Ant Colony Optimization: Introduction and Concept

Ant colony optimization is a search and optimization technique modeled after the behavior of ants. In this technique, a problem is approached by looking through a large space of possible solutions or candidates in an algorithmically driven way. For example, finding the highest point in a hilly city like San Francisco can be seen as an optimization problem. Ant colony optimization helps find both local and global optima by allowing ants to wander randomly until they find food, leaving pheromone trails for other ants to follow. This efficient algorithmic approach for solving numerical optimization problems has shown promising results.