An effective hybrid search algorithm for the multiple traveling repairman problem with profits

The multiple traveling repairman problem with profits consists of multiple repairmen serving a subset of all customers to maximize the revenues collected through the visited customers. To address this prob-lem, an effective hybrid search algorithm based on the memetic framework is proposed. In the proposed method, three features are integrated: a dedicated arc-based crossover to generate high-quality offspring solutions, a fast evaluation technique to reduce the complexity of navigating classical neighborhoods as well as a correcting step to ensure accurate evaluation of neighboring solutions. The performance of the algorithm on 470 benchmark instances were compared with those of the leading reference algorithms. The results show that the proposed algorithm outperforms the state-of-the-art algorithms by setting new records for 137 instances and matching the best-known results for 330 instances. The importance of the key search components of the algorithm was investigated.(c) 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

The paper proposes an effective hybrid search algorithm based on the memetic framework to solve the problem of maximizing profits in the multiple traveling repairman problem. The algorithm integrates multiple features, including generating high-quality solutions, reducing complexity, and ensuring accurate evaluation. Experimental results show that the proposed algorithm outperforms other algorithms on most benchmark instances.