A biologically inspired network design model

Zhang, Xiaoge, Adamatzky, Andrew, Chan, Felix T. S., Deng, Yong, Yang, Hai, Yang, Xin-She ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8231-5556, Tsompanas, Michail-Antisthenis I., Sirakoulis, Georgios Ch. and Mahadevan, Sankaran (2015) A biologically inspired network design model. Scientific Reports, 5 . ISSN 2045-2322 [Article] (doi:10.1038/srep10794)

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Abstract

A network design problem is to select a subset of links in a transport network that satisfy passengers or cargo transportation demands while minimizing the overall costs of the transportation. We propose a mathematical model of the foraging behaviour of slime mould P. polycephalum to solve the network design problem and construct optimal transport networks. In our algorithm, a traffic flow between any two cities is estimated using a gravity model. The flow is imitated by the model of the slime mould. The algorithm model converges to a steady state, which represents a solution of the problem. We validate our approach on examples of major transport networks in Mexico and China. By comparing networks developed in our approach with the man-made highways, networks developed by the slime mould, and a cellular automata model inspired by slime mould, we demonstrate the flexibility and efficiency of our approach.

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