front matter
preface
Have you ever wondered how navigation apps like Google Maps and Apple Maps determine the fastest route from one place to another? Have you been curious about how ride-sharing companies like Uber, Lyft, or DiDi guide their drivers to the best spots to reduce your wait time and their travel distance, making things better for everyone? Or perhaps you’ve asked yourself how food delivery platforms like Uber Eats suggest food choices for you. Have you considered how last-mile delivery apps map out the fastest routes for parcel deliveries while minimizing empty return trips? Do you ever wonder how emergency responders are dispatched swiftly to incidents? Have you thought about the process behind selecting locations for electric vehicle charging stations? Or how to calculate the optimal price for a product, optimize investment portfolios, allocate resources, or schedule surgeries efficiently? This book dives into the world of artificial intelligence algorithms that tackle these real-world design, planning, and control problems. The book is written for practitioners interested in solving ill-structured search and optimization problems using modern derivative-free algorithms. This book will get you up to speed with the core concepts of search and optimization and endow you with the ability to deal with practical design, planning, and control problems.