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Bridging the Evaluation Gap: Standardized Benchmarks for Multi-Objective Search

Artificial Intelligence 2026-03-26 v1

Abstract

Empirical evaluation in multi-objective search (MOS) has historically suffered from fragmentation, relying on heterogeneous problem instances with incompatible objective definitions that make cross-study comparisons difficult. This standardization gap is further exacerbated by the realization that DIMACS road networks, a historical default benchmark for the field, exhibit highly correlated objectives that fail to capture diverse Pareto-front structures. To address this, we introduce the first comprehensive, standardized benchmark suite for exact and approximate MOS. Our suite spans four structurally diverse domains: real-world road networks, structured synthetic graphs, game-based grid environments, and high-dimensional robotic motion-planning roadmaps. By providing fixed graph instances, standardized start-goal queries, and both exact and approximate reference Pareto-optimal solution sets, this suite captures a full spectrum of objective interactions: from strongly correlated to strictly independent. Ultimately, this benchmark provides a common foundation to ensure future MOS evaluations are robust, reproducible, and structurally comprehensive.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2603.24084,
  title  = {Bridging the Evaluation Gap: Standardized Benchmarks for Multi-Objective Search},
  author = {Hadar Peer and Carlos Hernandez and Sven Koenig and Ariel Felner and Oren Salzman},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2603.24084},
  year   = {2026}
}
R2 v1 2026-07-01T11:36:58.347Z