Quadratic Assignment Problem. 1 Acknowledgments

Abstract

When they introduced the Ant System paradigm, Dorigo, Maniezzo, and Colorni also suggested an improvement to the original algorithm. By making use of global information, a set of ‘elitist ’ ants could focus the search, potentially accelerating convergence on an optimal solution. In a later paper, White, Kaegi, and Oda proposed a refinement of elitism in which local information is used instead of global information. By focusing the search on the local best tours (LBT) rather than the global best tour, the ants could search a wider area and avoid becoming trapped in local optima. Test results using the symmetric Travelling Salesman Problem showed considerable promise. We will examine the effectiveness of this refinement when applied against the assymetrica