The team orienteering problem with Variable Time Windows

Abstract

The orienteering problem is well-established within the domain of operational research. This paper introduces the team orienteering problem with variable time windows (TOPVTW) as a new variant of the team orienteering problem with time windows. The distinguishing feature of the TOPVTW is the adaptive time windows, which evolve dynamically as a consequence of the solution. This problem arises within the context of spread processes that must be contained. This propagation dictates the time windows, which should be observed by the teams. In turn, these teams must take actions influencing the spread and, consequently, the time windows. The time windows can affect both the nodes and the paths. Thus, two distinct versions of the problem are delineated, each supported by dedicated mixed integer programming models. An application is illustrated optimizing resources for wildfire suppression. This work serves as an initial stride toward further exploration and analysis within this domain.