A Potts neural network heuristic for the class/teacher timetabling problem

Authors:
Marco P. Carrasco;Margarida V. Pato
Affiliations:
Escola Superior de Gestão, Hotelaria e Turismo, University of Algarve, 8501 859 Portimão, Portugal and Centro de Investigação Operacional, University of Lisbon, Campo Grande, 1 ...;Instituto Superior de Economia e Gestão, Technical University of Lisbon, 200 781 Lisboa, Portugal and Centro de Investigação Operacional, University of Lisbon, Campo Grande, 1749 Li ...
Venue:
Metaheuristics
Year:
2004

Citing 7
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Abstract

This paper describes the application of a neural network metaheuristic to a real timetabling problem, the Class/Teacher Timetabling Problem (CTTP). This problem is known to be a complex, highly constrained optimization problem, thus exhibiting limitations to be solved using classical optimization methods. For this reason, many metaheuristics have been proposed to tackle real CTTP instances. Artificial neural networks have, during the last decade, shown some interesting optimization capabilities supported mainly by the seminal work of Hopfield and Tank. By extending this approach, the current paper proposes a Potts neural network heuristic for the CTTP. Computational tests taken with real instances yield promising results, which suggest that this Potts neural heuristic is an effective method to the solving of this class of timetabling problem.