In such cases, the fastest known shortest-path algorithm doesn’t work. For decades, fast algorithms for finding shortest paths on negative-weight graphs have remained elusive.

A canonical problem in computer science is to find the shortest route to every point in a network. A new approach beats the classic algorithm taught in textbooks.

The Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) algorithm is a metaheuristic nature-inspired technique for solving various combinatorial optimization problems. The shortest-path problem is an important ...