Monogamous Crab Mating Optimization Algorithm for Solving Vehicle Routing Problem
AbstractToday, the use of meta-heuristic algorithms in solving non-linear and complex problems is becoming popular. These algorithms are inspired by natural selection, swarm intelligence, physical events and nature. Crab mating optimization algorithm is one of the meta-heuristic algorithms which was developed by V.R. Chifu in 2014. The crab mating optimization algorithm imitates the mating behavior of crabs in nature. One of the biggest shortcomings of this algorithm is that it has got the quite long running times for optimization problems. In this study, to increase the running speed of the original crab mating optimization algorithm, the mating process of the crabs in population was modified. A male crab mates with only a female crab in the new mating procedure. Therefore, the name of the proposed meta-heuristic algorithm comes from this new mating process as a Monogamous Crab (MC) mating algorithm. Vehicle routing problem (VRP) is the popular combinatorial optimization problem. VRP relates to the most appropriate route design to be delivered to a range of customer service by a number of fleets. In this study, the developed MC algorithm is adapted for the vehicle routing problem. The performance of MC algorithm was compared with those of metaheuristic algorithms. The results show that MC algorithm provides promising and competitive performance.