Resource Allocation in Multiuser OFDM System Based on Ant Colony Optimization

The problem of resource allocation in multiuser OFDM system is a combinatorial optimization problem, difficult to solve in polynomial time. For the sake of reducing complexity, it can be solved either by relaxing constraints and making use of linear algorithms or by metaheuristic methods. In this paper, ant colony optimization, a typical algorithm of metaheuristic methods, is applied to solve the problem of resource allocation in multiuser OFDM system. The system model for the application of ACO on the problem, as well as two algorithms based on ACO, is proposed. Comparing to traditional strategies, it is indicated by numerical results that the proposed algorithms can significantly increase the throughput of the system and simultaneously guarantee fairness.