Study on a hybrid algorithm combining enhanced ant colony optimization and double improved simulated annealing via clustering in the Traveling Salesman Problem (TSP)

In the process of solving the Traveling Salesman Problem (TSP), both Ant Colony Optimization and simulated annealing exhibit different limitations depending on the dataset. This article aims to address these limitations by improving and combining these two algorithms using the clustering method. The problems tackled include Ant Colony Optimization’s susceptibility to stagnation, slow convergence, excessive computations, and local optima, as well as simulated annealing’s slow convergence and limited local search capability. By conducting tests on various TSPLIB datasets, the algorithm proposed in this article demonstrates improved convergence speed and solution quality compared to traditional algorithms. Furthermore, it exhibits certain advantages over other existing improved algorithms. Finally, this article applies this algorithm to logistics transportation, yielding excellent results.