ACSE Journal, Volume (6), Issue (1), January, 2006

Ant Colony Algorithms in Diverse Combinational

Optimization Problems -A Survey
K.Thangavel1, M.Karnan2*, P.Jeganathan2, ,A.Petha lakshmi3 R.Sivakumar4, G.Geetharamani5
1
Department of Computer science, Periyar University, Salem, India
2
Department of computer science, Gandhigram Rural Institute-Deemed University,
Gandhigram-624302, TamilNadu, India.
3
Department of Computer science, Mother Theresa University, Kodaikkanal, India
4
Department of R&D, Hindusthan college of Engg and Tech, Coimbatore,
5
Department of Computer science Bharathidasan University,Trichy,india

Abstract relatively short time. Algorithms of this type are

Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) metaheuristic is
a recent population-based approach inspired by
the observation of real ants colony and based
upon their collective foraging behavior. In ACO,
solutions of the problem are constructed within a
stochastic iterative process, by adding solution
components to partial solutions. Each individual
ant constructs a part of the solution using an
artificial pheromone, which reflects its experience
accumulated while solving the problem, and
heuristic information dependent on the problem.
In this survey paper, it is intended to summarize
the methods of ant colony system used in various
types of applications. In particular, routing,
assignment, scheduling, subset, machine learning
and network routing problems.
Keywords: combinatorial optimization,
metaheuristics, ant colony system, pheromone.
1 Introduction
Combinatorial optimization problems are
intriguing because they are often easy to state but
very difficult to solve. Many of the problems
arising in applications are NP-hard, that is, it is
strongly believed that they cannot be solved to
optimally within polynomially bounded
computation time. Hence, to practically solve
large instances one often has to use approximate
methods, which return near optimal solutions in a
loosely called heuristics. They often use some
problem-specific knowledge to either build or
improve solutions.
Recently, many researchers have focused
their attention on a new class of algorithms, called
metaheuristics. A metaheuristic is a set of
algorithmic concepts that can be used to define
heuristic methods applicable to a wide set of
different problems. In other words, a
metaheuristic can be seen as a general-purpose
heuristic method designed to guide an underlying
problem specific heuristic toward promising
regions of the search space containing high-
quality solutions. A metaheuristic therefore a
general algorithmic framework, which can be
applied to different optimization problems with
relatively few modifications to make them,
adapted to a specific problem. The use of
metaheuristics has significantly increased the
ability of finding very high-quality solutions to
hard, practically relevant combinatorial
optimization problems in a reasonable time. This
is particularly true for large and poorly
understood problems.
Metaheuristics or general local search
methods are growing at a very fast, exploring
rate: the most important conferences in
operational research have one or many sessions
entirely devoted to metaheuristics ant there are
also journals entirely devoted to them. In the
operations research literature, many elegant

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 ACSE Journal, Volume (6), Issue (1), January, 2006
mathematical models and solution methods have
been developed to cope with real-world problems.
Although some exact approaches, such as branch
and bound algorithms and dynamic programs,
have been proposed to solve the problems
optimally, the curse of dimensionality of
numerous combinatorial problems hinders the
search for optimal solutions in the solution space.
Seeking approximate solutions that are feasible or
good enough in an acceptable time therefore
shapes a viable alternative for the decision
makers. Following this orientation, several meta-
heuristics, such as genetic algorithms [Goldberg
2003, Holland 1975], tabu search [Glover 1990]
and simulated annealing [Kirkpatrick et al. 1983],
have been proposed to deal with the
computationally intractable problems. Ant colony
optimization (ACO) is a new meta-heuristic
developed for composing approximate solutions.
The ant algorithm was first proposed by [Colorni
et al. 1991] and has been receiving extensive
attention due to its successful applications to
many combinatorial optimization problems
[Dorigo et al. 1999a]. Like genetic algorithm and
simulated annealing approaches, the ant
algorithms also foster its solution strategy through
use of nature metaphors. The ACO is based upon
the behaviors of ants that they exhibit when
looking for a path to the advantage of their
colony. Unlike simulated annealing or tabu
search, in which a single agent is deployed for a
single beam session, ACO and genetic algorithms
use multiple agents, each of which has its
individual decision made based upon collective
memory or knowledge. Recently, the ACO
metaheuristic has been proposed to provide a
unifying framework for most applications of ant
algorithms [Dorigo and Di Caro 1999, Dorigo et
al. 1999b] to combinatorial optimization
problems. Algorithms that actually are
instantiations of the ACO metaheuristic will be
called ACO algorithms. This paper summarizes
various implementations of ACO algorithms in
different applications.
The rest of the paper is organized as follows:
section 2 introduces the ant colony optimization
procedure, section 3 discusses several methods of
ACO technique in various applications, and
section 4 presents conclusion for this study on ant
colony optimization algorithms.
2 Ant Colony Optimization
Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) is a population-
based approach first designed by Marco Dorigo
8
and coworkers [Dorigo et al. 1991a] and inspired
by the foraging behavior of ant colonies.
Individuals ants are simple insects with limited
memory and capable of performing simple
actions. However, the collective behavior of ants
provides intelligent solutions to problems such as
finding the shortest paths from the nest to a food
source. Ants foraging for food lay down
quantities of a volatile chemical substance named
pheromone, marking their path that it follows.
Ants smell pheromone and decide to follow the
path with a high probability and thereby reinforce
it with a further quantity of pheromone. The
probability that an ant chooses a path increases
with the number of ants choosing the path at
previous times and with the strength of the
pheromone concentration laid on it.
This concept has been applied to hard
combinatorial optimization problems by creating
a population of artificial ants that searches for
optimal solutions according to the problem’s
constraints. Artificial ants are characterized as
agents that imitate the behavior of real ants.
However, it should be noted that an artificial ACS
has some differences in comparison with a real
ACS, as follows
ƒ Artificial ants have memory
ƒ They are not completely blind
ƒ They live in an environment where time is
discrete.
On the other hand, an artificial ACS has several
characteristics adopted from real ACS:
ƒ Artificial ants have a probabilistic preference
for paths with a larger amount of pheromone
ƒ Shorter paths tend to have larger rates of
growth in their amount of pheromone
ƒ The ants use an indirect communication
system based on the amount of pheromone
deposited in each path.
The key idea is that, when a given ant has to
choose between two or more paths. The path that
was more frequently chosen by other ants in the
past will have a greater probability of being
chosen by the ant. Therefore, trails with greater
amount of pheromone are synonyms of shorter
paths. In essence, an ACS iteratively performs a
loop containing two basic procedures, namely:
ƒ a procedure specifying how the ants
construct/modify solutions of the problem
being solved.
ƒ a procedure to update the pheromone trails.
 ACSE Journal, Volume (6), Issue (1), January, 2006

The construction/modification of a solution is Start searching for optimum value in the

performed in a probabilistic way. The probability
of adding a new item to the current partial
solution is given by a function that depends on a
problem-dependent heuristic and on the amount
of pheromone deposited by ants on this trail in the
past. The updates in the pheromone trail are
implemented as a function that depends on the
rate o f pheromone evaporation and on the quality
of the produced solution. To realize an ACS one
must define:
ƒ An appropriate representation of the problem,
which allows the ants to incrementally
construct/modify solutions through the use of
a probabilistic transition rule based on the
amount of pheromone in the trail and on a
local heuristic:
ƒ A heuristic function that measures the quality
of items that can be added to the current
partial solution.
ƒ A method to enforce the construction of valid
solutions, i.e. solutions that are legal in the
real-world situation corresponding to the
problem definition:
ƒ A rule for pheromone updating, which
specifies how to modify the pheromone trail.
ƒ A probabilistic rule of transition based on the
value of the heuristic function and on the
contents of the pheromone trail.
Typical procedure for ant colony algorithm:
S ← Search space
N ← Number of Iterations
K ← Number of Ants
T0 ← Initial pheromone value
ρ ← Constant value for pheromone update
Repeat for N times
Initialize all the ants with initial
pheromone value (T0 = 0.001).
search space, from a random position.
Update the pheromone values of all the
ants using the following equation.
Tnew ← (1 – ρ) * Told + ρ * T0 ,
where Tnew is the updated pheromone value
Told is the old pheromone value
Compute the solution for each ant.
Locally Search for the optimum value.
Compare the Local Maximum with the Global
Maximum.
If Local_Maximum > Global_Maximum
Global_Maximum= Local_Maximum
End
Update the pheromone of the ant, which
generates the Local Maximum using the
following equation: Tnew ← (1 – α) * Told + α *
∆Told, where α is a constant value.
Update the pheromone of the remaining
ants using the following equation:
Tnew ← (1 – α) * Told, where α is a
constant value.
End
This algorithm shows a typical procedure for
implementation of an ACO algorithm. The main
procedure of the ACO metaheuristic have three
components: (1) management of the ants’ activity,
(2) pheromone updating, and (3) daemon actions.
3 Applications Of Ant Colony
Optimization Algorithms
Nowadays numerous successful
implementations of the ACO metaheuristic are
available and they have been applied to many
different combinatorial optimization problems.
These applications are summarized in Table-1 and
they are discussed in this section

Table 1. Current Applications of ACO algorithms listed according to problem types

Problem Type & Name
Routing
Traveling Salesman
Vehicle Routing
Sequential Ordering
Assignment
Main References
Bullnheimer et al. 1999c, Cordon et al. 2000, Dorigo and Gambardella
1997a, Dorigo and Gambardella 1997b, Dorigo et al. 1991a, Dorigo et al.
1991b, Dorigo et al. 1996, Gambardella and Dorigo 1995, Stutzle and Hoos
1997, Stutzle and Hoos 2000, Randall 2002, Tsai et al. 2004
Bell and McMullen 2004, Bullnheimer et al. 1999a, Bullnheimer et al.
1999b, Gambardella et al. 1999, Reimann et al. 2002, Mazzeo and Loiseau
2004.
Gambardella and Dorigo 1997, Gambardella and Dorigo 2000.

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 ACSE Journal, Volume (6), Issue (1), January, 2006

Problem Type & Name Main References

Quadratic Assignment Maniezzo 1999, Maniezzo and Colorni 1999, Maniezzo et al. 1994,
Solimanpur et al. 2004, Solimanpur et al. 2005, Stutzle 1997, Stutzle and
Hoos 2000, Talbi et al. 2001.
Graph Costa and Hertz, 1997, Gamez and Puerta 2002, Gosavi et al. 2003,
Korosec et al. 2004, Li and Wu 2003, Shyu et al. 2005.
Generalized Assignment Eggers et al. 2003, Gutjahr 2002, Hoshyar et al. 2000, Lee Z.J. et al. 2002,
Lourenco and Serra 1998, Lourenco and Serra 2002, Song et al. 1999,
Stutzle and Hoos 2000, Xia et al. 2003, Yin 2003.
Frequency Assignment Maniezzo and Carbonaro 2000, Lim et al. 2005.
University Course Azimi 2005, Socha et al. 2002, Socha et al. 2003.
timetabling
Scheduling
Job shop Colorni et al. 1994, Lee Z.J. and Lee 2004, Sendova-Franks and Lentz
2002.
Open shop Li and Wu 2002, Pfahringer 1996, Ying and Liao 2004.
Flow shop Gajpal and Rajendran 2005, Shyu et al. 2004, Stutzle 1998, Tkindt et al.
2002.
Total Tardiness Bauer et al. 2000
Total weighted tardiness den Besten et al. 2000, Gagne et al. 2002, Merkle and Middendorf 2000,
Merkle and Middendorf 2003
Project Scheduling Annaluru et al. 2004, Jayaraman et al. 2000, Merkle et al. 2000, Merkle et
al. 2002, Samrout et al. 2005.
Group shop Blum 2002, Blum 2003a.
Subset
Multiple Knapsack Leguizamon and Michalewicz 1999.
Max Independent set Leguizamon and Michalewicz 2000.
Redundancy Allocation Liang and Smith 1999, Zhao et al. 2005.
Set Covering Hadji et al. 2000
Weighted Constraint Graph Cordone and Maffioli 2001, Reimann and Laumanns 2005
Tree Partition
Arc-weighted l-cardinality Bullnheimer et al. 1999b
tree
Maximum Clique Fenet and Solnon 2003
Machine Learning
Classification Rules Parpinelli et al. 2002, Vijayakumar et al. 2003, Zheng et al. 2003.
Bayesian Networks de Campos et al. 2002
Fuzzy Systems Bullnheimer et al. 1999c, Kuo et al. 2005
Network Routing
Connection-oriented Bean and Costa 2005, Bonabeau et al. 1998, Di Caro and Dorigo 1998b,
Network routing Schoonderwoerd et al. 1997, Su et al. 2005, White et al. 1998.
Connectionless Network Di Caro and Dorigo 1997, Di Caro and Dorigo 1998a, Di Caro and Dorigo
Routing 1998c, Heusse et al. 1998, Subramanian et al. 1997, Van der put 1998.
Optical Network Routing Varela and Sinclair 1999.
Image Processing
Detection of Thangavel et al.2005b.
Microcalcification in Digital
Mammograms
Other
Shortest common Michel and Middendorf 1998, Michel and Middendorf 1999
supersequence
Constraint Satisfaction Solnon2000, Solnon 2002
2D-HP Protein folding Shmygelska et al. 2002
Bin Packing Levine and Ducatelle 2003

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 ACSE Journal, Volume (6), Issue (1), January, 2006
Problem Type & Name Main References
General Abd-El-Barr et al. 2003, Baykasoglu et al. 2004, Chen and Meng 2004,
Chen et al. 2004, Dorigo et al. 2000, Ge et al. 2004, Karaboga et al. 2004,
Monmarche et al. 2000, Papadopoulos and Linke 2004, Taillard et al. 2001,
Tsai et al. 2004, Xiong and Wei 2002
3.1 Routing Problems
This section considers routing problems, that is,
problems in which one or more agents have to
visit a predefined set of locations and whose
objective function depends on the ordering in
which the locations are visited.
Bell and McMullen (2004) applied the
meta-heuristic method of ant colony optimization
(ACO) to an established set of vehicle routing
problems (VRP). The procedure simulates the
decision-making processes of ant colonies as they
forage for food and is similar to other adaptive
learning and artificial intelligence techniques such
as Tabu Search, Simulated Annealing and Genetic
Algorithms. Modifications are made to the ACO
algorithm used to solve the traditional traveling
salesman problem in order to allow the search of
the multiple routes of the VRP. Experimentation
shows that the algorithm is successful in finding
solutions within 1% of known optimal solutions
and the use of multiple ant colonies is found to
provide a comparatively competitive solution
technique especially for larger problems.
Additionally, the size of the candidate lists used
within the algorithm is a significant factor in
finding improved solutions, and the
computational times for the algorithm compare
favorably with other solution methods.
The Vehicle Routing Problem (VRP)
requires the determination of an optimal set of
routes for a set of vehicles to serve a set of
customers. Mazzeo and Loiseau (2004) dealt here
with the Capacitated Vehicle Routing Problem
(CVRP) where there is a maximum weight or
volume that each vehicle can load. We developed
an Ant Colony algorithm (ACO) for the CVRP
based on the metaheuristic technique introduced
by Colorni, Dorigo and Maniezzo. And presented
preliminary results that show that ant algorithms
are competitive with other metaheuristics for
solving CVRP.
Dorigo and Gambardella (1997a)
described an artificial ant colony capable of
solving the traveling salesman problem (TSP).
11
Ants of the artificial colony are able to generate
successively shorter feasible tours by using
information accumulated in the form of a
pheromone trail deposited on the edges of the
TSP graph. Computer simulations demonstrate
that the artificial ant colony is capable of
generating good solutions to both symmetric and
asymmetric instances of the TSP. The method is
an example, like simulated annealing, neural
networks and evolutionary computation, of the
successful use of a natural metaphor to design an
optimization algorithm. There are many ways in
which ACS can be improved so that the number
of tours needed to reach a comparable
performance level can diminish, making its
application to larger problem instances feasible.
The most appropriate parallelization
technique is ultimately dependent upon the nature
of the problem being solved. Problems like the
TSP in which each of the solution elements may
be easy to compute; yet each solution contains
many such elements. Randall (2002) evaluated
the Parallel Ants scheme in which ants construct
tours in parallel. A master ant is used to
coordinate the activities of the colony. This
scheme is conceptually simple and suitable for the
popular MPI model on MIMD architectures. The
results showed that acceptable speedup and
efficiency could be achieved for larger problems.
However, one of the disadvantages to this scheme
is the large amount of communication required to
maintain the pheromone matrix.
C.F. Tsai et al. (2004) presented a new
metaheuristic approach called ACOMAC
algorithm for solving the traveling salesman
problem (TSP) by introducing multiple ant clans’
concept from parallel genetic algorithm to search
solution space that using various islands to avoid
local minima and thus yield global minimum or
near global minimum to the traveling salesman
problem. In addition, we present two methods
called the multiple nearest neighbor (NN) and the
dual nearest neighbor (DNN) to ACOMAC to
improve large TSPs. According to the simulation
results, adding the NN or DNN approach to
ACOMAC or ACS, as initial solutions, also
significantly enhances the performance of
ACOMAC and ACS in solving the traveling
 ACSE Journal, Volume (6), Issue (1), January, 2006
salesman problem. Meanwhile, using
ACOMAC+DNN with TSP can yield better
solutions than the other stated approaches.
Moreover, ACOMAC or ACOMAC+ NN,
utilizing five ant clans with a total of 20 ants, is
demonstrated to yield better solutions.
Furthermore, ACOMAC with a local weighting
(w) set to 0.6 can yield better solutions in terms of
length. It is observed that a larger number of ant
clans in DNN, NN or the multiple ant clans’
method will yield better solutions to the traveling
salesman problem. However, more ant clans will
also increase the time required to solve the
problem. Accordingly, the use of five clans with
the proposed algorithm is recommended to solve
the traveling salesman problem.
3.2 Assignment Problems
The task in assignment problems is to assign a set
of items (objects, activities, etc.) to a given
number of resources (locations, agents, etc.)
subject to some constraints. Assignments can be
represented as a mapping from a set I to a set J,
and the objective function to minimize of the
assignments done.
Eggers et al. (2003) addressed a new
optimization problem that we call the Keyboard
Arrangement Problem (KAP). It consists of
finding the best possible arrangement of letters on
a keyboard. Based on the generic framework of
Ant Colony optimization, an algorithm is
developed and applied to this problem. The
special feature of the algorithm is that the
evaluation and the construction of a solution by
an ant can be performed simultaneously. Hence, it
gives an important advantage compared to
metaheuristics based on local search, for which
the evaluation of too many solutions would be
detrimental.
Gamez and Puerta (2002) proposed a
novel way of dealing with the graph triangulation
problem. It is centered on the application of ant
colony optimization, in which heuristic
knowledge is used during the construction of
potential solutions. The use of this knowledge has
improved the results obtained by other
techniques, both in accuracy and efficiency. With
respect to the genetic algorithms used in order to
test the ACO algorithms, it is clear that the
proposal of entering good solutions in the initial
population helps to speed up the search process.
As further work, apply new ACO approaches to
the problem studied here.
12
Gosavi et al. (2003) supplied more
results for an extended ant colony algorithm,
which can he used to compute a minimum cost
Steiner tree from a graph. In each pass of the
proposed algorithm, ants are placed at the
terminal nodes of the Steiner tree to he computed.
They are then allowed to move towards one
another, along the edges of the graph, until they
merge into a single entity. In this process, the
paths taken by the ants define a Steiner tree.
Edges receive reinforcement in the form of
pheromone deposits along the paths taken by the
ant that is based on the quality of the Steiner tree
produced. Pheromones eventually accrue most
along better edges. As a result, after several
iterations, a good Steiner tree can be extracted
from the deposit. The algorithm can easily he
used in several practical applications.
In the existed theorems, the results have
been sharpened for a specific ACO algorithm to
the strength of the well-known convergence
property of the Simulated Annealing
metaheuristic. As in Simulated Annealing, it turns
out that a convergence guarantee can be obtained
by a suitable speed of “cooling” (i.e., reduction of
the influence of randomness): The geometric
pheromone decrement on not reinforced arcs
effected by constant evaporation factor is too fast
and leads (in general) to premature convergence
to sub-optimal solutions. On the other hand,
introducing a fixed lower pheromone bound stops
cooling at some point and leads to random-
search-like behavior without convergence. In
between lies a compromise of allowing
pheromone trails to tend to zero, but slower than
geometrically. This can be achieved either by
decreasing evaporation factors, or else by
“slowly” decreasing lower pheromone bounds. In
a certain window of the cooling speed, get
convergence to the optimal solution with
probability one. Future theoretical research
should deal with the speed of convergence, and
address the question of the expected running time
until the optimum is reached. Some interesting
results concerning the last-mentioned question
have recently been found for the field of
evolutionary Algorithms. Also the Ant Colony
Optimization approach might be accessible to
such investigations [Gutjahr 2002].
The excellent performance of recently
proposed turbo codes depends strongly on their
interleaver pattern. Exhaustive searching for a
good interleaving pattern is a very difficult task,
 ACSE Journal, Volume (6), Issue (1), January, 2006
growing in the order of N!, where N is the
interleaver size. Hoshyar et al. (2000) presented a
modified version of the ant colony system (ACS)
algorithm for finding good interleaver patterns
used in turbo codes. By defining an approximate
evaluation method for turbo codes with specified
interleaver patterns, a fitness function for use in
the modified ACS algorithm is obtained. The
simulation results show gains up to 0.7dB with
sizes of 50 and 100 for the interleavers found by
the ACS algorithm compared with the randomly
generated interleavers.
Many real-world engineering problems
can be expressed in terms of partial differential
equations and solved by using the finite-element
method, which is usually parallelised, i.e. the
mesh is divided among several processors. To
achieve high parallel efficiency it is important
that the mesh is partitioned in such a way that
workloads are well balanced and interprocessor
communication is minimized. Korosec et al.
(2004) presented an enhancement of a technique
that uses a nature-inspired metaheuristic approach
to achieve higher-quality partitions. The so-called
multilevel ant-colony algorithm, which is a
relatively new metaheuristic search technique for
solving optimization problems, was applied and
studied, and the possible parallelization of this
algorithm is discussed. The multilevel ant-colony
algorithm performed very well and is superior to
classical k-METIS and Chaco algorithms; it is
even comparable with the combined
evolutionary/multilevel scheme used in the
JOSTLE evolutionary algorithm and returned
solutions that are better than the currently
available solutions in the Graph Partitioning
Archive. There are many possibilities for
improving this algorithm. One possibility is in the
mapping of the graph onto the grid: with a proper
mapping convergence the results can be
improved. The use of a load-balancing method
between levels would also be a very promising
way to go. The next possibility is in determining
which and how many vertices from the cell will
be picked and with what probability. And, finally,
we could change the way the pheromone is
evaporated, deposited and restored.
Lee Z.J. et al. (2002) proposed an
immunity-based ant colony optimization (ACO)
algorithm for solving weapon–target assignment
(WTA) problems. The WTA problem, known as a
NP-complete problem, is to find a proper
assignment of weapons to targets with the
objective of minimizing the expected damage of
13
own-force assets. The general idea of the
proposed algorithm is to combine the advantages
of ACO, the ability to cooperatively explore the
search space and to avoid premature convergence,
and that of immune system (IS), the ability to
quickly find good solutions within a small region
of the search space. From our simulation for those
WTA problems, the proposed algorithm indeed is
very efficient.
Li and Wu (2003) proposed an
accelerated ant colony algorithm (AACA) for
complex nonlinear system optimization problems
based on a new objective-function-based heuristic
pheromone assignment method. This approach
uses a bit encoding technique to map complex
nonlinear system optimization problems to an
oriented graph search problem, and enhance its
computational efficiency with a searching
strategy adaptable to the specific topological
structures of solution spaces. Combining the
proposed method with its inherent prominent
capability in dealing with discrete-space
optimization problems, it can be applied to solve
various types of complex nonlinear system
optimization problems in practice, such as
flexible process production planning,
communication network routing, and power
system global control and scheduling. A practical
problem of complicated hybrid production
scheduling in a flexible drinking water process
has been solved by AACA, demonstrating its
strong capability of solving complex system
optimization problems with interacted
continuous-time and discrete-event variables.
Lim et al. (2005) developed a hybrid
heuristic to solve the bandwidth minimization
problem that used hill climbing guided by ACO.
The method was tested extensively and shown to
be comparable to the newly developed
approaches. It shows that a good local search
combined with a high-level global search
mechanism is very efficient for the bandwidth
minimization problem. In the ACO component,
two constructive methods are used alternately, an
idea that can be explored further, for example, by
tuning these to find the best performance. Yet,
another interesting direction of research would be
the parallel implementation of the ACO with hill
climbing.
Maniezzo and Carbonar (2000)
considered the problem in assigning frequencies
to radio links between base stations and mobile
transmitters in order to minimize the global
 ACSE Journal, Volume (6), Issue (1), January, 2006
interference over a given region. This problem is
NP-hard and few results have been reported on
techniques for solving it to optimality. We have
applied to this problem an ANTS metaheuristic,
that is, an approach following the ant colony
optimization paradigm. Computational results,
obtained on a number of standard problem
instances, testify the effectiveness of the proposed
approach.
The problem of cell-to-switch
assignment is essential to the development of PCS
or global communication services. Shyu et al.
(2005) developed an ACO algorithm to solve this
problem. The problem is modeled in a form of the
matching problem in a weighted directed bipartite
graph so that the artificial ants can construct their
paths on the graph. Such an abstract structure
might be helpful for ACO designers to model
their own problems. Experiments are conducted
to capture the behavior of ants in problem
optimization and empirically study the
performances of ACO and other approaches with
large-scale problem instances.
The inter-cell layout problem addressed
in this paper is an important issue in the
successful implementation of CM. The problem is
mathematically modeled as a QAP. One of the
important data required for the layout of
manufacturing cells is the flow of materials across
different cells. In earlier attempts, it is mostly
assumed a priori known data. Solimanpur et al.
(2004) introduced the sequence of operations and
the production volume of parts as two major
factors affecting the intercellular flow of
materials. A mathematical model is proposed for
calculating the material flow among the cells. An
ant algorithm is developed to solve the formulated
problem. The performance of the proposed
algorithm is compared with other heuristics
developed for facility layout problem as well as
many other ant algorithms recently developed for
QAP. The experimental results show that the
proposed ant algorithm performs significantly
better than the facility layout algorithms.
Solimanpur et al. (2005) dealt with the
single row machine layout problem in which the
size of machines and the clearance between the
machines are assumed different. The problem is
formulated as 0-1 non-linear mathematical
models. It is shown that the formulated 0-1 non-
linear models are more intractable than the
traditional QAP formulation of facility layout
problem. This is due to the fact that in the QAP
14
models the distance between the locations is
known a priori but it is sequence dependent for
the problem considered in this paper. An ant
algorithm is developed to solve the proposed
mathematical model. A technique is presented to
efficiently implement the proposed ant algorithm.
Experimentally derived rules to set the values of
parameters in different problems are presented.
The performance of the proposed ant algorithm is
tested over a number of problems selected from
the literature and is compared to many other
algorithms existing in the literature. The
experimental results reveal that the proposed ant
algorithm is effective and efficient for single row
machine layout problems.
Talbi et al. (2001) proposed a powerful
and robust algorithm for the QAP, which is based
on ant colonies. Compared with previous ant
systems for the QAP (HAS-QAP algorithm), we
have refined the ants’ cooperation mechanism,
both in the pheromone matrix update phase and in
the exploitation/diversification phase by using a
frequency matrix. The search process of each ant
has also been reinforced with a local search
procedure based on TS. Results show a noticeable
increase in performance compared to HAS-QAP
and also to parallel independent TS, thus
demonstrating the complementary gains brought
by the combined use of a powerful local search,
ants-like cooperation and parallelism.
Xia et al. (2003) proposed an
appropriately adapted ant colony system
embedded with a simple improved LBG
algorithm for vector quantization codebook
design. The emphasis is put on the design of the
probability transfer function and the tabu list in
the ant colony algorithm, the utilization of the
next nearest neighborhood in the LBG algorithm,
as well as the update of the pheromone in both
local and global sense. Experimental results show
that the new algorithm outperforms other well-
known codebook design algorithms, and
particularly, the improvement of PSNR exceeds
2dB compared with the conventional LBG
algorithm.
Yin (2003) proposed a new polygonal
approximation method using a global search
heuristic called the ant colony search (ACS)
algorithm. Its major components, namely, graph
representation, initial ant distribution, node
transition rule, and pheromone updating rule have
been investigated and adapted to the underlying
problem. The important properties of the
 ACSE Journal, Volume (6), Issue (1), January, 2006
proposed method were thoroughly examined
through empirical studies. Inspired by research on
genetic algorithms, the elitist strategy and the
hybrid strategy are proposed. The performances
of the proposed methods were compared to those
of genetic-based and taboo search-based methods.
The numerical results found are very
encouraging.
The difficulty of solving combined heat
and power (CHP) economic dispatch lies in the
constraints imposed by the multi-objectives. The
mutual dependencies of heat–power capacity
make it hard to find a feasible region, not to
mention the optimum. Song et al. (1999)
presented a novel ant colony search algorithm
(ACSA) approach for this problem. The main
characteristics of the ACSA are positive
feedback, distributed computation and the use of
a constructive greedy heuristic. Positive feedback
accounts for the rapid discovery of good
solutions, distributed computation avoids
premature convergence, and the greedy heuristic
helps to find acceptable solutions in the early
stages of the search process. However, despite the
attraction of the ACSA’s potential search ability,
there are still some difficulties, such as the
handling of constraints and premature
convergence. This paper proposed to couple the
ACSA with other search techniques to improve its
performance. The numerical results reported are
encouraging.
To show that Ant Colony Optimization
algorithms could be good alternatives to existing
algorithms for hard combinatorial optimization
problems, recent research in this area has mainly
focused on the development of algorithmic
variants, which achieve better performance than
Ant System. Stutzle and Hoos (2000) presented
MAX–MIN Ant System (MMAS), an Ant Colony
Optimization algorithm derived from Ant System.
MMAS differs from Ant System in several
important aspects, whose usefulness we
demonstrate by means of an experimental study.
Additionally, we relate one of the characteristics
specific to MMAS — that of using a greedier
search than Ant System—to results from the
search space analysis of the combinatorial
optimization problems attacked in this paper. The
computational results on the Traveling Salesman
Problem and the Quadratic Assignment Problem
show that MMAS is currently among the best
performing algorithms for these problems.
15
Simulated Annealing (SA), Tabu Search
(TS), Genetic Algorithm (GA), and Ant Colony
System (ACS) are four of the main algorithms for
solving challenging problems of intelligent
systems. In this paper, Azimi (2005) applied
these four techniques and three novel hybrid
combinations of them to a classical Examination
Timetabling problem (ETP), an NP complete
problem. The novel hybrid algorithms consist of a
Sequential TS–ACS, a Hybrid ACS/TS, and a
Sequential ACS–TS algorithms. These various
hybrid combinations are then tested on 10
different scenarios of the classical ETP. Statistical
comparative analysis conclude that all of the three
proposed novel techniques are significantly better
than each of their non-hybrid competitors, and
furthermore the Sequential ACS–TS provides the
superior solution of all. In the Hybrid ACS/TS,
using TS is time-consuming for each ant and
therefore single iteration of ACS takes a
substantially longer duration, and so for a
complete run of it. Therefore only a few iterations
of the main algorithm can be applied in the
indicated points. The Sequential ACS–TS method
at first produces a good solution by using ACS
but in final iterations of ACS, solutions are
converged, because of a lots of pheromone in
good regions and a poor amount of it in bad ones.
In that time ACS causes poor improvement in the
final solution and it is useless for us to continue it.
Therefore we interrupt ACS before its
convergence and then use TS to search the
neighborhood region. TS search the neighborhood
of solution and can find the minimum point in the
close points. So, TS is chosen because; it worked
better than other metaheuristic methods in cost
reduction in the same time duration.
3.3 Scheduling Problems
Scheduling is concerned with the allocation of
scarce resources to tasks over time. Scheduling
problems are central to production and
manufacturing industries, but also arise in a
variety of other settings. For all the machine-
scheduling models considered in the following it
holds that (1) the processing times of all jobs and
operations are fixed and known beforehand and
(2) the processing of jobs and operations cannot
be interrupted.
Sorting can be an important mechanism
for the transfer of information from one level of
biological organization to another. Sendova-
 ACSE Journal, Volume (6), Issue (1), January, 2006
Franks and Lentz (2002) studied the algorithm-
underlying worker sorting in Leptothorax ant
colonies. Worker sorting is related to task
allocation and therefore to the adaptive
advantages associated with an efficient system for
the division of labour in ant colonies. This paper
considered four spatially explicit individual-based
models founded on two-dimensional correlated
random walk. This work aimed to establish
whether sorting at the level of the worker
population could occur with minimal assumptions
about the behavioral algorithm of individual
workers. The behavior of an individual worker in
the models could be summarized by the rule
‘‘move if you can, turn always’’. All four models
attained a level of worker sortedness that was
compatible with results from experiments on
Leptothorax ant colonies. It is found that the
presence of a sorting pivot, such as the nest wall
or an attraction force towards the centre of the
worker population, was crucial for sorting. And
make a distinction between such pivots and
templates and discuss the biological implications
of their difference.
Annaluru et al. (2004) proposed an ant
colony algorithm to determine the optimal
locations and ratings of capacitors in distribution
network far reactive power compensation. The
approach is multilevel. Two separate tables of
pheromones maintained by the algorithm. Ants
generate solution stochastically, based on these
pheromone tables. The pheromone tables are
updated periodically, so that pheromones accrue
more along better solutions. Results obtained by
the proposed algorithm have been compared with
earlier schemes. This approach can be applied to
other practical problems requiring complex
decision making as well.
Gajpal and Rajendran (2005) The
problem of scheduling in permutation flowshops
with the objective of minimizing the completion-
time variance of jobs is considered and solved by
making use of ant-colony optimization (ACO)
algorithms. The objective is to minimize the
completion-time variance of jobs. Two existing
ant-colony algorithms and the proposed ant-
colony algorithm have been compared with an
existing heuristic for scheduling with the
objective of minimizing the completion-time
variance of jobs. It is found that the proposed ant-
colony algorithm gives promising and better
results, on an average, as compared to those
solutions given by the existing ant-colony
algorithms and the existing heuristic for the
16
permutation flowshop scheduling problem under
study.
Jayaraman et al. (2000) presented a new
co-operative search approach, the ant colony
optimization paradigm, for the optimal design of
batch chemical processes and illustrates it by
solving (1) the combinatorial optimization
problem of multiproduct batch scheduling and (2)
the continuous function optimization problem for
the design of multiproduct batch plant with single
product campaigns and horizon constraints. The
ant algorithm is simple to implement and results
of the case studies show its ability to provide
speedy and accurate solutions.
The resource allocation problem is to
allocate resources to activities so that the cost
becomes as optimal as possible. Lee Z.J. and Lee
C.Y. (2004) proposed a hybrid search algorithm
with heuristics for resource allocation problem
encountered in practice. The proposed algorithm
has both the advantages of genetic algorithm
(GA) and ant colony optimization (ACO) that can
explore the search space and exploit the best
solution. In this implementation, both GA and
ACO are well designed for the resource allocation
problem. Furthermore, heuristics are used to
ameliorate the search performance for resource
allocation problem. Simulation results were
reported and the proposed algorithm indeed have
admirable performance for tested problems.
Because of the complementary properties of
genetic algorithm and ant colony optimization,
the hybrid approach outperforms other existing
algorithms.
Li and Wu (2002) proposed a nested ant
colony algorithm to tackle the hybrid production
scheduling problems. A novel objective-function-
based heuristic pheromone assignment method is
developed for pheromone update, ensuring that
the amount of pheromone in path segments is
positively proportional to the optimality of the
corresponding solution candidates; the bit
encoding information is also utilized for
pheromone update to avoid inefficient searches.
Computer simulation results manifest its
predominant performance in such kind of
complex optimization problem with hybrid data
structures.
Samrout et al. (2005) elaborated a new
effective technique to assess quasi-optimal
maintenance periods. Three algorithms have
replaced genetic algorithms in their search with
 ACSE Journal, Volume (6), Issue (1), January, 2006
good results. Subsequently, point out that ant
colony algorithms were very performing
compared to genetic algorithms at least for the
studied system under the same conditions.
Moreover, obtained results encourage us to study
larger and more complex systems using ACO
(other reliability properties, system structures,
cost functions). This conclusion is reinforced by
the fact that similar effects have been obtained by
which established a comparison between GA and
ACO performances.
Shyu et al. (2004) proposed an
application of the ACO to a two-machine
flowshop-scheduling problem. In the flowshop,
no intermediate storage is available between two
machines and each operation demands a setup
time on the machines. The problem seeks to
compose a schedule that minimizes the total
completion time. First, present a transformation
of the scheduling problem into a graph-based
model. An ACO algorithm is then developed with
several specific features incorporated. A series of
computational experiments is conducted by
comparing the proposed algorithm with previous
heuristic algorithms. Numerical results evince
that the ACO algorithm exhibits impressive
performances with small error ratios.
Incorporating different styles of convergence,
pheromone updating rules and colony relationship
are worthy of further research. Another direction
of potential interest may be in the study of non-
graph-based models.
3.4 Subset Problems
In subset problems, a solution to the problem
under consideration is represented as a subset of
the set of available items subject tot problem-
specific constraints. Obviously, many problems
not considered in this section could be interpreted
as subset problems.
The problem of connecting a set of client
nodes with known demands to a root node
through a minimum cost tree network, subject to
capacity constraints on all links is known as the
capacitated minimum spanning tree (CMST)
problem. As the problem is NP-hard, Reimann
and Laumanns (2005) proposed a hybrid ant
colony optimization (ACO) algorithm to tackle it
heuristically. The algorithm exploits two
important problem characteristics: (i) the CMST
problem is closely related to the capacitated
vehicle routing problem (CVRP), and (ii) given a
clustering of client nodes that satisfies capacity
17
constraints, the solution is to find a MST for each
cluster, which can be done exactly in polynomial
time. Our ACO exploits these two characteristics
of the CMST by a solution construction originally
developed for the CVRP. Given the CVRP
solution, then apply an implementation of Prim’ s
algorithm to each cluster to obtain a feasible
CMST solution. Results from a comprehensive
computational study indicate the efficiency and
effectiveness of the proposed approach.
Zhao et al. (2005) developed the
multiobjective Ant Colony System (ACS) meta-
heuristic to provide a solution for the reliability
optimization problems of series-parallel system
and has been demonstrated its application to the
reliability design of gearbox. The problems
involve the selection of components with multiple
choice and redundancy levels that produce
maximum benefits, and are subject to the cost and
weight constraints at the system level. These are
very common and realistic problems involving
conceptual design of engineering system and
reliability engineering. It is becoming
increasingly important to develop efficient
solutions to these problems because many
mechanical and electrical systems are becoming
more complex, even as development schedules
get shorter and reliability requirements become
very stringent. The multiobjective Ant Colony
System algorithm offers distinct advantages to
these problems compared to alternative
optimization methods, and can be applied to a
more diverse problem domain with respect to the
type or size of the problems. Through the
combination of probabilistic search, multi-
objective formulation of local moves and the
dynamic penalty method, the multiobjective
ACSRAP, which performs very well on the
redundancy apportionment problems (RAP) of the
series-parallel k-out-of-n: G subsystem and
reliability design of gear box, allows us to obtain
an optimal design solution very frequently and
more quickly than with other heuristic
approaches.
Tkindt et al. (2002) considered the 2-
machine flowshop-scheduling problem with the
objective of minimizing both the total completion
time and the make span criteria. The latter is
assumed to be optimized prior to the former. In
view of the NP-hardness of the problem an Ant
Colony Optimization approach is proposed to
solve it. The heuristic also uses feature of
Simulated Annealing search and local search
algorithms. Computational experiments show its
effectiveness compared to existing heuristics. The
 ACSE Journal, Volume (6), Issue (1), January, 2006
extension to the total completion time problem is
also studied.
Ying (2004) explored the potential of
ACS heuristic for scheduling problems. Since
ACS is a versatile and robust heuristic, the
proposed algorithm of this study can be applied to
different scheduling problems and other
combinatorial optimization problems with minor
modifications. The effectiveness of ACS for
solving the n/m/P/Cmax problem is demonstrated.
It clearly suggests such a meta-heuristic to be
well worth exploring in the context of solving
different scheduling problems. There are several
possible extensions to this study in the future
research. First, except for the Palmer’s method,
different dispatching rules may be tested. Second,
the ACS provides a variety of options and
parameter settings that is worth fully examining.
Third, the developed ACS algorithm may be
extended to other manufacturing environments
such as job shop and open shop, which are
currently investigated by the authors. Finally, one
may continue the research in other ACO methods
for this sequencing problem.
3.5 Machine Learning
Many problems in the field of machine learning
can be cast as optimization problems and be
solved by either classic exact algorithms or by
heuristic approached. Examples are the generation
of classification rules, data clustering, regression,
and several others. ACO algorithms have been
applied to a few such problems so far, opening
the application of this algorithmic technique to a
new range of important problems.
Kuo et al. (2005) proposed a hybrid
Case-Based Reasoning (CBR) system with the
integration of fuzzy sets theory and Ant System
based Clustering Algorithm (ASCA) in order to
enhance the accuracy and speed in case matching.
The cases in the case base are fuzzified in
advance, and then grouped into several clusters by
their own similarity with fuzzified ASCA. When
a new case occurs, the system will find the closest
group for the new case. Then the new case is
matched using the fuzzy matching technique only
by cases in the closest group. Through these two
steps, if the number of cases is very large for the
case base, the searching time will be dramatically
saved. In the practical application, there is a
diagnostic system for vehicle maintaining and
repairing, and the results show a dramatic
increase in searching efficiency.
18
Vijayakumar et al. (2003) presented a
cutting optimization model for multipass turning
operations and an ACO based metaheuristic has
been applied to solve the machining optimization
problem. The results of the proposed approach are
compared with results of simulated annealing and
genetic algorithm. The ACO algorithm can obtain
a near-optimal solution in an extremely large
solution space within a reasonable computation
time. The effectiveness of the ACO algorithm has
been proved through an example. The ACO
algorithm developed in this project has some
initiative and encouraging features: (a). The
proposed ACO-based metaheuristic generates a
superior solution than the simulated annealing
and genetic algorithm based approaches; (b) The
ACO algorithm is completely generalized and
problem independent so that it can be easily
modified to optimize this turning operation under
various economic criteria, and numerous practical
constraints; and (c) The algorithm can also be
extended to other machining problems, such as
milling operations and threading operations.
Zheng et al. (2003) shown how to apply
ant colony behaviour simulation algorithm to
generating the optimal mask used for texture
classification, and present the hybrid-learning
model based on ant colony algorithms, genetic
algorithms and simplex algorithm. Experimental
results are given to illustrate the capability of
proposed method. Proper selection of control
parameters for an application of ACS is still an
open issue. In this work we selected parameters
manually. Further experiments with the adaptive
parameter settings of the ACS are necessary. In
addition, the ability of proposed approach is
limited by training samples, and combination with
other texture models and detection methods is not
only helpful, but sometimes is also necessary.
3.6 Network Routing Problems
The network routing problem (NRP) is the
problem of finding minimum cost paths among all
pairs of nodes in the network. It should be noted
that if the costs are fixed, then the NRP is reduced
to a set of minimum cost path problems, each or
which can be solved efficiently via a polynomial
time algorithm.
Bean and Costa (2005) introduced an
analytic modeling approach to the study of a
novel class of adaptive network routing
algorithm, which is inspired by the emergent
 ACSE Journal, Volume (6), Issue (1), January, 2006
problem-solving behaviors observed in biological
ant colonies. This class of algorithm utilizes ‘‘ant-
like’’ agents that traverse the network and
collectively construct routing policies. Previous
studies have focused exclusively on simulation
experiments, which indicate that such algorithms
perform well in response to real-time changes in
traffic demands and network conditions. The
analytic model presented in this paper permits
useful insights into certain fundamental aspects of
ant-based algorithms. In particular, the work
presented in this paper motivates our proposal of
a number of modifications to the basic design of
ant-based routing algorithms, which result in
improved performance with respect to
equilibrium performance measures. A useful
direction in which to extend this model would be
to consider more complex traffic models.
Su et al. (2005) introduced an ant colony
search algorithm (ACSA) to solve the optimal
network reconfiguration problem for power loss
reduction. The network reconfiguration problem
of one three-feeder distribution system from the
literature and one practical distribution network of
Taiwan Power Company (TPC) are, respectively,
solved using the proposed ACSA method, the
genetic algorithm (GA), and the simulated
annealing (SA). Numerical results show that the
proposed method is better than the other two
methods.
The best way of illustrating how the
ACO metaheuristic operates is by describing how
it has been applied to combinatorial problems.
This is done with a full and detailed description of
most of the current applications of ACO. This
review work is limited to a brief description of the
main points to consider when applying ACO
algorithms to a few applications of problems
representative of important classes of
optimization problems.
3.7 Image Processing
Thangavel et al. (2005a) summarized and
compared the methods of automatic detection of
microcalcifications in digitized mammograms
used in various stages of the Computer Aided
Detection systems (CAD). It is seen by the survey
that the ACS is not used widely to medical image
processing. And the author developed a novel
technique, Markov Random Field method hybrid
with Ant Colony System, Genetic Algorithm and
Backpropagation Network (MRF–ACSGA-BPN)
19
for the detection of microcalcification in digital
mammogram [Thangavel et al.2005b]. Where, the
mammogram image is segmented using MRF-
ACSGA method to extract the suspicious region.
The experimental results shows that the proposed
ant algorithm performs significantly better than
other segmentation techniques and other heuristic
algorithms respectively. This initial study, while
promising, shows its potential application in the
field of image processing.
3.7 Other Problems
This section presents some additional applications
of ACO that do not fit in the previous sections but
which present some particularly interesting
features not present in other ACO
implementations.
Evolutionary computation presents a
new paradigm shift in hardware design and
synthesis. According to this paradigm, deriving
inspiration from biological organisms pursues
hardware design. The new paradigm is expected
to radically change the synthesis procedures in a
way that can help discovering novel designs and
or more efficient circuits. Abd-El-Barr et al.
(2003) presented a multi-objective optimization
of logic circuits based on a modified Ant Colony
(ACO) algorithm. The performance of the
proposed algorithm is evaluated using a set of
randomly generated circuits. The results obtained
using the proposed algorithm is compared to
those obtained using existing ACO-based
techniques. It is shown that the designed circuits
using the proposed algorithm outperform those of
the existing techniques.
The main characteristic of today’s
manufacturing environments is volatility. Under a
volatile environment, demand is not stable. It
changes from one production period to another.
To operate efficiently under such environments,
the facilities must be adaptive to changing
production requirements. From a layout point of
view, this situation requires the solution of the
dynamic layout problem (DLP). DLP is a
computationally complex combinatorial
optimization problem for which optimal solutions
can only be found for small size problems. It is
known that classical optimization procedures are
not adequate for this problem. Therefore, several
heuristics including taboo search, simulated
annealing and genetic algorithm are applied to
this problem to find a good solution. Baykasoglu
et al. (2004) proposed an ant colony algorithm
 ACSE Journal, Volume (6), Issue (1), January, 2006
with a simple but effective data structure and
solution generation mechanism to solve the DLP
by considering the budget constraints. The
proposed ant colony algorithm is applied to test
problems from the available literature that results
are known. In these tests the proposed algorithm
found not all of the best solutions but competitive
solutions.
The random time changing behavior is
very popular in speech signal. In order to correct
it the warping method is often used in speech
signal processing which based on template
matching. Ant colony algorithm is a novel
random optimized algorithm; it had shown many
promising properties in solving complicated
optimization problems. Applying the thought of
ant colony algorithm to speech signal processing,
Chen and Meng (2004) presented a new dynamic
time programming based on ant colony algorithm.
It uses both the global and local characters of
speech signal. The theoretic analyses and
simulation experiments all certify the new
algorithm feasibility. The matching results of the
new method can show more accurate similarity
between speech signals than the Dynamic Time
Warping (DTW) method.
Chen et al. (2004) presented an artificial
Ants Sleeping Model (ASM) and an ant algorithm
for cluster analysis (A4C), based on the principle
of cellular automata. Inspired by the behaviors of
gregarious ant colonies, the ant agent to represent
data object is used. In ASM, each ant has two
states: sleeping state and active state. The ant’s
state is controlled by a function of the ant’s
fitness to the environment it locates and a
probability for the ants becoming active. The state
of an ant is determined only by its local
information. By moving dynamically, the ants
form different subgroups adaptively, and hence
the data objects they represent are clustered.
Experimental results show that the A4C algorithm
on ASM is significantly better than other
clustering methods in terms of both speed and
quality. It is adaptive, robust and efficient,
achieving high autonomy, simplicity and
efficiency. Based on the ASM model, effective
formulae for computing the fitness and activating
probability of agents is proposed. In A4C, the
ants group can form into high-quality clusters by
making simple moves according to little local
neighborhood information.
Dorigo et al. (2000) defined an ant
algorithm to be a multi-agent system inspired by
20
the observation of some real ant colony behavior
exploiting the stigmergic communication
paradigm. In ant algorithms stigmergic
communication is implemented by means of a
stigmergic variable which takes different forms in
the different applications: artificial pheromone
trail in shortest path problems, level of nest
energy in puck-foraging, level of customer
demand in the mailmen example, puck
distribution in robotic clustering, and the
distribution of objects in the lower-dimensional
space in exploratory data analysis. Ant algorithms
exhibit a number of interesting properties like
flexibility, robustness, decentralization and self-
organization, which make them well suited for the
solution of problems that are distributed in nature,
dynamically changing, and require built-in fault-
tolerance.
Dreo and Siarry (2004) designed a
heterarchical algorithm called “Continuous
Interacting Ant Colony” (CIAC) for the
optimization of multiminima continuous
functions. CIAC uses two communication
channels showing the properties of trail and direct
communications. CIAC presents interesting
emergent properties as it was shown through
some analytical test functions. We believe that
two characteristics of CIAC are especially
interesting. First, the use of the heterarchical
concept through the implementation of
communication channels making a link between
search processes. Secondly, the idea that ant
colony algorithms are more efficient on
dynamical problems, probably even on
continuous spaces. These ideas should supply a
framework to achieve simple and efficient
optimization algorithms in a self-organized and
flexible system, as needed in dynamical
problems. In view of these issues, further work
will try to take advantage of the CIAC potential to
design a high-level heterarchical framework
aimed at continuous dynamical optimization.
Ge et al. (2004) proposed a hybrid
optimization technique for global optimization of
continuous multi-extreme functions. The scheme
incorporates a deterministic searching algorithm,
Powell method into the ant colony algorithm.
This approach updates the probability and
diversity of the ant distribution in the all-
continuous space and improves the reliability and
efficiency of the research by using the heuristic
search method in global area and the direct-search
in local area. Experiment results show the
effectiveness and the applicability of the proposed
algorithm.
 ACSE Journal, Volume (6), Issue (1), January, 2006
In order to transform and analyze signals
that have been sampled from analogue sources,
digital signal processing (DSP) algorithms are
employed. The advantages of DSP are based on
the fact that the performance of the applied
algorithm is always predictable. There is no
dependence on the tolerances of electrical
components as in analogue systems. DSP
algorithms can be reasonably described as a
digital filter. Digital filters can be broadly divided
into two-sub classes: finite impulse-response
filters and infinite impulse-response (IIR) filters.
Because the error surface of IIR filters is
generally multi-modal, global optimization
techniques are required in order to avoid local
minima and design efficient digital IIR filters.
Karaboga et al. (2004) proposed a new method
based on the ant colony optimization algorithm
with global optimization abilities for digital IIR
filter design. ACO algorithm is a global
optimization technique having certain advantages.
In this work, firstly a modified version of TACO
algorithm, which had been particularly introduced
for continuous optimization, has been described.
Secondly, a new method based on the modified
TACO algorithm has been presented for digital
IIR filter design. Simulation studies show that the
proposed method is accurate and has a fast
convergence rate, and the results obtained
demonstrate that the new method based on TACO
can be efficiently used for digital IIR filter design.
Monmarche et al. (2000) presented a
new optimization algorithm based on a model of
the foraging behavior of a population of primitive
ants (Pachycondyla apicalis). These ants are
characterized by a relatively simple but efficient
strategy for prey search in which individuals hunt
alone and try to cover a given area around their
nest. The ant colony search behavior consists of a
set of parallel local searches on hunting sites with
sensitivity to successful sites. Also, their nest is
periodically moved. Accordingly, the proposed
algorithm performs parallel random searches in
the neighborhood of points called hunting sites.
Hunting sites are created in the neighborhood of a
point called nest. At constant intervals of time the
nest is moved, which corresponds to a restart
operator that re-initializes the parallel searches.
This proposed algorithm is applied, called API, to
numerical optimization problems with
encouraging results.
Papadopoulos and Linke (2004)
addressed the synthesis and optimal design of
21
liquid–liquid extraction processes using stochastic
optimization algorithms. The main objective is to
comparatively study stochastic optimization
algorithms in view of speed and robustness when
searching conventional as well as complex
process representations for optimal solutions. The
work employs a generic representation framework
that accounts for simple as well as complex
extraction process arrangements. The resulting
superstructure formulations encompass all the
potential configurations and interconnections that
may exist for liquid–liquid extraction systems.
The task of optimizing the superstructure is
assigned to stochastic optimization algorithms in
the form of simulated annealing (SA), genetic
algorithms (GA) and ant colony optimization
(ACO). The proposed model is applied to
different separation problems involving
quaternary mixtures. The liquid phase non-
idealities are modeled both by highly non-linear
correlations and standard thermodynamic
methods. All three algorithms have been found to
address the problem with success in terms of the
quality of the solution found.
C.F. Tsai et al. (2004) proposed a novel
algorithm called Ant Colony Optimization with
Different Favor (ACODF) for data clustering. The
ACODF algorithm has the following three
important desirable strategies: (a) using ACO
with different favor to solve the clustering
problem, (b) adopting simulated annealing
concept for ants to decreasingly visit cities to get
local optimal solutions, (c) utilizing tournament
selection strategy to choose a path. ACODF
method is compared with the FSOM+K-means
approach and GKA. Through experiments, it is
shown that ACODF efficiently finds accurate
clusters in large high dimensional datasets.
Xiong and Wei (2002) introduced a
coding and selectional operation based on genetic
algorithm through recognizing the standard ant
colony algorithm, and made better the pheromone
for general function optimization. The algorithm
was proved efficiently by several function
solutions. In a broad sense, all searching or
optimization is all ‘equation’ optimization to
objectical equation. The equation referred to here
referred in particular to mathematical equation.
Traditional optimization for equation, such as,
Newton etc. had relative faster convergence,
higher precision, and widespread application. But
traditional numerical optimization was quite
affected by objectical equation characters, and
also, it’s searching started from a beginning, the
 ACSE Journal, Volume (6), Issue (1), January, 2006
beginning’s good and bad would directly
influence the optimization result. These factor
would result in the traditional way was uneasy to
gain global optimization. Changed the ant colony
algorithm into directional graph, general equation
optimization also proved effective, for those
unsuccessive, undifferential, local crowded
extreme value, the experiment made known it had
better ability.
4. Conclusion
Today, several hundred papers have been written
on the applications of ACO. It is a true
metaheuristic, with dozens of application areas.
While both the performance of ACO algorithms
and theoretical understanding of their working
have significantly increased, as discussed in the
previous sections, there are several areas in which
until now only preliminary steps have been taken
and where much more research will have to be
done.
One of these research areas in the
extension of ACO algorithms to more complex
optimization problems that include (1) dynamic
problems, in which the instance data, such as
objective function values, decision parameters, or
constraints, may change while solving the
problem; (2) stochastic problems, in which one
has only probabilistic information about objective
function values, decision variables values, or
constraint boundaries, due to uncertainty, noise,
approximation, or other factors; and (3) multiple
objective problems, in which a multiple objective
function evaluates competing criteria of solution
quality.
Active research directions in ACO
include also the effective parallelization of ACO
algorithms and, on a more theoretical level, the
understanding and characterization of the
behavior of the ACO algorithms while solving a
problem.
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