Proposing a Method for Vehicle Routing with Capacity Constraints Using a Modified Cuckoo Optimization Algorithm

Abstract

In the vehicle routing problem, a fleet of multiple vehicles departs from one or more depots to serve customers located at different geographical points, aiming to minimize the costs associated with this task. This study proposes a novel approach to solve the routing problem. Considering that numerous paths can be envisioned from the origin to the final destination, an intelligent search algorithm is required. For this purpose, an optimization algorithm is employed in this paper, specifically an modified cuckoo optimization algorithm (MCOA). This algorithm is inspired by the lifestyle of a bird called the cuckoo and is capable of solving high-dimensional problems with good convergence speed. Similar to many evolutionary algorithms, the search process begins with an initial population of cuckoos, gradually moving towards the optimal point. In the improved version of the cuckoo algorithm, the egg-laying radius gradually decreases. Simulation results demonstrate the high efficiency of the proposed method compared to existing approaches.