A Hybrid Variation Harmony Search Algorithm for the Team Orienteering Problem with Capacity Limitations

摘要

This paper addresses a new optimization method for a variant of the category of orienteering problems (OP), which is well-known as the capacitated team orienteering problem (CTOP). The main objective of CTOP focuses on the maximization of the total collected profit from a set of candidate nodes or customers by taking into account the limitations of vehicle capacity and time upper boundary of a constructed route. To solve CTOP, we present a new optimization algorithm called the Similarity Hybrid Harmony Search. This methodology includes an innovative "similarity process" technique, which takes advantage the most profitable nodes/customers during the algorithmic procedure aiming to extend the diversification in the solution area. The experimental tests were conducted in the most popular set of instances and the obtained results are compared with most competitive algorithms in the literature.