Table of contents
1. VRP review
The vehicle routing problem is a generalization of the traveling salesman problem. In VRP, the goal is to find the optimal set of routes for a fleet of vehicles delivering goods or services to different locations. VRP was originally proposed by Dantzig and Ramser in 1959.
Similar to TSP, VRP can also be represented by a graph of distances assigned to edges.
If you are trying to find a set of routes with minimum total distance and no additional constraints on the vehicles, then the optimal solution is to assign all locations to one vehicle and leave the rest empty. In this case, the problem comes down to TSP.
A more interesting problem is to minimize the length of the longest route distance for all vehicles, or the elapsed time of the route with the longest travel time. VRPs can also have additional constraints on vehicles—for example, lower and upper bounds on the number of locations visited by each vehicle or the length of each route.
1.1 Minimize the longest single path
In the example below, a company needs to access some customer locations in a city consisting of identical rectangular blocks. The picture below is a schematic diagram of the city, the company location is marked in black, and the places to visit are marked in blue.
"""
[(456, 320), # location 0
(228, 0), # location 1
(912, 0), # location 2
(0, 80), # location 3
(114, 80), # location 4
(570, 160), # location 5
(798, 160), # location 6
(342, 240), # location 7
(684, 240), # location 8
(570, 400), # location 9
(912, 400), # location 10
(114, 480), # location 11
(228, 480), # location 12
(342, 560), # location 13
(684, 560), # location 14
(0, 640), # location 15
(798, 640)] # location 16
"""
Here we calculate the distance between different locations based on the above coordinates, and the distance function uses the Manhattan distance: |x1 - x2| + |y1 - y2|.
# vrp_global_span
# [START import]
from __future__ import print_function
from ortools.constraint_solver import routing_enums_pb2
from ortools.constraint_solver import pywrapcp
# [END import]
# [START data_model]
def create_data_model():
"""Stores the data for the problem."""
data = {
}
data['distance_matrix'] = [
[
0, 548, 776, 696, 582, 274, 502, 194, 308, 194, 536, 502, 388, 354,
468, 776, 662
],
[
548, 0, 684, 308, 194, 502, 730, 354, 696, 742, 1084, 594, 480, 674,
1016, 868, 1210
],
[
776, 684, 0, 992, 878, 502, 274, 810, 468, 742, 400, 1278, 1164,
1130, 788, 1552, 754
],
[
696, 308, 992, 0, 114, 650, 878, 502, 844, 890, 1232, 514, 628, 822,
1164, 560, 1358
],
[
582, 194, 878, 114, 0, 536, 764, 388, 730, 776, 1118, 400, 514, 708,
1050, 674, 1244
],
[
274, 502, 502, 650, 536, 0, 228, 308, 194, 240, 582, 776, 662, 628,
514, 1050, 708
],
[
502, 730, 274, 878, 764, 228, 0, 536, 194, 468, 354, 1004, 890, 856,
514, 1278, 480
],
[
194, 354, 810, 502, 388, 308, 536, 0, 342, 388, 730, 468, 354, 320,
662, 742, 856
],
[
308, 696, 468, 844, 730, 194, 194, 342, 0, 274, 388, 810, 696, 662,
320, 1084, 514
],
[
194, 742, 742, 890, 776, 240, 468, 388, 274, 0, 342, 536, 422, 388,
274, 810, 468
],
[
536, 1084, 400, 1232, 1118, 582, 354, 730, 388, 342, 0, 878, 764,
730, 388, 1152, 354
],
[
502, 594, 1278, 514, 400, 776, 1004, 468, 810, 536, 878, 0, 114,
308, 650, 274, 844
],
[
388, 480, 1164, 628, 514, 662, 890, 354, 696, 422, 764, 114, 0, 194,
536, 388, 730
],
[
354, 674, 1130, 822, 708, 628, 856, 320, 662, 388, 730, 308, 194, 0,
342, 422, 536
],
[
468, 1016, 788, 1164, 1050, 514, 514, 662, 320, 274, 388, 650, 536,
342, 0, 764, 194
],
[
776, 868, 1552, 560, 674, 1050, 1278, 742, 1084, 810, 1152, 274,
388, 422, 764, 0, 798
],
[
662, 1210, 754, 1358, 1244, 708, 480, 856, 514, 468, 354, 844, 730,
536, 194, 798, 0
],
]
data['num_vehicles'] = 4
data['depot'] = 0
return data
# [END data_model]
# [START solution_printer]
def print_solution(data, manager, routing, solution):
"""Prints solution on console."""
max_route_distance = 0
for vehicle_id in range(data['num_vehicles']):
index = routing.Start(vehicle_id)
plan_output = 'Route for vehicle {}:\n'.format(vehicle_id)
route_distance = 0
while not routing.IsEnd(index):
plan_output += ' {} -> '.format(manager.IndexToNode(index))
previous_index = index
index = solution.Value(routing.NextVar(index))
route_distance += routing.GetArcCostForVehicle(
previous_index, index, vehicle_id)
plan_output += '{}\n'.format(manager.IndexToNode(index))
plan_output += 'Distance of the route: {}m\n'.format(route_distance)
print(plan_output)
max_route_distance = max(route_distance, max_route_distance)
print('Maximum of the route distances: {}m'.format(max_route_distance))
# [END solution_printer]
def main():
"""Solve the CVRP problem."""
# Instantiate the data problem.
# [START data]
data = create_data_model()
# [END data]
# Create the routing index manager.
# [START index_manager]
manager = pywrapcp.RoutingIndexManager(len(data['distance_matrix']),
data['num_vehicles'], data['depot'])
# [END index_manager]
# Create Routing Model.
# [START routing_model]
routing = pywrapcp.RoutingModel(manager)
# [END routing_model]
# Create and register a transit callback.
# [START transit_callback]
def distance_callback(from_index, to_index):
"""Returns the distance between the two nodes."""
# Convert from routing variable Index to distance matrix NodeIndex.
from_node = manager.IndexToNode(from_index)
to_node = manager.IndexToNode(to_index)
return data['distance_matrix'][from_node][to_node]
transit_callback_index = routing.RegisterTransitCallback(distance_callback)
# [END transit_callback]
# Define cost of each arc.
# [START arc_cost]
routing.SetArcCostEvaluatorOfAllVehicles(transit_callback_index)
# [END arc_cost]
# Add Distance constraint.
# [START distance_constraint]
dimension_name = 'Distance'
routing.AddDimension(
transit_callback_index,
0, # no slack
3000, # vehicle maximum travel distance
True, # start cumul to zero
dimension_name)
distance_dimension = routing.GetDimensionOrDie(dimension_name)
distance_dimension.SetGlobalSpanCostCoefficient(100)
# [END distance_constraint]
# Setting first solution heuristic.
# [START parameters]
search_parameters = pywrapcp.DefaultRoutingSearchParameters()
search_parameters.first_solution_strategy = (
routing_enums_pb2.FirstSolutionStrategy.PATH_CHEAPEST_ARC)
# [END parameters]
# Solve the problem.
# [START solve]
solution = routing.SolveWithParameters(search_parameters)
# [END solve]
# Print solution on console.
# [START print_solution]
if solution:
print_solution(data, manager, routing, solution)
# [END print_solution]
if __name__ == '__main__':
main()
# [END program]
"""
Route for vehicle 0:
0 -> 8 -> 6 -> 2 -> 5 -> 0
Distance of the route: 1552m
Route for vehicle 1:
0 -> 7 -> 1 -> 4 -> 3 -> 0
Distance of the route: 1552m
Route for vehicle 2:
0 -> 9 -> 10 -> 16 -> 14 -> 0
Distance of the route: 1552m
Route for vehicle 3:
0 -> 12 -> 11 -> 15 -> 13 -> 0
Distance of the route: 1552m
Maximum of the route distances: 1552m
"""
Note that the function adds a distance dimension (Add a distance dimension). To solve this VRP, a distance dimension needs to be created that calculates the cumulative distance traveled by each vehicle along its route. Then, set the cost to be the maximum of the total distance for each route.
To add a distance dimension, use the solver's AddDimension method. The code below creates a dimension for distance and sets the cumulative distance cost. For distance information, please refer to vrp_dimension_details .
def add_distance_dimension(routing, distance_callback):
"""Add Global Span constraint"""
distance = 'Distance'
maximum_distance = 3000 # 每辆车能形式的最大距离
routing.AddDimension(
distance_callback,
0, # null slack
maximum_distance,
True, # 从累积到零，意思应该和“走了这么久还剩多少汽油”差不多吧
distance)
distance_dimension = routing.GetDimensionOrDie(distance)
# Try to minimize the max distance among vehicles.
# 尽量减少车辆之间的最大距离。
distance_dimension.SetGlobalSpanCostCoefficient(100)
Here are the results of the solution:
2. CVRP problem
The capacity-constrained vehicle routing problem is a vehicle routing problem with additional constraints on vehicle capabilities. In CVRP, each location has a demand, such as weight or volume, corresponding to the items taken or delivered there. Each time a vehicle visits a location, the total quantity it carries increases (pickup) or decreases (delivery) based on demand at that location. Additionally, each vehicle has a maximum carrying capacity at all times.
CVRP can be represented by a graph with distances assigned to edges and demands assigned to nodes.
As shown in the diagram below, at each location there is a demand corresponding to the item to be fetched. Additionally, each vehicle has a maximum capacity of 15. This problem is similar to that in VRP, except that the vehicle capacity constraints are added.
from __future__ import print_function
from ortools.constraint_solver import routing_enums_pb2
from ortools.constraint_solver import pywrapcp
def main():
"""Entry point of the program."""
# Instantiate the data problem.
num_locations = 5
num_vehicles = 1
depot = 0
# Create the routing index manager.
manager = pywrapcp.RoutingIndexManager(num_locations,num_vehicles,depot)
# Create Routing Model.
routing = pywrapcp.RoutingModel(manager)
# Create and register a transit callback.
def distance_callback(from_index, to_index):
"""Returns the absolute difference between the two nodes."""
# Convert from routing variable Index to user NodeIndex.
from_node = int(manager.IndexToNode(from_index))
to_node = int(manager.IndexToNode(to_index))
return abs(to_node - from_node)
transit_callback_index = routing.RegisterTransitCallback(distance_callback)
# Define cost of each arc.
routing.SetArcCostEvaluatorOfAllVehicles(transit_callback_index)
# Setting first solution heuristic.
search_parameters = pywrapcp.DefaultRoutingSearchParameters()
search_parameters.first_solution_strategy = (
routing_enums_pb2.FirstSolutionStrategy.PATH_CHEAPEST_ARC) # pylint: disable=no-member
# Solve the problem.
assignment = routing.SolveWithParameters(search_parameters)
# Print solution on console.
print('Objective: {}'.format(assignment.ObjectiveValue()))
index = routing.Start(0)
plan_output = 'Route for vehicle 0:\n'
route_distance = 0
while not routing.IsEnd(index):
plan_output += '{} -> '.format(manager.IndexToNode(index))
previous_index = index
index = assignment.Value(routing.NextVar(index))
route_distance += routing.GetArcCostForVehicle(previous_index, index, 0)
plan_output += '{}\n'.format(manager.IndexToNode(index))
plan_output += 'Distance of the route: {}m\n'.format(route_distance)
print(plan_output)
if __name__ == '__main__':
main()
"""
Objective: 8
Route for vehicle 0:
0 -> 1 -> 2 -> 3 -> 4 -> 0
Distance of the route: 8m
"""
3. VRPTW
Many vehicle routing problems involve scheduling deliveries. A natural constraint of these problems is that a customer can only receive a delivery or service call within a specified time window. These problems are called time windowed vehicle routing problems (VRPTW).
The image below shows customer locations in blue and warehouses in black. A time window (in minutes) is displayed above each position.
# [START import]
from __future__ import print_function
from ortools.constraint_solver import routing_enums_pb2
from ortools.constraint_solver import pywrapcp
# [END import]
# [START data_model]
def create_data_model():
"""Stores the data for the problem."""
data = {
}
data['time_matrix'] = [
[0, 6, 9, 8, 7, 3, 6, 2, 3, 2, 6, 6, 4, 4, 5, 9, 7],
[6, 0, 8, 3, 2, 6, 8, 4, 8, 8, 13, 7, 5, 8, 12, 10, 14],
[9, 8, 0, 11, 10, 6, 3, 9, 5, 8, 4, 15, 14, 13, 9, 18, 9],
[8, 3, 11, 0, 1, 7, 10, 6, 10, 10, 14, 6, 7, 9, 14, 6, 16],
[7, 2, 10, 1, 0, 6, 9, 4, 8, 9, 13, 4, 6, 8, 12, 8, 14],
[3, 6, 6, 7, 6, 0, 2, 3, 2, 2, 7, 9, 7, 7, 6, 12, 8],
[6, 8, 3, 10, 9, 2, 0, 6, 2, 5, 4, 12, 10, 10, 6, 15, 5],
[2, 4, 9, 6, 4, 3, 6, 0, 4, 4, 8, 5, 4, 3, 7, 8, 10],
[3, 8, 5, 10, 8, 2, 2, 4, 0, 3, 4, 9, 8, 7, 3, 13, 6],
[2, 8, 8, 10, 9, 2, 5, 4, 3, 0, 4, 6, 5, 4, 3, 9, 5],
[6, 13, 4, 14, 13, 7, 4, 8, 4, 4, 0, 10, 9, 8, 4, 13, 4],
[6, 7, 15, 6, 4, 9, 12, 5, 9, 6, 10, 0, 1, 3, 7, 3, 10],
[4, 5, 14, 7, 6, 7, 10, 4, 8, 5, 9, 1, 0, 2, 6, 4, 8],
[4, 8, 13, 9, 8, 7, 10, 3, 7, 4, 8, 3, 2, 0, 4, 5, 6],
[5, 12, 9, 14, 12, 6, 6, 7, 3, 3, 4, 7, 6, 4, 0, 9, 2],
[9, 10, 18, 6, 8, 12, 15, 8, 13, 9, 13, 3, 4, 5, 9, 0, 9],
[7, 14, 9, 16, 14, 8, 5, 10, 6, 5, 4, 10, 8, 6, 2, 9, 0],
]
data['time_windows'] = [
(0, 5), # depot
(7, 12), # 1
(10, 15), # 2
(16, 18), # 3
(10, 13), # 4
(0, 5), # 5
(5, 10), # 6
(0, 4), # 7
(5, 10), # 8
(0, 3), # 9
(10, 16), # 10
(10, 15), # 11
(0, 5), # 12
(5, 10), # 13
(7, 8), # 14
(10, 15), # 15
(11, 15), # 16
]
data['num_vehicles'] = 4
data['depot'] = 0
return data
# [END data_model]
# [START solution_printer]
def print_solution(data, manager, routing, solution):
"""Prints solution on console."""
time_dimension = routing.GetDimensionOrDie('Time')
total_time = 0
for vehicle_id in range(data['num_vehicles']):
index = routing.Start(vehicle_id)
plan_output = 'Route for vehicle {}:\n'.format(vehicle_id)
while not routing.IsEnd(index):
time_var = time_dimension.CumulVar(index)
plan_output += '{0} Time({1},{2}) -> '.format(
manager.IndexToNode(index), solution.Min(time_var),
solution.Max(time_var))
index = solution.Value(routing.NextVar(index))
time_var = time_dimension.CumulVar(index)
plan_output += '{0} Time({1},{2})\n'.format(manager.IndexToNode(index),
solution.Min(time_var),
solution.Max(time_var))
plan_output += 'Time of the route: {}min\n'.format(
solution.Min(time_var))
print(plan_output)
total_time += solution.Min(time_var)
print('Total time of all routes: {}min'.format(total_time))
# [END solution_printer]
def main():
"""Solve the VRP with time windows."""
# Instantiate the data problem.
# [START data]
data = create_data_model()
# [END data]
# Create the routing index manager.
# [START index_manager]
manager = pywrapcp.RoutingIndexManager(len(data['time_matrix']),
data['num_vehicles'], data['depot'])
# [END index_manager]
# Create Routing Model.
# [START routing_model]
routing = pywrapcp.RoutingModel(manager)
# [END routing_model]
# Create and register a transit callback.
# [START transit_callback]
def time_callback(from_index, to_index):
"""Returns the travel time between the two nodes."""
# Convert from routing variable Index to time matrix NodeIndex.
from_node = manager.IndexToNode(from_index)
to_node = manager.IndexToNode(to_index)
return data['time_matrix'][from_node][to_node]
transit_callback_index = routing.RegisterTransitCallback(time_callback)
# [END transit_callback]
# Define cost of each arc.
# [START arc_cost]
routing.SetArcCostEvaluatorOfAllVehicles(transit_callback_index)
# [END arc_cost]
# Add Time Windows constraint.
# [START time_windows_constraint]
time = 'Time'
routing.AddDimension(
transit_callback_index,
30, # allow waiting time
30, # maximum time per vehicle
False, # Don't force start cumul to zero.
time)
time_dimension = routing.GetDimensionOrDie(time)
# Add time window constraints for each location except depot.
for location_idx, time_window in enumerate(data['time_windows']):
if location_idx == 0:
continue
index = manager.NodeToIndex(location_idx)
time_dimension.CumulVar(index).SetRange(time_window[0], time_window[1])
# Add time window constraints for each vehicle start node.
for vehicle_id in range(data['num_vehicles']):
index = routing.Start(vehicle_id)
time_dimension.CumulVar(index).SetRange(data['time_windows'][0][0],
data['time_windows'][0][1])
# [END time_windows_constraint]
# Instantiate route start and end times to produce feasible times.
# [START depot_start_end_times]
for i in range(data['num_vehicles']):
routing.AddVariableMinimizedByFinalizer(
time_dimension.CumulVar(routing.Start(i)))
routing.AddVariableMinimizedByFinalizer(
time_dimension.CumulVar(routing.End(i)))
# [END depot_start_end_times]
# Setting first solution heuristic.
# [START parameters]
search_parameters = pywrapcp.DefaultRoutingSearchParameters()
search_parameters.first_solution_strategy = (
routing_enums_pb2.FirstSolutionStrategy.PATH_CHEAPEST_ARC)
# [END parameters]
# Solve the problem.
# [START solve]
solution = routing.SolveWithParameters(search_parameters)
# [END solve]
# Print solution on console.
# [START print_solution]
if solution:
print_solution(data, manager, routing, solution)
# [END print_solution]
if __name__ == '__main__':
main()
"""
Route for vehicle 0:
0 Time(0,0) -> 9 Time(2,3) -> 14 Time(7,8) -> 16 Time(11,11) -> 0 Time(18,18)
Time of the route: 18min
Route for vehicle 1:
0 Time(0,0) -> 7 Time(2,4) -> 1 Time(7,11) -> 4 Time(10,13) -> 3 Time(16,16) -> 0 Time(24,24)
Time of the route: 24min
Route for vehicle 2:
0 Time(0,0) -> 12 Time(4,4) -> 13 Time(6,6) -> 15 Time(11,11) -> 11 Time(14,14) -> 0 Time(20,20)
Time of the route: 20min
Route for vehicle 3:
0 Time(0,0) -> 5 Time(3,3) -> 8 Time(5,5) -> 6 Time(7,7) -> 2 Time(10,10) -> 10 Time(14,14) -> 0 Time(20,20)
Time of the route: 20min
Total time of all routes: 82min
"""
