Optimal Recombination in Genetic Algorithms

This paper surveys results on complexity of the optimal recombination problem (ORP), which consists in finding the best possible offspring as a result of a recombination operator in a genetic algorithm, given two parent solutions. We consider efficient reductions of the ORPs, allowing to establish polynomial solvability or NP-hardness of the ORPs, as well as direct proofs of hardness results

Application of multiobjective genetic programming to the design of robot failure recognition systems

We present an evolutionary approach using multiobjective genetic programming (MOGP) to derive optimal feature extraction preprocessing stages for robot failure detection. This data-driven machine learning method is compared both with conventional (nonevolutionary) classifiers and a set of domain-dependent feature extraction methods. We conclude MOGP is an effective and practical design method for failure recognition systems with enhanced recognition accuracy over conventional classifiers, independent of domain knowledge

Evolutionary improvement of programs

Most applications of genetic programming (GP) involve the creation of an entirely new function, program or expression to solve a specific problem. In this paper, we propose a new approach that applies GP to improve existing software by optimizing its non-functional properties such as execution time, memory usage, or power consumption. In general, satisfying non-functional requirements is a difficult task and often achieved in part by optimizing compilers. However, modern compilers are in general not always able to produce semantically equivalent alternatives that optimize non-functional properties, even if such alternatives are known to exist: this is usually due to the limited local nature of such optimizations. In this paper, we discuss how best to combine and extend the existing evolutionary methods of GP, multiobjective optimization, and coevolution in order to improve existing software. Given as input the implementation of a function, we attempt to evolve a semantically equivalent version, in this case optimized to reduce execution time subject to a given probability distribution of inputs. We demonstrate that our framework is able to produce non-obvious optimizations that compilers are not yet able to generate on eight example functions. We employ a coevolved population of test cases to encourage the preservation of the function's semantics. We exploit the original program both through seeding of the population in order to focus the search, and as an oracle for testing purposes. As well as discussing the issues that arise when attempting to improve software, we employ rigorous experimental method to provide interesting and practical insights to suggest how to address these issues

Effective and efficient algorithm for multiobjective optimization of hydrologic models

Practical experience with the calibration of hydrologic models suggests that any single-objective function, no matter how carefully chosen, is often inadequate to properly measure all of the characteristics of the observed data deemed to be important. One strategy to circumvent this problem is to define several optimization criteria (objective functions) that measure different (complementary) aspects of the system behavior and to use multicriteria optimization to identify the set of nondominated, efficient, or Pareto optimal solutions. In this paper, we present an efficient and effective Markov Chain Monte Carlo sampler, entitled the Multiobjective Shuffled Complex Evolution Metropolis (MOSCEM) algorithm, which is capable of solving the multiobjective optimization problem for hydrologic models. MOSCEM is an improvement over the Shuffled Complex Evolution Metropolis (SCEM-UA) global optimization algorithm, using the concept of Pareto dominance (rather than direct single-objective function evaluation) to evolve the initial population of points toward a set of solutions stemming from a stable distribution (Pareto set). The efficacy of the MOSCEM-UA algorithm is compared with the original MOCOM-UA algorithm for three hydrologic modeling case studies of increasing complexity

Search based software engineering: Trends, techniques and applications

© ACM, 2012. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of ACM for your personal use. Not for redistribution. The definitive version is available from the link below.In the past five years there has been a dramatic increase in work on Search-Based Software Engineering (SBSE), an approach to Software Engineering (SE) in which Search-Based Optimization (SBO) algorithms are used to address problems in SE. SBSE has been applied to problems throughout the SE lifecycle, from requirements and project planning to maintenance and reengineering. The approach is attractive because it offers a suite of adaptive automated and semiautomated solutions in situations typified by large complex problem spaces with multiple competing and conflicting objectives. This article provides a review and classification of literature on SBSE. The work identifies research trends and relationships between the techniques applied and the applications to which they have been applied and highlights gaps in the literature and avenues for further research.EPSRC and E