ANT Algorithm

[AmberDanwar]

Hi,

I am working on a project theses days which is GIS based planning for fire stations. Can anyone help me in guiding how or where can I find ANT algorithm in Arcmap. I am unable to attach the document to show what I am talking about. But I hope you guys get it

Thanks
Amber

[JaySandhu]

Amber,

According to the article:

The Ant algorithm, inspired by the nature, is based on the capability of ants to locate the shortest path between their nest and the food source while searching for food. The Ant algorithm is an adaptive construction heuristic combined with a local search measure.

This is one way to solve location problems using a heuristic. This particular heuristic is implemented by the authors in their own environment. It is not available directly in ArcGIS. However, the network analyst extnension provides similar capabilities in the Location-Allocation solver with the option to "maximize coverage" that is targeted towards fire station location. Perhap you can use that for your needs. The details are here:
http://resources.arcgis.com/en/help/main/10.1/#/Location_allocation_analysis/004700000050000000/

and a tutorial:
http://resources.arcgis.com/en/help/main/10.1/#/Exercise_9_Choosing_optimal_store_locations_using_lo...

Regards,
Jay Sandhu

[AmberDanwar]

Thanks Jay, I know about network analyst and yes its based on some algorithms that can be helpful for optimal establishment of firestations across city. But I was wondering if anyone here has worked on it or has developed it in here. That can be great to my project.

[AlexeyTereshenkov]

Hi Amber,

Have not seen anything directly usable in ArcGIS. Internet search gave quite a few articles that can be of some help, but I guess you've seen them too. You are welcome to publish an idea at ArcGIS Ideas web site to ask for ant algorithm support for ArcGIS.

I have not found any related to ant algorithm posts on Esri Forums nor have I found anything like that on gis.stackexchange. Try to post there if you have not done this yet.

Good luck!