Weber problem

In geometry, the Weber problem, named after Alfred Weber, is one of the most famous problems in location theory. It requires finding a point in the plane that minimizes the sum of the transportation costs from this point to n destination points, where different destination points are associated with different costs per unit distance.

The Weber problem generalizes the geometric median, which assumes transportation costs per unit distance are the same for all destination points, and the problem of computing the Fermat point, the geometric median of three points. For this reason it is sometimes called the Fermat–Weber problem, although the same name has also been used for the unweighted geometric median problem. The Weber problem is in turn generalized by the attraction–repulsion problem, which allows some of the costs to be negative, so that greater distance from some points is better.

In the triangle case, the Fermat problem consists in locating a point D with respect to three points A, B, and C in such a way that the sum of the distances between D and each of the three other points is minimized. It was formulated by the famous French mathematician Pierre de Fermat before 1640, and it can be seen as the true beginning of both location theory, and space-economy. Torricelli found a geometrical solution to this problem around 1645, but it still had no direct numerical solution more than 325 years later. Kuhn and Kuenne found an iterative solution for the general Fermat problem in 1962, and, in 1972, Tellier found a direct numerical solution to the Fermat triangle problem, which is trigonometric. Kuhn and Kuenne’s solution applies to the case of polygons having more than three sides, which is not the case with Tellier’s solution for reasons explained further on.

The Weber problem consists, in the triangle case, in locating a point D with respect to three points A, B, and C in such a way that the sum of the transportation costs between D and each of the three other points is minimized. The Weber problem is a generalization of the Fermat problem since it involves both equal and unequal attractive forces (see below), while the Fermat problem only deals with equal attractive forces. It was first formulated, and solved geometrically in the triangle case, by Thomas Simpson in 1750. It was later popularized by Alfred Weber in 1909. Kuhn and Kuenne’s iterative solution found in 1962, and Tellier’s solution found in 1972 apply to the Weber triangle problem as well as to the Fermat one. Kuhn and Kuenne’s solution applies also to the case of polygons having more than three sides.

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