Quantum-inspired ant algorithm for knapsack problems

The knapsack problem is a well-known combinatorial optimization problem which has been proved to be NP-hard. This paper proposes a new algorithm called quantum-inspired ant algorithm (QAA) to solve the knapsack problem. QAA takes the advantage of the principles in quantum computing, such as qubit, quantum gate, and quantum superposition of states, to get more probabilistic-based status with small colonies. By updating the pheromone in the ant algorithm and rotating the quantum gate, the algorithm can finally reach the optimal solution. The detailed steps to use QAA are presented, and by solving series of test cases of classical knapsack problems, the effectiveness and generality of the new algorithm are validated.