Clustering Algorithm for Paper Boys

Question

I need help selecting or creating a clustering algorithm according to certain criteria.

Imagine you are managing newspaper delivery persons.

• You have a set

Answer 1

What you are describing is a (Multi)-Vehicle-Routing-Problem (VRP). There's quite a lot of academic literature on different variants of this problem, using a large variety of techniques (heuristics, off-the-shelf solvers etc.). Usually the authors try to find good or optimal solutions for a concrete instance, which then also implies a clustering of the sites (all sites on the route of one vehicle).

However, the clusters may be subject to major changes with only slightly different instances, which is what you want to avoid. Still, something in the VRP-Papers may inspire you...

If you decide to stick with the explicit clustering step, don't forget to include your distribution in all clusters, as it is part of each route.

For evaluating the clusters using a graph representation of the street grid will probably yield more realistic results than connecting the dots on a white map (although both are TSP-variants). If a graph model is not available, you can use the taxicab-metric (|x_1 - x_2| + |y_1 - y_2|) as an approximation for the distances.