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An efficient heuristic algorithm for the bottleneck traveling salesman problem

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Abstract

This paper describes a new heuristic algorithm for the bottleneck traveling salesman problem (BTSP), which exploits the formulation of BTSP as a traveling salesman problem (TSP). Computational tests show that our algorithm is quite effective. It found optimal solutions for many problems from the standard traveling salesman problem library (TSPLIB) problems. We also consider BTSP with an additional constraint and show that our BTSP heuristic can be modified to obtain a heuristic to solve this problem. Relationships between symmetric and asymmetric versions of BTSP are also discussed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Applied Statistics, MA B1 453, EPFL, Lausanne, CH - 1015, Switzerland

    Ravi Ramakrishnan

  2. Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, Kanpur, 208016, India

    Prabha Sharma

  3. Department of Mathematics, Simon Fraser University Surrey, Central City, 250-13450, 102nd AV, Surrey, British Columbia, V3T 0A3, Canada

    Abraham P. Punnen

Authors
  1. Ravi Ramakrishnan
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  2. Prabha Sharma
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  3. Abraham P. Punnen
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Correspondence to Prabha Sharma.

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Ramakrishnan, R., Sharma, P. & Punnen, A.P. An efficient heuristic algorithm for the bottleneck traveling salesman problem. OPSEARCH 46, 275–288 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12597-009-0018-x

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