Survey on Neural Routing Solvers
#Neural Routing Solvers #Deep Learning #Vehicle Routing Problems #Heuristic Frameworks #Optimization and Control #Machine Learning #Generalization-focused Evaluation
📌 Key Takeaways
- Comprehensive survey on neural routing solvers published by Yunpeng Ba and 9 collaborators
- Paper introduces hierarchical taxonomy based on heuristic principles for NRSs
- New generalization-focused evaluation pipeline proposed to address conventional limitations
- Benchmarking across pipelines reveals previously unreported research gaps
📖 Full Retelling
Researchers led by Yunpeng Ba, along with nine collaborators from various institutions, published a comprehensive survey on neural routing solvers on arXiv on February 25, 2026, addressing the growing potential of deep learning approaches to solve complex vehicle routing problems while reducing reliance on costly manual design processes. The survey, titled 'Survey on Neural Routing Solvers,' makes two significant contributions to the field: first, it highlights the heuristic nature of neural routing solvers (NRSs) and reviews existing approaches from this perspective, introducing a hierarchical taxonomy based on heuristic principles; second, the authors propose a generalization-focused evaluation pipeline to address limitations of conventional evaluation methods. By benchmarking representative NRSs across both pipelines, the research team uncovers several previously unreported gaps in current research that could guide future developments in this interdisciplinary field. Neural routing solvers represent a significant advancement in optimization by leveraging deep learning to learn implicit heuristic rules from data rather than relying on handcrafted solutions, potentially revolutionizing how complex routing problems are approached across various industries.
🏷️ Themes
Artificial Intelligence, Optimization, Machine Learning
📚 Related People & Topics
Deep learning
Branch of machine learning
In machine learning, deep learning focuses on utilizing multilayered neural networks to perform tasks such as classification, regression, and representation learning. The field takes inspiration from biological neuroscience and revolves around stacking artificial neurons into layers and "training" t...
Vehicle routing problem
Optimization problem
The vehicle routing problem (VRP) is a combinatorial optimization and integer programming problem which asks "What is the optimal set of routes for a fleet of vehicles to traverse in order to deliver to a given set of customers?" The problem first appeared, as the truck dispatching problem, in a pap...
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-- Optimization and Control arXiv:2602.21761 [Submitted on 25 Feb 2026] Title: Survey on Neural Routing Solvers Authors: Yunpeng Ba , Xi Lin , Changliang Zhou , Ruihao Zheng , Zhenkun Wang , Xinyan Liang , Zhichao Lu , Jianyong Sun , Yuhua Qian , Qingfu Zhang View a PDF of the paper titled Survey on Neural Routing Solvers, by Yunpeng Ba and 9 other authors View PDF HTML Abstract: Neural routing solvers that leverage deep learning to tackle vehicle routing problems have demonstrated notable potential for practical applications. By learning implicit heuristic rules from data, NRSs replace the handcrafted counterparts in classic heuristic frameworks, thereby reducing reliance on costly manual design and trial-and-error adjustments. This survey makes two main contributions: (1) The heuristic nature of NRSs is highlighted, and existing NRSs are reviewed from the perspective of heuristics. A hierarchical taxonomy based on heuristic principles is further introduced. (2) A generalization-focused evaluation pipeline is proposed to address limitations of the conventional pipeline. Comparative benchmarking of representative NRSs across both pipelines uncovers a series of previously unreported gaps in current research. Subjects: Optimization and Control (math.OC) ; Artificial Intelligence (cs.AI); Machine Learning (cs.LG); Neural and Evolutionary Computing (cs.NE) Cite as: arXiv:2602.21761 [math.OC] (or arXiv:2602.21761v1 [math.OC] for this version) https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2602.21761 Focus to learn more arXiv-issued DOI via DataCite Submission history From: Yunpeng Ba [ view email ] [v1] Wed, 25 Feb 2026 10:24:43 UTC (437 KB) Full-text links: Access Paper: View a PDF of the paper titled Survey on Neural Routing Solvers, by Yunpeng Ba and 9 other authors View PDF HTML TeX Source view license Current browse context: math.OC < prev | next > new | recent | 2026-02 Change to browse by: cs cs.AI cs.LG cs.NE math References & Citations NASA ADS Google Scholar Semantic Scholar e...
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