A Feasibility-Preserved Quantum Approximate Solver for the Capacitated Vehicle Routing Problem

The Capacitated Vehicle Routing Problem (CVRP) is an NP-optimization problem (NPO) that arises in various fields including transportation and logistics. The CVRP extends from the Vehicle Routing Problem (VRP), aiming to determine the most efficient plan for a fleet of vehicles to deliver goods to a set of customers, subject to the limited carrying capacity of each vehicle. As the number of possible solutions skyrockets when the number of customers increases, finding the optimal solution remains a significant challenge. Recently, a quantum-classical hybrid algorithm known as Quantum Approximate Optimization Algorithm (QAOA) can provide better solutions in some cases of combinatorial optimization problems, compared to classical heuristics. However, the QAOA exhibits a diminished ability to produce high-quality solutions for some constrained optimization problems including the CVRP. One potential approach for improvement involves a variation of the QAOA known as the Grover-Mixer Quantum Alternating Operator Ansatz (GM-QAOA). In this work, we attempt to use GM-QAOA to solve the CVRP. We present a new binary encoding for the CVRP, with an alternative objective function of minimizing the shortest path that bypasses the vehicle capacity constraint of the CVRP. The search space is further restricted by the Grover-Mixer. We examine and discuss the effectiveness of the proposed solver through its application to several illustrative examples.