Enhanced Firefly Algorithm for Spatial Task Scheduling

Enhanced Firefly Algorithm for Spatial Task Scheduling | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Enhanced Firefly Algorithm for Spatial Task Scheduling BOUATOUCHE Mourad, Medjahed Seyyid Ahmed, BELKADI Khaled This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8642964/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 6 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract With the rapid advancement of mobile devices and wireless networks, spatial crowdsourcing has emerged as a transformative e-market platform. It enables requesters to outsource tasks requiring a physical presence at specific locations, while workers autonomously select and complete these tasks for a reward. In this study, we address the task scheduling challenge under the Worker-Selected Tasks mode, where a single worker is assigned to a set of spatially distributed tasks. Each task is characterized by a geographic location and a strict deadline. The primary objective is to maximize the number of tasks completed by the worker while guaranteeing all temporal constraints are met. This involves strategically sequencing tasks to optimize both spatial route efficiency and deadline adherence. We propose a bio-inspired approach based on the Firefly Algorithm (FA). We further introduce an Enhanced Firefly Algorithm that incorporates adaptive parameter control, local search heuristics, and genetic crossover operations to improve convergence speed and solution quality. A comprehensive experimental evaluation was conducted using both real-world and synthetic datasets to assess the performance and computational complexity of the proposed method. Computational experiments demonstrate that the proposed algorithm performs competitively compared to existing solution methods. Spatial Crowdsourcing Task Scheduling Optimization Metaheuristics Firefly Algorithm Bio-inspired Computing Worker Selected Tasks (WST) Mobile Computing Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Reviews received at journal 17 Mar, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 20 Feb, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 19 Feb, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 19 Feb, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 22 Jan, 2026 First submitted to journal 19 Jan, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8642964","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":594992360,"identity":"0b9b4dbc-b748-47ed-9b80-52b6260b2eb2","order_by":0,"name":"BOUATOUCHE Mourad","email":"data:image/png;base64,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","orcid":"","institution":"University of Relizane","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"BOUATOUCHE","middleName":"","lastName":"Mourad","suffix":""},{"id":594992361,"identity":"85c36e8a-1244-4e9a-8cf1-90bc1b32eb65","order_by":1,"name":"Medjahed Seyyid Ahmed","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Relizane","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Medjahed","middleName":"Seyyid","lastName":"Ahmed","suffix":""},{"id":594992362,"identity":"fda4e2d4-6161-4615-804e-ccc8ecf0009f","order_by":2,"name":"BELKADI Khaled","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"USTO-MB","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"BELKADI","middleName":"","lastName":"Khaled","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-01-19 20:54:18","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8642964/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8642964/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":103506224,"identity":"8a54b17b-6f91-40ed-a1ce-d19575457e6c","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-02-26 13:34:44","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":535940,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"EnhancedFireflyAlgorithmforSpatialTaskScheduling.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8642964/v1_covered_fe36ba85-8743-4e20-b9f9-8d8599d7b727.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Enhanced Firefly Algorithm for Spatial Task Scheduling","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"cluster-computing","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"Learn more about [Cluster Computing](https://www.springer.com/journal/10586)","snPcode":"10586","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/10586/3","title":"Cluster Computing","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false},"keywords":"Spatial Crowdsourcing, Task Scheduling, Optimization, Metaheuristics, Firefly Algorithm, Bio-inspired Computing, Worker Selected Tasks (WST), Mobile Computing","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8642964/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8642964/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eWith the rapid advancement of mobile devices and wireless networks, spatial crowdsourcing has emerged as a transformative e-market platform. 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