Ant Colony Optimization

Quadratic Assignment Problem

Hernan AGUIRRE, Adel BEN HAJ YEDDER,

Andre DIAS and Pascalis RAPTIS

Problem Leader: Marco

DorigoLeader:
Team Marc
Schoenauer
Quadratic Assignment Problem

• Assign n facilities to n locations

– Distances between locations
– Flows between facilities known

• Goal Minimize sum flow x distance

• TSP is a particular case of QAP

– Models many real world problems

• “NP-hard” problem
 QAP Example
Facilities
Location
s biggest flow: A -
B

How to assign facilities to

locations ?

Higher Lower cost

cost
Ant Colony Optimization (ACO)
• Ant Algorithms
– Inspired by observation of real ants

• Ant Colony Optimization (ACO)

– Inspiration from ant colonies’ foraging
behavior (actions of the colony finding
food)
– Colony of cooperating individuals
– Pheromone trail for stigmergic
communication
– Sequence of moves to find shortest paths
– Stochastic decision using local information
Ant Colony Optimization for
QAP
• Pheromone laying facilities-
location
assignment
• Basic ACO
algorithm
1st improvemen
• Local Search
best t
Ant Colony Optimization for
QAP
• Basic ACO
algorithm
Actions
Strategies

Choosing a Facility heuristic
P(pheromone

Choosing a Location
, heuristic)

Pheromone Update (solution
quality)
Ant Colony Optimization for
QAP

• How important search guidance is?

 Test problems

tai12a tai50a kra30a

Type of random random Real-life
problem
Size 12 50 30

• 12 facilities/positions should be easy to solve!

• What behavior with real life problems?
• QAP solved to optimality up to 30
Parameters for ACO: 500 ants, evaporation
=0.9
 Results: tai12a

• Without local search convergence to

local minimum

NOT ALWAYS the optimum

Heuristic 　 gets better minimun

• With local search: always converges to

optimum

Very quickly
 Results: Real Life - Kra30a

No LS With LS
No Heuristic Converges local Optimum
minimum Avg.12 iterations

72 % optimum

With Converges local Optimum

heuristic minimum Avg.10 iterations

70% optimum
 Future Work
Choosing a Facility
• Different strategies
Choosing a Location
Pheromone Update

• Remain fixed, all ants use the

same!
• Performance of strategies
variesProblem
Stage of the search

Co-
Let the ants
evolution
 Conclusions

Great Summer
School!

The ants did find their way to the

Beach
Pool
Beer
 Ants Path
Facilities
Location
s biggest flow: A -
B

Pat Pat
h h
(1,A) (1,C)
| |
(2,B) (2,B)
| |
(3,C) Higher Lower cost (3,A)
cost