Games are among problems that can be reduced to optimization, for which one of the most universal and productive solving method is a heuristic approach. In this article we present results of benchmark tests on using 5 heuristic methods to solve a physical model of the darts game. Discussion of the scores and conclusions from the research have shown that application of heuristic methods can simulate artificial intelligence as a regular player with very good results.

The following paper provides an insight into application of the contemporary heuristic methods to graph coloring problem. Variety of algorithmic solutions for the Graph Coloring Problem (GCP) are discussed and recommendations for their implementation provided. The GCP is the NP-hard problem, aiming at finding the minimum number of colors for vertices in such a way that none of two adjacent vertices are marked with the same color. With the advent of modern processing units metaheuristic approaches to solve GCP were extended to discrete optimization here. To explain the phenomenon of these methods, a thorough survey of AI-based algorithms for GCP is provided, with the main differences between specific techniques pointed out.

The Job Shop scheduling problem is widely used in industry and has been the subject of study by several researchers with the aim of optimizing work sequences. This case study provides an overview of genetic algorithms, which have great potential for solving this type of combinatorial problem. The method will be applied manually during this study to understand the procedure and process of executing programs based on genetic algorithms. This problem requires strong decision analysis throughout the process due to the numerous choices and allocations of jobs to machines at specific times, in a specific order, and over a given duration. This operation is carried out at the operational level, and research must find an intelligent method to identify the best and most optimal combination. This article presents genetic algorithms in detail to explain their usage and to understand the compilation method of an intelligent program based on genetic algorithms. By the end of the article, the genetic algorithm method will have proven its performance in the search for the optimal solution to achieve the most optimal job sequence scenario.

The main goal of robot path planning is to design an optimal path for a robot to navigate from its starting point to its goal while avoiding obstacles and optimizing certain criteria. A novel method using marine predator algorithm which is used in the field of robot path planning is presented. The proposed method has two steps. First step is to build a mathematical model of path planning while second step is optimization process using marine predator algorithm. Simulation results show that the proposed method works well and has good performance in different situations. Therefore, this method is an effective method for robot path planning and related applications.

The presence of the spare parts stock is a necessity to ensure the continuity of services. The supply of spare parts is a special case of the global supply chain. The main objective of our research is to propose a global spare parts management approach which allows decision makers to determine the essential points in stock management. Thus, it is important for the stock manager to evaluate the system considered from time to time based on performance indicators. Some of these indicators are presented in the form of a dashboard. The presentation of this chapter chronologically traces the progress of our research work. In the first part, we present the work related to the forecast of spare parts needs through parametric and statistical methods as well as a Bayesian modelling of demand forecasting. To measure the appreciation of the supply of spare parts inventory, the second part focuses on work related to the evaluation of the performance of the spare parts system. Thus, we concretize the link between the management of spare parts and maintenance in the third part, more precisely, in the performance evaluation of the joint -management of spare parts and maintenance, in order to visualize the influence of parameters on the system. In the last section of this chapter, we will present the metaheuristic methods and their use in the management of spare parts and maintenance and make an analysis on work done in the literature.

This paper presents the application of an improved ant colony optimization algorithm called mixed integer distributed ant colony optimization to optimize the power flow solution in power grids. The results provided indicate an improvement in the reduction of operational costs in comparison with other optimization algorithms used in optimal power flow studies. The application was realized to optimize power flow in the IEEE 30 and the IEEE 57 bus test cases with the objective of operational cost minimization. The optimal power flow problem described is a non-linear, non-convex, complex and heavily constrained problem.