MO-MFCGA: Multiobjective multifactorial cellular genetic algorithm for evolutionary multitasking

Multiobjetive optimization has gained a considerable momentum in the evolutionary computation scientific community. Methods coming from evolutionary computation have shown a remarkable performance for solving this kind of optimization problems thanks to their implicit parallelism and the simultaneous convergence towards the Pareto front. In any case, the resolution of multiobjective optimization problems (MOPs) from the perspective of multitasking optimization remains almost unexplored. Multitasking is an incipient research stream which explores how multiple optimization problems can be simultaneously addressed by performing a single search process. The main motivation behind this solving paradigm is to exploit the synergies between the different problems (or tasks) being optimized. Going deeper, we resort in this paper to the also recent paradigm Evolutionary Multitasking (EM). We introduce the adaptation of the recently proposed Multifactorial Cellular Genetic Algorithm (MFCGA) for solving MOPs, giving rise to the Multiobjective MFCGA (MO-MFCGA). An extensive performance analysis is conducted using the Multiobjective Multifactorial Evolutionary Algorithm as comparison baseline. The experimentation is conducted over 10 multitasking setups, using the Multiobjective Euclidean Traveling Salesman Problem as benchmarking problem. We also perform a deep analysis on the genetic transferability among the problem instances employed, using the synergies among tasks aroused along the MO-MFCGA search procedure

Genetic Transfer or Population Diversification? Deciphering the Secret Ingredients of Evolutionary Multitask Optimization

Evolutionary multitasking has recently emerged as a novel paradigm that enables the similarities and/or latent complementarities (if present) between distinct optimization tasks to be exploited in an autonomous manner simply by solving them together with a unified solution representation scheme. An important matter underpinning future algorithmic advancements is to develop a better understanding of the driving force behind successful multitask problem-solving. In this regard, two (seemingly disparate) ideas have been put forward, namely, (a) implicit genetic transfer as the key ingredient facilitating the exchange of high-quality genetic material across tasks, and (b) population diversification resulting in effective global search of the unified search space encompassing all tasks. In this paper, we present some empirical results that provide a clearer picture of the relationship between the two aforementioned propositions. For the numerical experiments we make use of Sudoku puzzles as case studies, mainly because of their feature that outwardly unlike puzzle statements can often have nearly identical final solutions. The experiments reveal that while on many occasions genetic transfer and population diversity may be viewed as two sides of the same coin, the wider implication of genetic transfer, as shall be shown herein, captures the true essence of evolutionary multitasking to the fullest.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figure

AT-MFCGA: An Adaptive Transfer-guided Multifactorial Cellular Genetic Algorithm for Evolutionary Multitasking

Transfer Optimization is an incipient research area dedicated to solving multiple optimization tasks simultaneously. Among the different approaches that can address this problem effectively, Evolutionary Multitasking resorts to concepts from Evolutionary Computation to solve multiple problems within a single search process. In this paper we introduce a novel adaptive metaheuristic algorithm to deal with Evolutionary Multitasking environments coined as Adaptive Transfer-guided Multifactorial Cellular Genetic Algorithm (AT-MFCGA). AT-MFCGA relies on cellular automata to implement mechanisms in order to exchange knowledge among the optimization problems under consideration. Furthermore, our approach is able to explain by itself the synergies among tasks that were encountered and exploited during the search, which helps us to understand interactions between related optimization tasks. A comprehensive experimental setup is designed to assess and compare the performance of AT-MFCGA to that of other renowned Evolutionary Multitasking alternatives (MFEA and MFEA-II). Experiments comprise 11 multitasking scenarios composed of 20 instances of 4 combinatorial optimization problems, yielding the largest discrete multitasking environment solved to date. Results are conclusive in regard to the superior quality of solutions provided by AT-MFCGA with respect to the rest of the methods, which are complemented by a quantitative examination of the genetic transferability among tasks throughout the search process