Solving the m-TSP Problem with Stochastic or Time Dependent Demands

There are many examples of problems in transportation where some elements are uncertain. In the distribution of goods as well as systems responding to calls for emergency, demands typically occur in a random fashion. Transportation systems have thus to be created in face of uncertainty about future levels of demands, making strategic decisions difficult to take. Similarly, traffic conditions vary randomly over time and travel routes are usually designed in face of uncertainty about traffic conditions, hence about effective travel times. Stochastic models, i.e. models that take uncertainty explicitly into account, have thus a central role to play in transportation.