ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE ANDHEURISTIC METHOD IN SYSTEM PLANNING

In general, a characteristic of heuristic techniques is that strictly speaking an optimal solution is not sought, instead the goal is a ‘good’ solution. Whilst this may yield advantages from the practical point of view, it is a distinct disadvantage if there are good alternative techniques that target the optimal solution. This paper serves two purposes. In the first instance it demonstrates the successful application of a GA to a large scale TNP. It also introduces a heuristic method reported in the literature for TNP. This provides evidence to support the argued view of the future for heuristic methods given the emergence of GA’s.