Robust solutions to multi-objective linear programs with uncertain data

In this paper we examine multi-objective linear programming problems in the face of data uncertainty both in the objective function and the constraints. First, we derive a formula for the radius of robust feasibility guaranteeing constraint feasibility for all possible scenarios within a specified uncertainty set under affine data parametrization. We then present numerically tractable optimality conditions for minmax robust weakly efficient solutions, i.e., the weakly efficient solutions of the robust counterpart. We also consider highly robust weakly efficient solutions, i.e., robust feasible solutions which are weakly efficient for any possible instance of the objective matrix within a specified uncertainty set, providing lower bounds for the radius of highly robust efficiency guaranteeing the existence of this type of solutions under affine and rank-1 objective data uncertainty. Finally, we provide numerically tractable optimality conditions for highly robust weakly efficient solutions.This research was partially supported by the Australian Research Council, Discovery Project DP120100467, the MICINN of Spain, grant number MTM2011-29064-C03-02, and Generalitat Valenciana, grant number ACOMP/2013/062

Guaranteeing highly robust weakly efficient solutions for uncertain multi-objective convex programs

This paper deals with uncertain multi-objective convex programming problems, where the data of the objective function or the constraints or both are allowed to be uncertain within specified uncertainty sets. We present sufficient conditions for the existence of highly robust weakly efficient solutions, that is, robust feasible solutions which are weakly efficient for any possible instance of the objective function within a specified uncertainty set. This is done by way of estimating the radius of highly robust weak efficiency under linearly distributed uncertainty of the objective functions. In the particular case of robust quadratic multi-objective programs, we show that these sufficient conditions can be expressed in terms of the original data of the problem, extending and improving the corresponding results in the literature for robust multi-objective linear programs under ball uncertainty.This research was partially supported by the Australian Research Council, Discovery Project DP120100467 and the MINECO of Spain and ERDF of EU, Grants MTM2014-59179-C2-1-P and ECO2016-77200-P

Algorithm Engineering in Robust Optimization

Robust optimization is a young and emerging field of research having received a considerable increase of interest over the last decade. In this paper, we argue that the the algorithm engineering methodology fits very well to the field of robust optimization and yields a rewarding new perspective on both the current state of research and open research directions. To this end we go through the algorithm engineering cycle of design and analysis of concepts, development and implementation of algorithms, and theoretical and experimental evaluation. We show that many ideas of algorithm engineering have already been applied in publications on robust optimization. Most work on robust optimization is devoted to analysis of the concepts and the development of algorithms, some papers deal with the evaluation of a particular concept in case studies, and work on comparison of concepts just starts. What is still a drawback in many papers on robustness is the missing link to include the results of the experiments again in the design

Theory and Applications of Robust Optimization

In this paper we survey the primary research, both theoretical and applied, in the area of Robust Optimization (RO). Our focus is on the computational attractiveness of RO approaches, as well as the modeling power and broad applicability of the methodology. In addition to surveying prominent theoretical results of RO, we also present some recent results linking RO to adaptable models for multi-stage decision-making problems. Finally, we highlight applications of RO across a wide spectrum of domains, including finance, statistics, learning, and various areas of engineering.Comment: 50 page

A Practical Guide to Robust Optimization

Robust optimization is a young and active research field that has been mainly developed in the last 15 years. Robust optimization is very useful for practice, since it is tailored to the information at hand, and it leads to computationally tractable formulations. It is therefore remarkable that real-life applications of robust optimization are still lagging behind; there is much more potential for real-life applications than has been exploited hitherto. The aim of this paper is to help practitioners to understand robust optimization and to successfully apply it in practice. We provide a brief introduction to robust optimization, and also describe important do's and don'ts for using it in practice. We use many small examples to illustrate our discussions