A Multi-Agent Architecture for the Design of Hierarchical Interval Type-2 Beta Fuzzy System

This paper presents a new methodology for building and evolving hierarchical fuzzy systems. For the system design, a tree-based encoding method is adopted to hierarchically link low dimensional fuzzy systems. Such tree structural representation has by nature a flexible design offering more adjustable and modifiable structures. The proposed hierarchical structure employs a type-2 beta fuzzy system to cope with the faced uncertainties, and the resulting system is called the Hierarchical Interval Type-2 Beta Fuzzy System (HT2BFS). For the system optimization, two main tasks of structure learning and parameter tuning are applied. The structure learning phase aims to evolve and learn the structures of a population of HT2BFS in a multiobjective context taking into account the optimization of both the accuracy and the interpretability metrics. The parameter tuning phase is applied to refine and adjust the parameters of the system. To accomplish these two tasks in the most optimal and faster way, we further employ a multi-agent architecture to provide both a distributed and a cooperative management of the optimization tasks. Agents are divided into two different types based on their functions: a structure agent and a parameter agent. The main function of the structure agent is to perform a multi-objective evolutionary structure learning step by means of the Multi-Objective Immune Programming algorithm (MOIP). The parameter agents have the function of managing different hierarchical structures simultaneously to refine their parameters by means of the Hybrid Harmony Search algorithm (HHS). In this architecture, agents use cooperation and communication concepts to create high-performance HT2BFSs. The performance of the proposed system is evaluated by several comparisons with various state of art approaches on noise-free and noisy time series prediction data sets and regression problems. The results clearly demonstrate a great improvement in the accuracy rate, the convergence speed and the number of used rules as compared with other existing approaches

Ensemble of heterogeneous flexible neural trees using multiobjective genetic programming

Machine learning algorithms are inherently multiobjective in nature, where approximation error minimization and model's complexity simplification are two conflicting objectives. We proposed a multiobjective genetic programming (MOGP) for creating a heterogeneous flexible neural tree (HFNT), tree-like flexible feedforward neural network model. The functional heterogeneity in neural tree nodes was introduced to capture a better insight of data during learning because each input in a dataset possess different features. MOGP guided an initial HFNT population towards Pareto-optimal solutions, where the final population was used for making an ensemble system. A diversity index measure along with approximation error and complexity was introduced to maintain diversity among the candidates in the population. Hence, the ensemble was created by using accurate, structurally simple, and diverse candidates from MOGP final population. Differential evolution algorithm was applied to fine-tune the underlying parameters of the selected candidates. A comprehensive test over classification, regression, and time-series datasets proved the efficiency of the proposed algorithm over other available prediction methods. Moreover, the heterogeneous creation of HFNT proved to be efficient in making ensemble system from the final population

Investigating biocomplexity through the agent-based paradigm.

Capturing the dynamism that pervades biological systems requires a computational approach that can accommodate both the continuous features of the system environment as well as the flexible and heterogeneous nature of component interactions. This presents a serious challenge for the more traditional mathematical approaches that assume component homogeneity to relate system observables using mathematical equations. While the homogeneity condition does not lead to loss of accuracy while simulating various continua, it fails to offer detailed solutions when applied to systems with dynamically interacting heterogeneous components. As the functionality and architecture of most biological systems is a product of multi-faceted individual interactions at the sub-system level, continuum models rarely offer much beyond qualitative similarity. Agent-based modelling is a class of algorithmic computational approaches that rely on interactions between Turing-complete finite-state machines--or agents--to simulate, from the bottom-up, macroscopic properties of a system. In recognizing the heterogeneity condition, they offer suitable ontologies to the system components being modelled, thereby succeeding where their continuum counterparts tend to struggle. Furthermore, being inherently hierarchical, they are quite amenable to coupling with other computational paradigms. The integration of any agent-based framework with continuum models is arguably the most elegant and precise way of representing biological systems. Although in its nascence, agent-based modelling has been utilized to model biological complexity across a broad range of biological scales (from cells to societies). In this article, we explore the reasons that make agent-based modelling the most precise approach to model biological systems that tend to be non-linear and complex

A survey on Bayesian nonparametric learning

© 2019 Copyright held by the owner/author(s). Publication rights licensed to ACM. Bayesian (machine) learning has been playing a significant role in machine learning for a long time due to its particular ability to embrace uncertainty, encode prior knowledge, and endow interpretability. On the back of Bayesian learning's great success, Bayesian nonparametric learning (BNL) has emerged as a force for further advances in this field due to its greater modelling flexibility and representation power. Instead of playing with the fixed-dimensional probabilistic distributions of Bayesian learning, BNL creates a new “game” with infinite-dimensional stochastic processes. BNL has long been recognised as a research subject in statistics, and, to date, several state-of-the-art pilot studies have demonstrated that BNL has a great deal of potential to solve real-world machine-learning tasks. However, despite these promising results, BNL has not created a huge wave in the machine-learning community. Esotericism may account for this. The books and surveys on BNL written by statisticians are overcomplicated and filled with tedious theories and proofs. Each is certainly meaningful but may scare away new researchers, especially those with computer science backgrounds. Hence, the aim of this article is to provide a plain-spoken, yet comprehensive, theoretical survey of BNL in terms that researchers in the machine-learning community can understand. It is hoped this survey will serve as a starting point for understanding and exploiting the benefits of BNL in our current scholarly endeavours. To achieve this goal, we have collated the extant studies in this field and aligned them with the steps of a standard BNL procedure-from selecting the appropriate stochastic processes through manipulation to executing the model inference algorithms. At each step, past efforts have been thoroughly summarised and discussed. In addition, we have reviewed the common methods for implementing BNL in various machine-learning tasks along with its diverse applications in the real world as examples to motivate future studies

Bio-inspired optimization in integrated river basin management

Water resources worldwide are facing severe challenges in terms of quality and quantity. It is essential to conserve, manage, and optimize water resources and their quality through integrated water resources management (IWRM). IWRM is an interdisciplinary field that works on multiple levels to maximize the socio-economic and ecological benefits of water resources. Since this is directly influenced by the river’s ecological health, the point of interest should start at the basin-level. The main objective of this study is to evaluate the application of bio-inspired optimization techniques in integrated river basin management (IRBM). This study demonstrates the application of versatile, flexible and yet simple metaheuristic bio-inspired algorithms in IRBM. In a novel approach, bio-inspired optimization algorithms Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) and Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) are used to spatially distribute mitigation measures within a basin to reduce long-term annual mean total nitrogen (TN) concentration at the outlet of the basin. The Upper Fuhse river basin developed in the hydrological model, Hydrological Predictions for the Environment (HYPE), is used as a case study. ACO and PSO are coupled with the HYPE model to distribute a set of measures and compute the resulting TN reduction. The algorithms spatially distribute nine crop and subbasin-level mitigation measures under four categories. Both algorithms can successfully yield a discrete combination of measures to reduce long-term annual mean TN concentration. They achieved an 18.65% reduction, and their performance was on par with each other. This study has established the applicability of these bio-inspired optimization algorithms in successfully distributing the TN mitigation measures within the river basin. Stakeholder involvement is a crucial aspect of IRBM. It ensures that researchers and policymakers are aware of the ground reality through large amounts of information collected from the stakeholder. Including stakeholders in policy planning and decision-making legitimizes the decisions and eases their implementation. Therefore, a socio-hydrological framework is developed and tested in the Larqui river basin, Chile, based on a field survey to explore the conditions under which the farmers would implement or extend the width of vegetative filter strips (VFS) to prevent soil erosion. The framework consists of a behavioral, social model (extended Theory of Planned Behavior, TPB) and an agent-based model (developed in NetLogo) coupled with the results from the vegetative filter model (Vegetative Filter Strip Modeling System, VFSMOD-W). The results showed that the ABM corroborates with the survey results and the farmers are willing to extend the width of VFS as long as their utility stays positive. This framework can be used to develop tailor-made policies for river basins based on the conditions of the river basins and the stakeholders' requirements to motivate them to adopt sustainable practices. It is vital to assess whether the proposed management plans achieve the expected results for the river basin and if the stakeholders will accept and implement them. The assessment via simulation tools ensures effective implementation and realization of the target stipulated by the decision-makers. In this regard, this dissertation introduces the application of bio-inspired optimization techniques in the field of IRBM. The successful discrete combinatorial optimization in terms of the spatial distribution of mitigation measures by ACO and PSO and the novel socio-hydrological framework using ABM prove the forte and diverse applicability of bio-inspired optimization algorithms