A Wonderfully Over-Engineered Solution to the Problem of Pokemon Go

Pokemon Go is the most popular app on both Google Play and the Apple App Store. Everyone, it seems, is playing it. But with a city full of PokeStops to hit and (presumably) a real-world life, how are you supposed to keep up? Fear not, there is an answer.

It turns out that there's a mathematical model for finding the shortest route through a bunch of PokeStops, and it comes in the form of the non-Pokemon-related "Traveling Salesman Problem." Originally, the problem was about salesmen traveling between multiple cities (hence the name), and algorithms used to solve it would find the shortest path that would hit all the necessary points. Since then, those same algorithms have been applied to all sorts of applications like shipping, 3D printing, and even astronomy.

Also to hitting PokeStops as possible before Mom says it's time for dinner.

Mathematicians at the University of Waterloo have been calculating the fastest tour of various metropolitan areas like Boston, Cincinnati, and San Francisco, hitting every PokeStop in the city in the shortest possible time. Many of these PokeTours are very long. Cincinnati for instance has 551 PokeStops, and it takes 223 miles of walking to hit them all. Boston has 518 Pokestops, which can be done in 218 miles. San Fransisco's tour is much smaller, at 65 miles, but that will still take a very long time and your backpack has an upper limit on Pokeballs anyway. Cool your jets, man.

Currently, the page also has maps of Denver, Roanoke, the University of Missouri, Kansas State University, and Champaign, Illinois. Presumably more maps will be added soon, so be patient if your city isn't on the list. Or just go outside and find a tree to appreciate, or something.

Source: http://www.popularmechanics.com/culture/gaming/a21843/traveling-salesman-problem-pokemon-go/