Systems and methods for planning the scheduling travel routes

A method for using a computer to select a travel route with a shortest travel time from a plurality of possible travel routes connecting a plurality of destinations, the possible travel routes corresponding to a roadmap database by a plurality of paths connecting each pair of said destinations, each of said paths represented by roadmap road segments having associated travel time, the method comprising the steps of:

• inputting information describing a location of each of said destinations to be visited;
• determining a near-optimal path between each pair of said destinations having the shortest travel time;
• creating an array of sequences, each of said sequences describing a unique travel route connecting the destinations;
• calculating an associated route travel time for each of said sequences in the array by summing in order the travel times o the near-optimal paths connecting each of a pair of said destinations and calculating a shortest route travel time from the associated route travel time;
• and
• selecting the ravel route having the shortest route travel time by optimizing the ordering of destinations by operating one the sequences in the array with a genetic cellular automaton.

A route scheduling computer comprising:

• a memory including a roadmap database, said roadmap database defining a plurality of road segments connecting a plurality of possible destinations;
• circuitry for inputting information describing selected ones of said plurality of said possible destinations to be visited;
• and
• a processor for selecting a travel route having a shortest route travel time connecting said destinations to be visited, said processor operable to:
• select a combination of said road segments forming a path connecting said destinations for each of said destinations to be visited, said path having shortest path travel time between a pair of said destinations;
• create an array of randomly ordered sequences, each of said sequences corresponding to a unique order of said destinations to be visited;
• sum in order of said shortest path travel time for said sequences and to determine a route travel time associated with each of said sequences;
• and
• select an order of said destinations to be visited representing said travel route having said shortest route travel time by a genetic cellular operator to said sequences in said array, said generic cellular operator using said determined route travel time as a fitness function.

A route scheduling computer comprising:

• a memory including a roadmap database, said roadmap database defining a plurality of road segments connecting a plurality of possible destinations;
• circuitry for inputting information corresponding to selected ones of said plurality of road possible destinations to be visited;
• and
• a processor for selecting a travel route having an optimum performance value and connecting said destinations to be visited, said processor operable to:
• input information corresponding to a location of each of said destinations to be visited;
• determine a connecting path for each pair of said destinations and between said destinations having the optimum performance value based on a selected performance criteria;
• create an array of randomly ordered sequences, each of said sequences representing a unique travel route;
• sum for each sequence and in order of the optimum performance values for each of said connecting path of each of said pair of said destinations to obtain a total performance value for said unique travel route;
• and
• iteratively apply a genetic cellular automaton to the array to determine the ravel route having the selected optimal performance criteria by computing a new optimum sequence o the destinations.