Ant colony optimisation

Ant colony optimization is a metaheuristic approach inspired by the foraging behavior of ants, where they find the shortest path between their colony and food sources. In this method, artificial ants construct solutions by moving through a parameter space, laying down pheromone trails which represent good solutions. Over time, these trails guide other ants to find better or optimal solutions, mimicking how real ants strengthen successful paths. This technique is applied in solving complex optimization problems, especially those involving routing and network design, where the goal is to find the best path or configuration among a vast set of possibilities.