Improved ant colony algorithm for solving assignment problem

Assignment problem is one of the fundamental combinatorial optimization problems, ant colony algorithm is a kind of bionic optimization algorithm. The method of applying improved ant colony algorithm to assignment problem is analyzed. Based on the definitions of migration matrix, cost matrix, pheromone matrix, the node selection strategy, local pheromone updating rules and global pheromone updating rules are introduced in detail, steps of the improved ant colony algorithm to solving assignment problem is described. Using two different sizes of data sets, the range of optimal values of number of ants, information heuristic factor, expectation heuristic factor, global pheromone evaporation factor, local pheromone evaporation factor, interference factor are determined, and the performance of the algorithm presented is analyzed and validated.