6,045 research outputs found
SamACO: variable sampling ant colony optimization algorithm for continuous optimization
An ant colony optimization (ACO) algorithm offers
algorithmic techniques for optimization by simulating the foraging behavior of a group of ants to perform incremental solution
constructions and to realize a pheromone laying-and-following
mechanism. Although ACO is first designed for solving discrete
(combinatorial) optimization problems, the ACO procedure is
also applicable to continuous optimization. This paper presents
a new way of extending ACO to solving continuous optimization
problems by focusing on continuous variable sampling as a key
to transforming ACO from discrete optimization to continuous
optimization. The proposed SamACO algorithm consists of three
major steps, i.e., the generation of candidate variable values for
selection, the ants’ solution construction, and the pheromone
update process. The distinct characteristics of SamACO are the
cooperation of a novel sampling method for discretizing the
continuous search space and an efficient incremental solution
construction method based on the sampled values. The performance
of SamACO is tested using continuous numerical functions
with unimodal and multimodal features. Compared with some
state-of-the-art algorithms, including traditional ant-based algorithms
and representative computational intelligence algorithms
for continuous optimization, the performance of SamACO is seen
competitive and promising
Recommended from our members
Combinatorial optimization and metaheuristics
Today, combinatorial optimization is one of the youngest and most active areas of discrete mathematics. It is a branch of optimization in applied mathematics and computer science, related to operational research, algorithm theory and computational complexity theory. It sits at the intersection of several fields, including artificial intelligence, mathematics and software engineering. Its increasing interest arises for the fact that a large number of scientific and industrial problems can be formulated as abstract combinatorial optimization problems, through graphs and/or (integer) linear programs. Some of these problems have polynomial-time (“efficient”) algorithms, while most of them are NP-hard, i.e. it is not proved that they can be solved in polynomial-time. Mainly, it means that it is not possible to guarantee that an exact solution to the problem can be found and one has to settle for an approximate solution with known performance guarantees. Indeed, the goal of approximate methods is to find “quickly” (reasonable run-times), with “high” probability, provable “good” solutions (low error from the real optimal solution). In the last 20 years, a new kind of algorithm commonly called metaheuristics have emerged in this class, which basically try to combine heuristics in high level frameworks aimed at efficiently and effectively exploring the search space. This report briefly outlines the components, concepts, advantages and disadvantages of different metaheuristic approaches from a conceptual point of view, in order to analyze their similarities and differences. The two very significant forces of intensification and diversification, that mainly determine the behavior of a metaheuristic, will be pointed out. The report concludes by exploring the importance of hybridization and integration methods
Meta-heuristic algorithms in car engine design: a literature survey
Meta-heuristic algorithms are often inspired by natural phenomena, including the evolution of species in Darwinian natural selection theory, ant behaviors in biology, flock behaviors of some birds, and annealing in metallurgy. Due to their great potential in solving difficult optimization problems, meta-heuristic algorithms have found their way into automobile engine design. There are different optimization problems arising in different areas of car engine management including calibration, control system, fault diagnosis, and modeling. In this paper we review the state-of-the-art applications of different meta-heuristic algorithms in engine management systems. The review covers a wide range of research, including the application of meta-heuristic algorithms in engine calibration, optimizing engine control systems, engine fault diagnosis, and optimizing different parts of engines and modeling. The meta-heuristic algorithms reviewed in this paper include evolutionary algorithms, evolution strategy, evolutionary programming, genetic programming, differential evolution, estimation of distribution algorithm, ant colony optimization, particle swarm optimization, memetic algorithms, and artificial immune system
- …