A solution approach to the orienteering problem with time windows and synchronisation constraints.

The orienteering problem with time windows and synchronisation constraints, known as the Cooperative Orienteering Problem with Time Windows (COPTW), is a class of problems with some important applications such as in home health care and emergency logistics management, and yet has received relatively little attention. In the COPTW, a certain number of team members are required to collect the associated reward from each node simultaneously and cooperatively. This requirement to have one or more team members simultaneously available at a vertex to collect the reward poses a challenging task.