scholarly journals A QUBO Model for the Traveling Salesman Problem with Time Windows

Algorithms ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (11) ◽  
pp. 224 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christos Papalitsas ◽  
Theodore Andronikos ◽  
Konstantinos Giannakis ◽  
Georgia Theocharopoulou ◽  
Sofia Fanarioti

This work focuses on expressing the TSP with Time Windows (TSPTW for short) as a quadratic unconstrained binary optimization (QUBO) problem. The time windows impose time constraints that a feasible solution must satisfy. These take the form of inequality constraints, which are known to be particularly difficult to articulate within the QUBO framework. This is, we believe, the first time this major obstacle is overcome and the TSPTW is cast in the QUBO formulation. We have every reason to anticipate that this development will lead to the actual execution of small scale TSPTW instances on the D-Wave platform.

Author(s):  
Christos Papalitsas ◽  
Theodore Andronikos ◽  
Konstantinos Giannakis ◽  
Georgia Theocharopoulou ◽  
Sofia Fanarioti

This work focuses on expressing the TSP with Time Windows (TSPTW for short) as a quadratic unconstrained binary optimization (QUBO) problem. The time windows impose time constraints that a feasible solution must satisfy. These take the form of inequality constraints, which are known to be particularly difficult to articulate within the QUBO framework. This is, we believe, the first time this major obstacle is overcome and the TSPTW is cast in the QUBO formulation. We have every reason to anticipate that this development will lead to the actual execution of small scale TSPTW instances on the D-Wave platform.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Siddharth Jain

The traveling salesman problem is a well-known NP-hard problem in combinatorial optimization. This paper shows how to solve it on an Ising Hamiltonian based quantum annealer by casting it as a quadratic unconstrained binary optimization (QUBO) problem. Results of practical experiments are also presented using D-Wave’s 5,000 qubit Advantage 1.1 quantum annealer and the performance is compared to a classical solver. It is found the quantum annealer can only handle a problem size of 8 or less nodes and its performance is subpar compared to the classical solver both in terms of time and accuracy.


1995 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 367-371 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yvan Dumas ◽  
Jacques Desrosiers ◽  
Eric Gelinas ◽  
Marius M. Solomon

1981 ◽  
Vol 103 (2) ◽  
pp. 142-151 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Y. S. Luh ◽  
C. S. Lin

To assure a successful completion of an assigned task without interruption, such as the collision with fixtures, the hand of a mechanical manipulator often travels along a preplanned path. An advantage of requiring the path to be composed of straight-line segments in Cartesian coordinates is to provide a capability for controlled interaction with objects on a moving conveyor. This paper presents a method of obtaining a time schedule of velocities and accelerations along the path that the manipulator may adopt to obtain a minimum traveling time, under the constraints of composite Cartesian limit on linear and angular velocities and accelerations. Because of the involvement of a linear performance index and a large number of nonlinear inequality constraints, which are generated from physical limitations, the “method of approximate programming (MAP)” is applied. Depending on the initial choice of a feasible solution, the iterated feasible solution, however, does not converge to the optimum feasible point, but is often entrapped at some other point of the boundary of the constraint set. To overcome the obstacle, MAP is modified so that the feasible solution of each of the iterated linear programming problems is shifted to the boundaries corresponding to the original, linear inequality constraints. To reduce the computing time, a “direct approximate programming algorithm (DAPA)” is developed, implemented and shown to converge to optimum feasible solution for the path planning problem. Programs in FORTRAN language have been written for both the modified MAP and DAPA, and are illustrated by a numerical example for the purpose of comparison.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 2087
Author(s):  
Mogese Wassaie Mersha ◽  
Elias Lewi ◽  
Norbert Jakowski ◽  
Volker Wilken ◽  
Jens Berdermann ◽  
...  

The solar terminator is a moving boundary between day-side and night-side regions on the Earth, which is a substantial source of perturbations in the ionosphere. In the vicinity of the solar terminator, essential parameters like S4 index measurements are widely analyzed in order to monitor and predict perturbations in the ionosphere. The utilization of the scintillation index S4 is a well-accepted approach to describe the amplitude/intensity fluctuation of a received signal, predominantly caused by small-scale irregularities of the ionospheric plasma. We report on the longitudinal daily and seasonal occurrence of GNSS signal scintillations, using the data derived from the GNSS stations in Bahir Dar, Ethiopia, Lomé, Togo and Dakar, Senegal. The observed seasonal climatology of GNSS signal scintillations in equatorial Africa is adequately explained by the alignment of the solar terminator and local geomagnetic declination line. It should be pointed out that the strongest scintillations are most frequently observed during the time when the solar terminator is best aligned with the geomagnetic declination line. At all three stations, the comparison of computational and observational results indicated that the scintillation activity culminated around equinoxes in the years 2014, 2015 and 2016. Comparatively, the western equatorial Africa sector has the most intense, longest-lasting, and highest scintillation occurrence rate in equinoctial seasons in all three years. For the first time, we show that the seasonal variation of the scintillation peaks changes systematically from west to east at equatorial GNSS stations over Africa. A detailed analysis of the solar day–night terminator azimuth at ionospheric heights including the time equation shows that the scintillation intensity has a maximum if the azimuth of the terminator coincides with the declination line of the geomagnetic field. Due to the remarkable change of the declination by about 10° at the considered GNSS stations, the distance between scintillation peaks increases by 46 days when moving westward from the Bahir Dar to the Dakar GNSS station. The observations agree quite well with the computational results, thus confirming Tsunoda’s theory.


Author(s):  
Richard Clements ◽  
Andrew D. Ethridge

This paper describes further investigations, utilising small scale test cells, into the general corrosion which can occur on wires within the inherent annulus space in a flexible pipe, particularly, and for the first time, in a sour service (H2S containing) environment. The work enhances data presented previously in 2002. Tests have been performed in cells specifically designed to simulate, as closely as possible, the environment and confines of a flexible pipe annulus, using solutions of both deionized water and seawater (to represent seawater flooding and condensed water). The systems were saturated with CO2 and H2S to simulate permeation of gases through the polymer pressure sheath (as predicted by validated permeation models). Weight loss measurements were undertaken in order to quantify the corrosion rate in these simulated annulus environments and metallography was undertaken to characterise the corrosion and check for HIC/SOHIC.


2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 65-79 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie Pitts ◽  
Jonathan Gross

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the usefulness of the “audience exchange” approach for audience development and research, and to highlight the insights offered by peer-to-peer dialogue in understanding experiences of unfamiliar arts. Design/methodology/approach Using a case study with contemporary arts audiences, and setting this in the wider context of studies with other first-time attenders at a range of arts events, the paper explores the use of the “audience exchange” method, in which facilitated conversations after performance events allow newcomers to reflect upon and deepen their first-time encounters with live arts. Findings The study demonstrates the way in which conversations about arts events can enrich audience experience, and shows how participants use exploratory and emotional language to articulate their understanding of unfamiliar arts events. Peer-to-peer learning occurs through these conversations, in ways that could be further supported by arts organisations as a valuable tool for audience development. The audience exchange discussions also reveal the varieties of participation from “drifting” to full attention that are all part of audience engagement. Research limitations/implications This is a small-scale, qualitative study, and the method has potential to be tested in future studies with a greater variety of participants (e.g. younger or more ethnically diverse groups). Practical implications Use of the audience exchange for enriching experiences of first-time attendance could be adopted by arts organisations as a regular part of their audience engagement. Greater understanding of how new audience members draw on prior cultural experiences in finding the language to articulate their first impressions of an unfamiliar arts event could be valuable for targeted marketing and increasing accessibility. Originality/value The originality of this study lies in its elaboration of the audience exchange method, and its focus on the language and peer-to-peer learning evident in the facilitated post-performance discussions.


2020 ◽  
Vol 638 ◽  
pp. A62 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Nindos ◽  
C. E. Alissandrakis ◽  
S. Patsourakos ◽  
T. S. Bastian

Aims. We investigate transient brightenings, that is, weak, small-scale episodes of energy release, in the quiet solar chromosphere; these episodes can provide insights into the heating mechanism of the outer layers of the solar atmosphere. Methods. Using Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) observations, we performed the first systematic survey for quiet Sun transient brightenings at 3 mm. Our dataset included images of six 87″ × 87″ fields of view of the quiet Sun obtained with angular resolution of a few arcsec at a cadence of 2 s. The transient brightenings were detected as weak enhancements above the average intensity after we removed the effect of the p-mode oscillations. A similar analysis, over the same fields of view, was performed for simultaneous 304 and 1600 Å data obtained with the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly. Results. We detected 184 3 mm transient brightening events with brightness temperatures from 70 K to more than 500 K above backgrounds of ∼7200 − 7450 K. All events showed light curves with a gradual rise and fall, strongly suggesting a thermal origin. Their mean duration and maximum area were 51.1 s and 12.3 Mm2, respectively, with a weak preference of appearing at network boundaries rather than in cell interiors. Both parameters exhibited power-law behavior with indices of 2.35 and 2.71, respectively. Only a small fraction of ALMA events had either 304 or 1600 Å counterparts but the properties of these events were not significantly different from those of the general population except that they lacked their low-end energy values. The total thermal energies of the ALMA transient brightenings were between 1.5 × 1024 and 9.9 × 1025 erg and their frequency distribution versus energy was a power law with an index of 1.67 ± 0.05. We found that the power per unit area provided by the ALMA events could account for only 1% of the chromospheric radiative losses (10% of the coronal ones). Conclusions. We were able to detect, for the first time, a significant number of weak 3 mm quiet Sun transient brightenings. However, their energy budget falls short of meeting the requirements for the heating of the upper layers of the solar atmosphere and this conclusion does not change even if we use the least restrictive criteria possible for the detection of transient brightenings.


2014 ◽  
Vol 51 (3) ◽  
pp. 467-482 ◽  
Author(s):  
STEPHEN MORSE ◽  
NORA McNAMARA

SUMMARYWhite yam (Dioscorea rotundata) is a major root crop grown throughout West Africa but one of the major factors that limits its production is the availability of good quality planting material. This paper described the results of farmer-managed demonstration plots established in 2012 and 2013 designed to promote the Adapted Yam Minisett Technique (AYMT) in Nigeria. The AYMT was developed between 2005 and 2008 to produce quality seed yam tubers at a cost that is viable for small-scale farmers. Since its development the agronomic performance of AYMT has not been explored across a large sample of farmers, and neither has there been any attempt to explore possible varietal effects although farmers have often alluded to this. This papers seeks to address these gaps in the literature and the results suggest that the AYMT does succeed in producing seed yams of the required size and the economic returns are also good. Results also suggest that there is a varietal affect with AYMT, including a significant interaction with pesticide treatment; the first time this has been demonstrated.


1998 ◽  
Vol 46 (3) ◽  
pp. 330-335 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michel Gendreau ◽  
Alain Hertz ◽  
Gilbert Laporte ◽  
Mihnea Stan

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