous practical applications in the field of freight transportation, logistics and supply chain management. Under the PRP setting, a manufacturer is responsible for determining production decisions, as well as the timing and quantity of replenishment services offered to a set of geographically dispersed customers over a multi-period time horizon. The problem calls for jointly optimising the production, inventory, distribution and routing decisions. In this paper, the basic PRP model is modified to generate repeatable cyclic production and delivery schedules. A two-commodity flow formulation is proposed along with valid inequalities. Extensive comparisons between the basic PRP and the proposed cyclic variant on well-known benchmark instances are provided. The new variant is significantly harder to solve, especially when the vehicle fleet is limited. From a managerial perspective, the generation of cyclic production-routing schedules significantly increases all costs, whereas the number of vehicle routes required to implement a cyclic schedule is higher. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Assignment Problem (AP) can be stated as n activities to be assigned to n resources in such a way that the overall cost of assignment is minimized and each activity is assigned to one and only one resource. In real-life, the parameters of the AP are presented as uncertain numbers due to the lack of knowledge, experiences or any other (internal or external) factor. In this paper, the AP is considered under intuitionistic triangular fuzzy number and solved by the novel constructive heuristic Dhouib-Matrix-AP1 (DM-AP1) with a time complexity of O(n). Actually, this paper presents the first enhancement of the novel heuristic DM-AP1 to solve the AP under intuitionistic triangular fuzzy environment. DM-AP1 is composed of three simple steps: computing the total cost, selecting the highest value and finding the minimal element. These steps are repeated in n iterations with the use of a standard deviation statistical metric. Two case studies of AP under intuitionistic triangular fuzzy set are taken from the literature and a step-by-step application of the novel DM-AP1 heuristic is presented for more clarification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An extension of the p-center problem, called the p-next center problem, is considered in this paper. In practice, it has been shown that centers can close suddenly due to a problem (accident, staff shortage, technical problem, etc.). In this case, customers should proceed to the backup center - the one closest to the closed center. Both the p-center problem and the p-next center problem are NP-hard, so approximation methods are suitable for solving them. In this paper, an efficient solution approach based on Skewed Variable Neighborhood Search (SVNS) is proposed for the p-next center problem. The performance of the proposed SVNS method is evaluated on a set of pmed instances with up to 900 nodes. The obtained computational results are presented and compared with the best results from the literature, confirming the efficiency and stability of the proposed method in solving the p-next center problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]