A multi-agent approach for the dynamic VRPTW

Mahdi Zargayouna (1, 2) , Flavien Balbo (1) , Gérard Scémama (2)

1 LAMSADE - Laboratoire d'analyse et modélisation de systèmes pour l'aide à la décision
2 INRETS/GRETIA - Génie des Réseaux de Transport et Informatique Avancée

In this paper, we propose a multi-agent approach to solve a hard combinatorial problem: the vehicle routing problem with time windows. A multi-agent approach is most relevant when dealing with the dynamic version of the problem, where all the customers are not known before the start of the solving process. We focus on both the interaction process and the computation process. For the interaction process, we rely on the Property-Based Coordination model, enabling to limit the interaction to the only agents that might reach a solution. The overall interaction follows the well-known Contract Net Protocol. Concerning the computation process, we propose a new heuristic, based on the measure of the agents’ perception field over their environment, which privileges a solving process focused on the future.

Mots clés: simulation multi-agent; distributed systems

Domaines: Informatique [cs]

Mahdi Zargayouna, Flavien Balbo, Gérard Scémama. A multi-agent approach for the dynamic VRPTW. ESAW 08, Sep 2008, Saint-Etienne, France. ⟨hal-01593532⟩