1. Solving the Vehicle Routing Problem with Multiple Multi-Capacity Vehicles
Michael Sanders

2. Goals Create a program that given:
List of delivery points
Number and capacity of vehicles
List of roads
Return a list of routes that most efficiently utilize vehicles
Efficiency undefined, but probably will be product delivered over distance traveled

3. Scope Heuristics A* search
Needed for program to identify optimal placement of delivery point into a route and assigning a vehicle to a route
Will probably need new heuristic, although some already exist for this problem
A* search
Used to find shortest route between two locations
Will use heuristic based on geographical coordinates

4. Previous Research Vehicle Routing Problem (VRP) Extensively researched
Solutions
Agent architecture
Used agents to represent vehicles and “auctioneer” that assigned customers to routes
Ant colony optimization
Could solve variants of VRP

5. Variants of VRP Variants VRP with Time Windows (VRPTW)
Requires deliveries to be in specific time ranges for each delivery
Multi-Depot VRP (MDVRP)
Multiple origins for vehicles

6. Components Route finder Delivery route creator
Given two intersections, find shortest-time route between the two
Delivery route creator
Using list of delivery points and quantity to be delivered, utilizes other component to most efficiently deliver the product

7. Route Finder Program responsible finding quickest route
Uses A* search with a geographic heuristic
Will use latitude and longitude coordinates to help find best route
Will use speed limit information as well to find quickest route as well
Uses Fairfax Cty and Census data

8. Delivery Route Creator
Using previous component, will create routes and assign vehicles to them
Will involve heuristic to determine best delivery point to be added to route and when new route should be created

9. Timeline Route finder should be complete NLT ½ through second quarter
Route creator will follow after that
Aiming to be done early spring in time for volunteer group’s delivery day to test program

10. Testing
Currently running route finder program and giving it two intersections and evaluating result against known route information
As heuristic is implemented, results can be compared against commercially available mapping programs

11. Other Information Language Problems Ruby Road data
Not complete in certain fields—addresses, coordinates, speed limits, etc.
Delivery data is not standardized
Road names not standard throughout list

12. Things Learned Use of hash tables and array storage
Inprocessing of data

13. Testing Analysis Route finder is currently successful so far
Is capable of finding route between two intersections near each other
However, is very inefficient
Breadth-first search
Given complexity of local road network, finding a route between intersections that are far away can take days

14. Main Points Importance of the route finder
Crucial to the route creator’s ability to function
Ways of implementing a heuristic in the route creator
Some ideas from literature research