A Hybrid Bacterial Swarming Methodology for Job Shop Scheduling Environment

Optimized utilization of resources is the need of the hour in any manufacturing system. A properly planned schedule is often required to facilitate optimization. This makes scheduling a significant phase in any manufacturing scenario. The Job Shop Scheduling Problem is an operation sequencing problem on multiple machines with some operation and machine precedence constraints, aimed to find the best sequence of operations on each machine in order to optimize a set of objectives. Bacterial Foraging algorithm is a relatively new biologically inspired optimization technique proposed based on the foraging behaviour of E.coli bacteria. Harmony Search is a phenomenon mimicking algorithm devised by the improvisation process of musicians. In this research paper, Harmony Search is hybridized with bacterial foraging to improve its scheduling strategies. A proposed Harmony Bacterial Swarming Algorithm is developed and tested with benchmark Job Shop instances. Computational results have clearly shown the competence of our method in obtaining the best schedule

Economic Load Dispatch Using Bacterial Foraging Technique with Particle Swarm Optimization Biased Evolution

This paper presents a novel modified bacterial foraging technique (BFT) to solve economic load dispatch (ELD) problems. BFT is already used for optimization problems, and performance of basic BFT for small problems with moderate dimension and searching space is satisfactory. Search space and complexity grow exponentially in scalable ELD problems, and the basic BFT is not suitable to solve the high dimensional ELD problems, as cells move randomly in basic BFT, and swarming is not sufficiently achieved by cell-to-cell attraction and repelling effects for ELD. However, chemotaxis, swimming, reproduction and elimination-dispersal steps of BFT are very promising. On the other hand, particles move toward promising locations depending on best values from memory and knowledge in particle swarm optimization (PSO). Therefore, best cell (or particle) biased velocity (vector) is added to the random velocity of BFT to reduce randomness in movement (evolution) and to increase swarming in the proposed method to solve ELD. Finally, a data set from a benchmark system is used to show the effectiveness of the proposed method and the results are compared with other methods

Introductory Review of Swarm Intelligence Techniques

With the rapid upliftment of technology, there has emerged a dire need to fine-tune or optimize certain processes, software, models or structures, with utmost accuracy and efficiency. Optimization algorithms are preferred over other methods of optimization through experimentation or simulation, for their generic problem-solving abilities and promising efficacy with the least human intervention. In recent times, the inducement of natural phenomena into algorithm design has immensely triggered the efficiency of optimization process for even complex multi-dimensional, non-continuous, non-differentiable and noisy problem search spaces. This chapter deals with the Swarm intelligence (SI) based algorithms or Swarm Optimization Algorithms, which are a subset of the greater Nature Inspired Optimization Algorithms (NIOAs). Swarm intelligence involves the collective study of individuals and their mutual interactions leading to intelligent behavior of the swarm. The chapter presents various population-based SI algorithms, their fundamental structures along with their mathematical models.Comment: Submitted to Springe

Multiple robot co-ordination using particle swarm optimisation and bacteria foraging algorithm

The use of multiple robots to accomplish a task is certainly preferable over the use of specialised individual robots. A major problem with individual specialized robots is the idle-time, which can be reduced by the use of multiple general robots, therefore making the process economical. In case of infrequent tasks, unlike the ones like assembly line, the use of dedicated robots is not cost-effective. In such cases, multiple robots become essential. This work involves path-planning and co-ordination between multiple mobile agents in a static-obstacle environment. Multiple small robots (swarms) can work together to accomplish the designated tasks that are difficult or impossible for a single robot to accomplish. Here Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) and Bacteria Foraging Algorithm (BFA) have been used for coordination and path-planning of the robots. PSO is used for global path planning of all the robotic agents in the workspace. The calculated paths of the robots are further optimized using a localised BFA optimization technique. The problem considered in this project is coordination of multiple mobile agents in a predefined environment using multiple small mobile robots. This work demonstrates the use of a combinatorial PSO algorithm with a novel local search enhanced by the use of BFA to help in efficient path planning limiting the chances of PSO getting trapped in the local optima. The approach has been simulated on a graphical interface

Short term complex hydro thermal scheduling using integrated PSO-IBF algorithm

In this article, an integrated evolutionary technique such as particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm and improved bacterial foraging algorithm (IBFA) have been developed to provide an optimum solution to the scheduling problem with complex thermal and hydro generating stations. PSO algorithm is framed based on the intelligent behavior of the fish school and a flock of birds and the optimal solution in the multidimensional search region is achieved by assigning a random velocity to each potential solution (called the particle). BFA is designed by following the prey-seeking (chemotactic) nature of E. coli bacteria. This technique is followed in an improved manner to get the convergence rate in dynamic for a hyperspace problem by implementing a chemotactic step in a linearly decreased way instead of the static one. The effectiveness of this integrated algorithm is evaluated by using it in a complex thermal and hydro generating system. In this testing system, multiple numbers of cascaded reservoirs in hydro plants have a time coupling effect and thermal power units have a valve point loading effect. The simulation results indicate its merits by comparing it with other meta-heuristic techniques related to the fuel cost required to generate the thermal power.

How Can Bee Colony Algorithm Serve Medicine?

Healthcare professionals usually should make complex decisions with far reaching consequences and associated risks in health care fields. As it was demonstrated in other industries, the ability to drill down into pertinent data to explore knowledge behind the data can greatly facilitate superior, informed decisions to ensue the facts. Nature has always inspired researchers to develop models of solving the problems. Bee colony algorithm (BCA), based on the self-organized behavior of social insects is one of the most popular member of the family of population oriented, nature inspired meta-heuristic swarm intelligence method which has been proved its superiority over some other nature inspired algorithms. The objective of this model was to identify valid novel, potentially useful, and understandable correlations and patterns in existing data. This review employs a thematic analysis of online series of academic papers to outline BCA in medical hive, reducing the response and computational time and optimizing the problems. To illustrate the benefits of this model, the cases of disease diagnose system are presented

Performance evaluation of two popular antennas designed using a Bacteria Foraging Algorithm

AbstractTwo popular antennas such as the Yagi-Uda Array (YUA) and the Log Periodic Dipole Array (LPDA) with the same number of dipole elements are optimally designed using Bacteria Foraging Algorithm (BFA). BFA being one of the successful optimization algorithms, used to optimize many design parameters of these two antennas to get a number of desired performance parameters. A YUA is designed here, mainly to realize high directivity, input-impedance (Zin) close to 50Ω, high Front To Back Ratio (FTBR), high Front-to-maximum-Side-Lobe-Level (FSLL), low Half Power Beam Width (HPBW), and appreciable bandwidth, whereas a LPDA is designed here, mainly to achieve high bandwidth, average Zin close to 50Ω, high average FTBR, high average FSLL, low average HPBW, and appreciable average directivity. The successful design approaches, application and comparative study of these two antennas presented here can also be extended to other antennas