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Multiobjective Combinatorial Optimization with Interactive Evolutionary Algorithms: the case of facility location problems

We consider multiobjective combinatorial optimization problems handled by means of preference driven efficient heuristics. They look for the most preferred part of the Pareto front on the basis of some preferences expressed by the Decision Maker during the process. In general, what is searched for in this case is the Pareto set of efficient solutions. This is a problem much more difficult than optimizing a single objective function. Moreover, obtaining the Pareto set does not mean that the decision problem is solved since one or some of the solutions have to be chosen. Indeed, to make a decision, it is necessary to determine the most preferred solution in the Pareto set, so that it is also necessary to elicit the preferences of the user. In this perspective, what we are proposing can be seen as the first structured methodology in facility location problems to search optimal solutions taking into account preferences of the user. With this aim, we approach facility location problems using a recently proposed interactive evolutionary multiobjective optimization procedure called NEMO-II-Ch. NEMO-II-Ch is applied to a real world multiobjective location problem with many users and many facilities to be located. Several simulations considering different fictitious users have been performed. The results obtained by NEMO-II-Ch are compared with those got by three algorithms which know the user's true value function that is, instead, unknown to NEMO-II-Ch. They show that in many cases NEMO-II-Ch finds the best subset of locations more quickly than the methods knowing, exactly, the whole user's true preferences.