49 research outputs found
Using MAP-Elites to support policy making around Workforce Scheduling and Routing
English abstract: Algorithms such as MAP-Elites provide a means of allowing users to explore a solution space by returning an archive of high-performing solutions. Such an archive, can allow the user an overview of the solution space which may be useful when formulating policy around the problem itself. The number of solutions that can potentially be returned by MAP-Elites is controlled by a parameter d that discretises the user-defined features into `bins'. For a fixed evaluation budget, increasing the number of bins increases user-choice, but at the same time, may lead to a reduction in overall quality of solutions. We undertake a study of the application of Map-Elites to a Workforce Scheduling and Routing problem, using a set of realistic instances based in London.German abstract: Algorithmen wie MAP-Elites bieten Nutzern ein Mittel, um einen Lösungsbereich unter RĂŒckgriff auf ein Archiv leistungsstarker Lösungen zu erkunden. Ein solches Archiv kann dem Nutzer einen Ăberblick ĂŒber den Lösungsraum geben, der es ihm erlaubt, selbst eine Verfahrensweise fĂŒr das Problem zu formulieren. Die Anzahl der möglichen Lösungen, die von MAP-Elites zurĂŒckgespielt werden, wird durch einen Parameter d gesteuert, der die benutzerdefinierten Funktionen in âBinsâ diskretisiert. Gegen ein festgelegtes Bewertungsbudget wird die Anzahl der Bins erhöht, was wiederum die Benutzerauswahl erhöht. Dies kann aber gleichzeitig zu einer Verringerung der GesamtqualitĂ€t der Lösungen fĂŒhren. Wir fĂŒhren eine Studie ĂŒber die Anwendung von MAP-Elites fĂŒr die Personaleinsatzplanung und âweiterleitung mit einem Set realistischer Instanzen mit Sitz in London durch
Evaluating MAP-Elites on Constrained Optimization Problems
Constrained optimization problems are often characterized by multiple
constraints that, in the practice, must be satisfied with different tolerance
levels. While some constraints are hard and as such must be satisfied with
zero-tolerance, others may be soft, such that non-zero violations are
acceptable. Here, we evaluate the applicability of MAP-Elites to "illuminate"
constrained search spaces by mapping them into feature spaces where each
feature corresponds to a different constraint. On the one hand, MAP-Elites
implicitly preserves diversity, thus allowing a good exploration of the search
space. On the other hand, it provides an effective visualization that
facilitates a better understanding of how constraint violations correlate with
the objective function. We demonstrate the feasibility of this approach on a
large set of benchmark problems, in various dimensionalities, and with
different algorithmic configurations. As expected, numerical results show that
a basic version of MAP-Elites cannot compete on all problems (especially those
with equality constraints) with state-of-the-art algorithms that use gradient
information or advanced constraint handling techniques. Nevertheless, it has a
higher potential at finding constraint violations vs. objectives trade-offs and
providing new problem information. As such, it could be used in the future as
an effective building-block for designing new constrained optimization
algorithms
Covariance Matrix Adaptation for the Rapid Illumination of Behavior Space
We focus on the challenge of finding a diverse collection of quality
solutions on complex continuous domains. While quality diver-sity (QD)
algorithms like Novelty Search with Local Competition (NSLC) and MAP-Elites are
designed to generate a diverse range of solutions, these algorithms require a
large number of evaluations for exploration of continuous spaces. Meanwhile,
variants of the Covariance Matrix Adaptation Evolution Strategy (CMA-ES) are
among the best-performing derivative-free optimizers in single-objective
continuous domains. This paper proposes a new QD algorithm called Covariance
Matrix Adaptation MAP-Elites (CMA-ME). Our new algorithm combines the
self-adaptation techniques of CMA-ES with archiving and mapping techniques for
maintaining diversity in QD. Results from experiments based on standard
continuous optimization benchmarks show that CMA-ME finds better-quality
solutions than MAP-Elites; similarly, results on the strategic game Hearthstone
show that CMA-ME finds both a higher overall quality and broader diversity of
strategies than both CMA-ES and MAP-Elites. Overall, CMA-ME more than doubles
the performance of MAP-Elites using standard QD performance metrics. These
results suggest that QD algorithms augmented by operators from state-of-the-art
optimization algorithms can yield high-performing methods for simultaneously
exploring and optimizing continuous search spaces, with significant
applications to design, testing, and reinforcement learning among other
domains.Comment: Accepted to GECCO 202
Evolving the behavior of machines: from micro to macroevolution
International audienceEvolution gave rise to creatures that are arguably more sophisticated than the greatest human-designed systems. This feat has inspired computer scientists since the advent of computing and led to optimization tools that can evolve complex neural networks for machines-an approach known as "neuroevolution". After a few successes in designing evolvable representations for high-dimensional artifacts, the field has been recently revitalized by going beyond optimization: to many, the wonder of evolution is less in the perfect optimization of each species than in the creativity of such a simple iterative process, that is, in the diversity of species. This modern view of artificial evolution is moving the field away from microevolution, following a fitness gradient in a niche, to macroevolution, filling many niches with highly different species. It already opened promising applications, like evolving gait repertoires, video game levels for different tastes, and diverse designs for aerodynamic bikes
Digitalisation For Sustainable Infrastructure: The Road Ahead
In todayâs tumultuous and fast-changing times, digitalisation and technology are game changers in a wide range of sectors and have a tremendous impact on infrastructure. Roads, railways, electricity grids, aviation, and maritime transport are deeply affected by the digital and technological transition, with gains in terms of competitiveness, cost-reduction, and safety. Digitalisation is also a key tool for fostering global commitment towards sustainability, but the race for digital infrastructure is also a geopolitical one. As the worldâs largest economies are starting to adopt competitive strategies, a level playing field appears far from being agreed upon.
Why are digitalisation and technology the core domains of global geopolitical competition? How are they changing the way infrastructure is built, operated, and maintained? To what extent will road, rail, air, and maritime transport change by virtue of digitalisation, artificial intelligence, and the Internet of Things? How to enhance cyber protection for critical infrastructure? What are the EUâs, USâ and Chinaâs digital strategies?Publishe
EG-ICE 2021 Workshop on Intelligent Computing in Engineering
The 28th EG-ICE International Workshop 2021 brings together international experts working at the interface between advanced computing and modern engineering challenges. Many engineering tasks require open-world resolutions to support multi-actor collaboration, coping with approximate models, providing effective engineer-computer interaction, search in multi-dimensional solution spaces, accommodating uncertainty, including specialist domain knowledge, performing sensor-data interpretation and dealing with incomplete knowledge. While results from computer science provide much initial support for resolution, adaptation is unavoidable and most importantly, feedback from addressing engineering challenges drives fundamental computer-science research. Competence and knowledge transfer goes both ways
Management, Technology and Learning for Individuals, Organisations and Society in Turbulent Environments
This book presents the collection of fifty papers which were presented in the Second International Conference on BUSINESS SUSTAINABILITY 2011 - Management, Technology and Learning for Individuals, Organisations and Society in Turbulent Environments , held in PĂłvoa de Varzim, Portugal, from 22ndto 24thof June, 2011.The main motive of the meeting was growing awareness of the importance of the sustainability issue. This importance had emerged from the growing uncertainty of the market behaviour that leads to the characterization of the market, i.e.
environment, as turbulent. Actually, the characterization of the environment as uncertain and turbulent reflects the fact that the traditional technocratic and/or socio-technical approaches cannot effectively and efficiently lead with the present situation. In other words, the rise of the sustainability issue means the quest for new instruments to deal with uncertainty and/or turbulence.
The sustainability issue has a complex nature and solutions are sought in a wide range of domains and instruments to achieve and manage it. The domains range from environmental sustainability (referring to natural environment) through organisational and business sustainability towards social sustainability. Concerning the instruments for sustainability, they range from traditional engineering and management methodologies towards âsoftâ instruments such as knowledge, learning, and creativity. The papers in this book address virtually whole sustainability problems space in a greater or lesser extent. However, although the uncertainty and/or turbulence, or in other words the dynamic properties, come from coupling of management, technology, learning, individuals, organisations and society, meaning that everything is at the same time effect and cause, we wanted to put the emphasis on business with the intention to address primarily companies and their businesses.
Due to this reason, the main title of the book is âBusiness Sustainability 2.0â but with the approach of coupling Management, Technology and Learning for individuals, organisations and society in Turbulent Environments. Also, the notationâ2.0â is to promote the publication as a step further from our previous publication â âBusiness Sustainability Iâ â as would be for a new version of software.
Concerning the Second International Conference on BUSINESS SUSTAINABILITY, its particularity was that it had served primarily as a learning environment in which the papers published in this book were the ground for further individual and collective growth in understanding and perception of sustainability and capacity for building new instruments for business sustainability.
In that respect, the methodology of the conference work was basically dialogical, meaning promoting dialog on the papers, but also including formal paper presentations. In this way, the conference presented a rich space for satisfying different authorsâ and participantsâ needs.
Additionally, promoting the widest and global learning environment and participation, in accordance with the Conference's assumed mission to promote Proactive Generative Collaborative Learning, the Conference Organisation shares/puts open to the community the papers presented in this book, as well as the papers presented on the previous Conference(s). These papers can be accessed from the conference webpage (http://labve.dps.uminho.pt/bs11).
In these terms, this book could also be understood as a complementary instrument to the Conference authorsâ and participantsâ, but also to the wider readershipsâ interested in the sustainability issues.
The book brought together 107 authors from 11 countries, namely from Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Serbia, Switzerland, and United States of America. The authors ârangedâ from senior and renowned scientists to young researchers providing a rich and learning environment.
At the end, the editors hope, and would like, that this book to be useful, meeting the expectation of the authors and wider readership and serving for enhancing the individual and collective learning, and to incentive further scientific development and creation of new papers.
Also, the editors would use this opportunity to announce the intention to continue with new editions of the conference and subsequent editions of accompanying books on the subject of BUSINESS SUSTAINABILITY, the third of which is planned for year 2013.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio