This paper introduces a reinforcement learning approach to optimize the
Stochastic Vehicle Routing Problem with Time Windows (SVRP), focusing on
reducing travel costs in goods delivery. We develop a novel SVRP formulation
that accounts for uncertain travel costs and demands, alongside specific
customer time windows. An attention-based neural network trained through
reinforcement learning is employed to minimize routing costs. Our approach
addresses a gap in SVRP research, which traditionally relies on heuristic
methods, by leveraging machine learning. The model outperforms the Ant-Colony
Optimization algorithm, achieving a 1.73% reduction in travel costs. It
uniquely integrates external information, demonstrating robustness in diverse
environments, making it a valuable benchmark for future SVRP studies and
industry application.

通过强化学习方法优化随机车辆路径问题，减少货物运输中的行程成本，提出一种新的模型，用于考虑不确定的行程成本和需求，以及确定的客户时间窗口，通过基于注意力的神经网络进行训练，实现路径成本的最小化，并超越基于蚁群算法的模型，在行程成本上减少了 1.73%，该模型独特地整合了外部信息，展现了在不同环境中的稳健性，对未来随机车辆路径问题研究和产业应用具有价值。

强化学习解决带时间窗的随机车辆路径问题

Reinforcement Learning for Solving Stochastic Vehicle Routing Problem  with Time Windows

This study addresses a gap in the utilization of Reinforcement Learning (RL)
and Machine Learning (ML) techniques in solving the Stochastic Vehicle Routing
Problem (SVRP) that involves the challenging task of optimizing vehicle routes
under uncertain conditions. We propose a novel end-to-end framework that
comprehensively addresses the key sources of stochasticity in SVRP and utilizes
an RL agent with a simple yet effective architecture and a tailored training
method. Through comparative analysis, our proposed model demonstrates superior
performance compared to a widely adopted state-of-the-art metaheuristic,
achieving a significant 3.43% reduction in travel costs. Furthermore, the model
exhibits robustness across diverse SVRP settings, highlighting its adaptability
and ability to learn optimal routing strategies in varying environments. The
publicly available implementation of our framework serves as a valuable
resource for future research endeavors aimed at advancing RL-based solutions
for SVRP.

本研究旨在解决在不确定条件下优化车辆路线的具有挑战性任务的随机车辆路径问题（SVRP）中，利用强化学习（RL）和机器学习（ML）技术的利用不足的问题。我们提出了一个全面解决 SVRP 中预测性关键源的全新端到端框架，采用简单而有效的架构和定制的训练方法来利用 RL agent。通过比较分析，我们的模型相较于一个广泛采用的最先进元启发式算法表现出了更好的性能，实现了显著的 3.43% 的行程成本降低。此外，该模型在不同的 SVRP 设置中表现出了鲁棒性，突出了它的适应能力和学习优化路径策略在不同环境中。我们框架的公开实现作为未来研究努力的宝贵资源，旨在推进基于 RL 的 SVRP 解决方案。

解决随机车辆路径问题的强化学习

Reinforcement Learning for Solving Stochastic Vehicle Routing Problem

Utilities face the challenge of responding to power outages due to storms and
ice damage, but most power grids are not equipped with sensors to pinpoint the
precise location of the faults causing the outage. Instead, utilities have to
depend primarily on phone calls (trouble calls) from customers who have lost
power to guide the dispatching of utility trucks. In this paper, we develop a
policy that routes a utility truck to restore outages in the power grid as
quickly as possible, using phone calls to create beliefs about outages, but
also using utility trucks as a mechanism for collecting additional information.
This means that routing decisions change not only the physical state of the
truck (as it moves from one location to another) and the grid (as the truck
performs repairs), but also our belief about the network, creating the first
stochastic vehicle routing problem that explicitly models information
collection and belief modeling. We address the problem of managing a single
utility truck, which we start by formulating as a sequential stochastic
optimization model which captures our belief about the state of the grid. We
propose a stochastic lookahead policy, and use Monte Carlo tree search (MCTS)
to produce a practical policy that is asymptotically optimal. Simulation
results show that the developed policy restores the power grid much faster
compared to standard industry heuristics.

本文提出了一种具有信息收集和信念建模能力的随机车辆路径问题的解决方案，该方案可以使用电话来创建有关停电的信仰，并使用实用车辆作为收集其他信息的机制。并使用蒙特卡罗树搜索 (MCTS) 来生成实际策略。实验结果表明，该策略比标准行业启发式方法更快地恢复了电网。