Review of the application of quantum annealing-related technologies in transportation optimization

Abstract Traffic optimization remains a significant challenge in urban planning and transportation management. While efficient traffic optimization is crucial for enhancing urban mobility, reducing congestion, and promoting environmental sustainability, traditional computational methods often struggle with the complex, dynamic nature of traffic systems. Recent advances in quantum computing, particularly quantum annealing, offer promising new techniques that could revolutionize traffic flow optimization. This work systematically reviews the literature, starting with search term formulation and ending with the final set of articles. These articles are categorized into three groups: (1) traffic signal control, (2) traffic flow optimization, and (3) routing problems optimization (including vehicle routing problem and traveling salesman problem). The review critically examines current studies on quantum annealing-based traffic optimization, focusing on contributions, methods, solvers, problem suitability, key findings, benchmark fairness, and limitations. It identifies key challenges and provides recommendations for future research. Insights from this work offer researchers and practitioners a concise overview of current challenges and future directions in traffic optimization.