Honey bee social foraging algorithms for resource allocation: Theory and application

A model of honey bee social foraging is introduced to create an algorithm that solves a class of dynamic resource allocation problems. We prove that if several such algorithms (‘‘hives’’) compete in the same problem domain, the strategy they use is a Nash equilibrium and an evolutionarily stable strategy. Moreover, for a single or multiple hives we prove that the allocation strategy is globally optimal. To illustrate the practical utility of the theoretical results and algorithm we show how it can solve a dynamic voltage allocation problem to achieve a maximum uniformly elevated temperature in an interconnected grid of temperature zones. & 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.