Ant Colony Algorithm for the Weighted Item Layout Optimization Problem

This paper discusses the problem of placing weighted items in a circular container in two-dimensional space. This problem is of great practical significance in various mechanical engineering domains, such as the design of communication satellites. Two constructive heuristics are proposed, one for packing circular items and the other for packing rectangular items. These work by first optimizing object placement order, and then optimizing object positioning. Based on these heuristics, an ant colony optimization (ACO) algorithm is described to search first for optimal positioning order, and then for the optimal layout. We describe the results of numerical experiments, in which we test two versions of our ACO algorithm alongside local search methods previously described in the literature. Our results show that the constructive heuristic-based ACO performs better than existing methods on larger problem instances.

[1]  Gang Li,et al.  Basin filling algorithm for the circular packing problem with equilibrium behavioral constraints , 2010, Science China Information Sciences.

[2]  Héctor Pomares,et al.  Web newspaper layout optimization using simulated annealing , 2002, IEEE Trans. Syst. Man Cybern. Part B.

[3]  Zafer Bingul,et al.  Hybrid genetic algorithm and simulated annealing for two-dimensional non-guillotine rectangular packing problems , 2006, Eng. Appl. Artif. Intell..

[4]  Graham Kendall,et al.  Applying Ant Algorithms and the No Fit Polygon to the Nesting Problem , 1999, Australian Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence.

[5]  Xiao Renbin.  Ant colony algorithm for layout optimization with equilibrium constraints , 2008 .

[6]  Kathryn A. Dowsland,et al.  An algorithm for polygon placement using a bottom-left strategy , 2002, Eur. J. Oper. Res..

[7]  Huaiqing Wang,et al.  An improved algorithm for the packing of unequal circles within a larger containing circle , 2002, Eur. J. Oper. Res..

[8]  Wenqi Huang,et al.  Note on: An improved algorithm for the packing of unequal circles within a larger containing circle , 2006, Comput. Ind. Eng..

[9]  Jonathan Cagan,et al.  A simulated annealing-based algorithm using hierarchical models for general three-dimensional component layout , 1998, Comput. Aided Des..

[10]  Marco Dorigo,et al.  Optimization, Learning and Natural Algorithms , 1992 .

[11]  Xin Yao,et al.  A Memetic Algorithm for VLSI Floorplanning , 2007, IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics, Part B (Cybernetics).

[12]  Richard F. Hartl,et al.  AntPacking - An Ant Colony Optimization Approach for the One-Dimensional Bin Packing Problem , 2004, EvoCOP.

[13]  Hong-fei Teng,et al.  Layout optimization for the objects located within a rotating vessel - a three-dimensional packing problem with behavioral constraints , 2001, Comput. Oper. Res..

[14]  Renbin Xiao,et al.  Particle Swarm Algorithm for Weighted Rectangle Placement , 2007, Third International Conference on Natural Computation (ICNC 2007).

[15]  Chia-Feng Juang,et al.  Reinforcement Interval Type-2 Fuzzy Controller Design by Online Rule Generation and Q-Value-Aided Ant Colony Optimization , 2009, IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics, Part B (Cybernetics).

[16]  Luca Maria Gambardella,et al.  Ant colony system: a cooperative learning approach to the traveling salesman problem , 1997, IEEE Trans. Evol. Comput..

[17]  J. M. Harwig.  An adaptive tabu search approach to cutting and packing problems , 2003 .

[18]  Marco Dorigo,et al.  Ant system: optimization by a colony of cooperating agents , 1996, IEEE Trans. Syst. Man Cybern. Part B.

[19]  Harald Dyckhoff,et al.  A typology of cutting and packing problems , 1990 .

[20]  Frederick Ducatelle,et al.  Ant colony optimization and local search for bin packing and cutting stock problems , 2004, J. Oper. Res. Soc..

[21]  Teng Hong-fei,et al.  Layout Optimization for the Dishes Installed on a Rotating Table——The Packing Problem With Equilibrium Behavioural Constraints , 1994 .

[22]  Marco Dorigo,et al.  The hyper-cube framework for ant colony optimization , 2004, IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics, Part B (Cybernetics).

[23]  Andreas T. Ernst,et al.  Strip packing with hybrid ACO: Placement order is learnable , 2008, 2008 IEEE Congress on Evolutionary Computation (IEEE World Congress on Computational Intelligence).

[24]  Chak-Kuen Wong,et al.  An effective quasi-human based heuristic for solving the rectangle packing problem , 2002, Eur. J. Oper. Res..

[25]  T. Stützle,et al.  MAX-MIN Ant System and local search for the traveling salesman problem , 1997, Proceedings of 1997 IEEE International Conference on Evolutionary Computation (ICEC '97).

[26]  Renbin Xiao,et al.  Two hybrid compaction algorithms for the layout optimization problem , 2007, Biosyst..

[27]  Manuel López-Ibáñez,et al.  Ant colony optimization , 2010, GECCO '10.

[28]  Renbin Xiao,et al.  A novel genetic algorithm for the layout optimization problem , 2007, 2007 IEEE Congress on Evolutionary Computation.

[29]  Bao Zhang,et al.  Layout optimization of satellite module using soft computing techniques , 2008, Appl. Soft Comput..