An Optimal Control-Based Approach for the Dubins Travelling Salesman Problem with Neighbourhoods

Explore an innovative optimal control-based methodology for solving the Dubins Travelling Salesman Problem with Neighbourhoods (DTSPN) in this 46-minute research seminar. Learn how Dubins vehicles, such as drones and underwater vehicles, can efficiently visit continuous regions rather than discrete points when navigating areas of interest. Discover three novel Optimal Control formulations for the DTSPN and understand how direct transcription techniques convert these problems into solvable Nonlinear Programming counterparts using standard NLP solvers. Examine a decomposition algorithm designed to handle relatively large problem instances and review preliminary experimental results demonstrating the framework's effectiveness. Gain insights into the first known approach to deliver exact solutions for the DTSPN, moving beyond existing heuristic methods to provide mathematically rigorous solutions for this complex routing optimization problem.