An improved whale optimization algorithm for the traveling salesman problem

Abstract

The whale optimization algorithm is a new type of swarm intelligence bionic optimization algorithm, which has achieved good optimization results in solving continuous optimization prob-lems. However, it has less application in discrete optimization problems. A variable neighborhood discrete whale optimization algorithm for the traveling salesman problem (TSP) is studied in this paper. The discrete code is designed first, and then the adaptive weight, Gaussian disturbance, and variable neighborhood search strategy are introduced, so that the population diversity and the global search ability of the algorithm are improved. The proposed algorithm is tested by 12 classic problems of the Traveling Salesman Problem Library (TSPLIB). Experiment results show that the proposed algorithm has better optimization performance and higher efficiency compared with other popular algorithms and relevant literature.