Ant-set: A subset-oriented ant colony optimization algorithm for the set covering problem

Abstract

This paper proposes an algorithm for the set covering problem based on the metaheuristic Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) called Ant-Set, which uses a line-oriented approach and a novelty pheromone manipulation based on the connections between components of the construction graph, while also applying a local search. The algorithm is compared with other ACO-based approaches. The results obtained show the effectiveness of the algorithm and the impact of the pheromone manipulation.