Ant Colony System (ACS)

Ant Colony System (ACS) is an optimization technique inspired by how real ants find the shortest path to food. It uses a network of simulated "ants" that explore possible solutions to a problem, like finding the best route or schedule. These virtual ants leave behind "pheromone" signals, which guide future ants towards promising options. Over time, the system reinforces the most effective paths, converging on optimal or near-optimal solutions. ACS is widely used in complex problems such as routing, vehicle scheduling, and network design, leveraging collective behavior to efficiently discover high-quality solutions.