Route inspection problem
Encyclopedia
In graph theory
, a branch of mathematics
, the Chinese postman problem (CPP), postman tour or route inspection problem is to find a shortest closed path or circuit that visits every edge of a (connected) undirected graph. When the graph has an Eulerian circuit (a closed walk that covers every edge once), that circuit is an optimal solution.
Alan Goldman of the U.S. National Bureau of Standards first coined the name 'Chinese Postman Problem' for this problem, as it was originally studied by the Chinese mathematician Mei-Ku Kuan in 1962.
to have an Eulerian circuit
, it will certainly have to be connected.
Suppose we have a connected graph G = (V, E), The following statements are equivalent:
An Eulerian path
(a walk which is not closed but uses all edges of G just once) exists if and only if G is connected and exactly two vertices have odd valence.
|T| paths, no two having an edge in common, that join the vertices of T in pairs. The paths will be such that the total length of all of them is as small as possible. A minimum T-join can be obtained by a weighted matching algorithm that uses O(n3) computational steps.
If the graph is not Eulerian, it must contain vertices of odd degree. By the handshaking lemma
, there must be an even number of these vertices. To solve the postman problem we first find a smallest T-join. We make the graph Eulerian by doubling of the T-join. The solution to the postman problem in the original graph is obtained by finding an Eulerian circuit for the new graph.
.
Graph theory
In mathematics and computer science, graph theory is the study of graphs, mathematical structures used to model pairwise relations between objects from a certain collection. A "graph" in this context refers to a collection of vertices or 'nodes' and a collection of edges that connect pairs of...
, a branch of mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
, the Chinese postman problem (CPP), postman tour or route inspection problem is to find a shortest closed path or circuit that visits every edge of a (connected) undirected graph. When the graph has an Eulerian circuit (a closed walk that covers every edge once), that circuit is an optimal solution.
Alan Goldman of the U.S. National Bureau of Standards first coined the name 'Chinese Postman Problem' for this problem, as it was originally studied by the Chinese mathematician Mei-Ku Kuan in 1962.
Eulerian paths and circuits
In order for a graphGraph theory
In mathematics and computer science, graph theory is the study of graphs, mathematical structures used to model pairwise relations between objects from a certain collection. A "graph" in this context refers to a collection of vertices or 'nodes' and a collection of edges that connect pairs of...
to have an Eulerian circuit
Glossary of graph theory
Graph theory is a growing area in mathematical research, and has a large specialized vocabulary. Some authors use the same word with different meanings. Some authors use different words to mean the same thing. This page attempts to keep up with current usage....
, it will certainly have to be connected.
Suppose we have a connected graph G = (V, E), The following statements are equivalent:
- All vertices in G have even degreeDegree (graph theory)In graph theory, the degree of a vertex of a graph is the number of edges incident to the vertex, with loops counted twice. The degree of a vertex v is denoted \deg. The maximum degree of a graph G, denoted by Δ, and the minimum degree of a graph, denoted by δ, are the maximum and minimum degree...
. - G consists of the edges from a disjoint unionDisjoint unionIn mathematics, the term disjoint union may refer to one of two different concepts:* In set theory, a disjoint union is a modified union operation that indexes the elements according to which set they originated in; disjoint sets have no element in common.* In probability theory , a disjoint union...
of some cycles, and the vertices from these cycles. - G has an Eulerian circuit.
- 1 → 2 can be shown by induction on the number of cycles.
- 2 → 3 can also be shown by induction on the number of cycles, and
- 3 → 1 should be immediate.
An Eulerian path
Eulerian path
In graph theory, an Eulerian trail is a trail in a graph which visits every edge exactly once. Similarly, an Eulerian circuit or Eulerian cycle is a Eulerian trail which starts and ends on the same vertex. They were first discussed by Leonhard Euler while solving the famous Seven Bridges of...
(a walk which is not closed but uses all edges of G just once) exists if and only if G is connected and exactly two vertices have odd valence.
T-joins
Let T be a subset of the vertex set of a graph. An edge set whose odd-degree vertices are the vertices in T is called a T-join. (In a connected graph, a T-join exists if and only if |T| is even.) The T-join problem is to find a smallest T-join. A smallest T-join leads to a solution of the postman problem. A smallest T-join necessarily consists of|T| paths, no two having an edge in common, that join the vertices of T in pairs. The paths will be such that the total length of all of them is as small as possible. A minimum T-join can be obtained by a weighted matching algorithm that uses O(n3) computational steps.Solution
If a graph has an Eulerian circuit (or an Eulerian path), then an Eulerian circuit (or path) visits every edge, and so the solution is to choose any Eulerian circuit (or path).If the graph is not Eulerian, it must contain vertices of odd degree. By the handshaking lemma
Handshaking lemma
In graph theory, a branch of mathematics, the handshaking lemma is the statement that every finite undirected graph has an even number of vertices with odd degree...
, there must be an even number of these vertices. To solve the postman problem we first find a smallest T-join. We make the graph Eulerian by doubling of the T-join. The solution to the postman problem in the original graph is obtained by finding an Eulerian circuit for the new graph.
Variants
A few variants of the Chinese Postman Problem have been studied and shown to be NP-completeNP-complete
In computational complexity theory, the complexity class NP-complete is a class of decision problems. A decision problem L is NP-complete if it is in the set of NP problems so that any given solution to the decision problem can be verified in polynomial time, and also in the set of NP-hard...
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- Min Chinese postman problem for mixed graphs: for this problem, some of the edges may be directed and can therefore only be visited from one direction. When the problem is minimal traversal of a digraph it is known as the "New York Street Sweeper problem."
- Min k-Chinese postman problem: find k cycles all starting at a designated location such that each edge is traversed by at least one cycle. The goal is to minimize the cost of the most expensive cycle.
- Rural postman problem: Given is also a subset of the edges. Find the cheapest Hamiltonian cycle containing each of these edges (and possibly others). This is a special case of the minimum general routing problem which specifies precisely which vertices the cycle must contain.