Cooperative Ant Colonies for Vehicle Routing Problem with Time Windows. A Case Study in the Distribution of Dietary Products

This extended abstract presents a synthesis of our work concerning a parallel algorithm for Vehicle Routing Problem with Time Windows (VRPTW). Two colonies work in parallel and cooperate to solve the problem, each one being charged with an objective of the optimization. In addition, the importance of these objectives can vary, depending on some environmental changes. This approach introduces a dinamicity level, modeled by managing some new parameters. Experiments on various aspects of the algorithm and computational results are developed on benchmark problems, but also on the distribution net of Maryland Trading Company in Bacau, Romania, distributor of gluten-free dietary products.