Simple but efficient approaches for the collapsing knapsack problem

Abstract

The collapsing knapsack problem is a generalization of the ordinary knapsack problem, where the knapsack capacity is a non-increasing function of the number of items included. Whereas previous papers on the topic have applied quite involved techniques, the current paper presents and analyzes two rather simple approaches: One approach that is based on the reduction to a standard knapsack problem, and another approach that is based on a simple dynamic programming recursion. Both algorithms have pseudo-polynomial solution times, guaranteeing reasonable solution times for moderate coefficient sizes. Computational experiments are provided to expose the efficiency of the two approaches compared to previous algorithms.