Explicit Building-Block Multiobjective Genetic Algorithms: Theory, Analysis, and Developing

This dissertation research emphasizes explicit Building Block (BB) based MO EAs performance and detailed symbolic representation. An explicit BB-based MOEA for solving constrained and real-world MOPs is developed the Multiobjective Messy Genetic Algorithm II (MOMGA-II) which is designed to validate symbolic BB concepts. The MOMGA-II demonstrates that explicit BB-based MOEAs provide insight into solving difficult MOPs that is generally not realized through the use of implicit BB-based MOEA approaches. This insight is necessary to increase the effectiveness of all MOEA approaches. In order to increase MOEA computational efficiency parallelization of MOEAs is addressed. Communications between processors in a parallel MOEA implementation is extremely important, hence innovative migration and replacement schemes for use in parallel MOEAs are detailed and tested. These parallel concepts support the development of the first explicit BB-based parallel MOEA the pMOMGA-II. MOEA theory is also advanced through the derivation of the first MOEA population sizing theory. The multiobjective population sizing theory presented derives the MOEA population size necessary in order to achieve good results within a specified level of confidence. Just as in the single objective approach the MOEA population sizing theory presents a very conservative sizing estimate. Validated results illustrate insight into building block phenomena good efficiency excellent effectiveness and motivation for future research in the area of explicit BB-based MOEAs. Thus the generic results of this research effort have applicability that aid in solving many different MOPs

Comparative analysis of two asynchronous parallelization variants for a multi-objective coevolutionary solver.

We describe and compare two steady state asynchronous parallelization variants for DECMO2++, a recently proposed multi-objective coevolutionary solver that generally displays a robust run-time convergence behavior. The two asynchronous variants were designed as trade-offs that maintain only two of the three important synchronized interactions / constraints that underpin the (generation-based) DECMO2++ coevolutionary model. A thorough performance evaluation on a test set that aggregates 31 standard benchmark problems shows that while both parallelization options are able to generally preserve the competitive convergence behavior of the baseline coevolutionary solver, the better parallelization choice is to prioritize accurate run-time search adaptation decisions over the ability to perform equidistant fitness sharing

An Artificial Immune System Strategy for Robust Chemical Spectra Classification via Distributed Heterogeneous Sensors

The timely detection and classification of chemical and biological agents in a wartime environment is a critical component of force protection in hostile areas. Moreover, the possibility of toxic agent use in heavily populated civilian areas has risen dramatically in recent months. This thesis effort proposes a strategy for identifying such agents vis distributed sensors in an Artificial Immune System (AIS) network. The system may be used to complement electronic nose ( E-nose ) research being conducted in part by the Air Force Research Laboratory Sensors Directorate. In addition, the proposed strategy may facilitate fulfillment of a recent mandate by the President of the United States to the Office of Homeland Defense for the provision of a system that protects civilian populations from chemical and biological agents. The proposed system is composed of networked sensors and nodes, communicating via wireless or wired connections. Measurements are continually taken via dispersed, redundant, and heterogeneous sensors strategically placed in high threat areas. These sensors continually measure and classify air or liquid samples, alerting personnel when toxic agents are detected. Detection is based upon the Biological Immune System (BIS) model of antigens and antibodies, and alerts are generated when a measured sample is determined to be a valid toxic agent (antigen). Agent signatures (antibodies) are continually distributed throughout the system to adapt to changes in the environment or to new antigens. Antibody features are determined via data mining techniques in order to improve system performance and classification capabilities. Genetic algorithms (GAs) are critical part of the process, namely in antibody generation and feature subset selection calculations. Demonstrated results validate the utility of the proposed distributed AIS model for robust chemical spectra recognition

ECoFFeS: A Software Using Evolutionary Computation for Feature Selection in Drug Discovery

Feature selection is of particular importance in the field of drug discovery. Many methods have been put forward for feature selection during recent decades. Among them, evolutionary computation has gained increasing attention owing to its superior global search ability. However, there still lacks a simple and efficient software for drug developers to take advantage of evolutionary computation for feature selection. To remedy this issue, in this paper, a user-friendly and standalone software, named ECoFFeS, is developed. ECoFFeS is expected to lower the entry barrier for drug developers to deal with feature selection problems at hand by using evolutionary algorithms. To the best of our knowledge, it is the first software integrating a set of evolutionary algorithms (including two modified evolutionary algorithms proposed by the authors) with various evaluation combinations for feature selection. Specifically, ECoFFeS considers both single-objective and multi-objective evolutionary algorithms, and both regression- and classification-based models to meet different requirements. Five data sets in drug discovery are collected in ECoFFeS. In addition, to reduce the total analysis time, the parallel execution technique is incorporated into ECoFFeS. The source code of ECoFFeS can be available from https://github.com/JiaweiHuang/ECoFFeS/

Optimization of Heterogeneous UAV Communications Using the Multiobjective Quadratic Assignment Problem

The Air Force has placed a high priority on developing new and innovative ways to use Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) currently funds many projects that deal with the advancement of UAV research. The ultimate goal of the Air Force is to use UAVs in operations that are highly dangerous to pilots, mainly the suppression of enemy air defenses (SEAD). With this goal in mind, formation structuring of autonomous or semi-autonomous UAVs is of future importance. This particular research investigates the optimization of heterogeneous UAV multi-channel communications in formation. The problem maps to the multiobjective Quadratic Assignment Problem (mQAP). Optimization of this problem is done through the use of a Multiobjective Evolutionary Algorithm (MOEA) called the Multiobjective Messy Genetic Algorithm - II (MOMGA-II). Experimentation validates the attainment of an acceptable Pareto Front for a variety of mQAP benchmarks. It was observed that building block size can affect the location vectors along the current Pareto Front. The competitive templates used during testing perform best when they are randomized before each building block size evaluation. This tuning of the MOMGA-II parameters creates a more effective algorithm for the variety of mQAP benchmarks, when compared to the initial experiments. Thus this algorithmic approach would be useful for Air Force decision makers in determining the placement of UAVs in formations

Multi-Objective Archiving

Most multi-objective optimisation algorithms maintain an archive explicitly or implicitly during their search. Such an archive can be solely used to store high-quality solutions presented to the decision maker, but in many cases may participate in the search process (e.g., as the population in evolutionary computation). Over the last two decades, archiving, the process of comparing new solutions with previous ones and deciding how to update the archive/population, stands as an important issue in evolutionary multi-objective optimisation (EMO). This is evidenced by constant efforts from the community on developing various effective archiving methods, ranging from conventional Pareto-based methods to more recent indicator-based and decomposition-based ones. However, the focus of these efforts is on empirical performance comparison in terms of specific quality indicators; there is lack of systematic study of archiving methods from a general theoretical perspective. In this paper, we attempt to conduct a systematic overview of multi-objective archiving, in the hope of paving the way to understand archiving algorithms from a holistic perspective of theory and practice, and more importantly providing a guidance on how to design theoretically desirable and practically useful archiving algorithms. In doing so, we also present that archiving algorithms based on weakly Pareto compliant indicators (e.g., epsilon-indicator), as long as designed properly, can achieve the same theoretical desirables as archivers based on Pareto compliant indicators (e.g., hypervolume indicator). Such desirables include the property limit-optimal, the limit form of the possible optimal property that a bounded archiving algorithm can have with respect to the most general form of superiority between solution sets.Comment: 21 pages, 4 figures, journa

On the Application of Multiobjective Optimization to Software Development Process and Antenna Designing

Esta tesis doctoral, presentada como compendio de artículos, explora los beneficios prácticos del uso combinado de la optimización multi-objetivo con aplicaciones de simulación. En esta tesis, con un caracter de aplicación, se aportan ideas prácticas sobre cómo combinar meta-heurísticas aplicadas a la optimización de problemas con herramientas y técnicas de simulación. La simulación permite estudiar problemas complejos antes de implementarlos en el mundo real. Los problemas de optimización son de los más complicados de resolver. Involucran 3 o más variables y en muchos casos no pueden ser resueltos matemáticamente. La simulación permite modelar el problema, pero son una ayuda insuficiente a la hora de encontrar las mejores soluciones a dicho problema. En estos casos, el trabajo conjunto de la herramienta de simulación con metaheurísticas de optimización permiten abordar estos problemas con costes computacionales razonables, obteniendo resultados muy cercanos al óptimo. Debe tenerse en cuenta que las soluciones de los problemas multiobjetivo contienen un conjunto de variables donde habitualmente mejorar (optimizar) una variable, suponga empeorar (hacer menos óptima) otra(s). Por tanto, lo deseable es encontrar un conjunto de soluciones donde cada variable se optimiza teniendo en cuenta el posible impacto negativo en el resto de variables. A ese conjunto de soluciones, se le suele conocer como el Frente de Pareto Óptimo. Esta tesis presenta dos problemas reales, complejos y pertenecientes a campos totalmente distintos, que han sido resueltos de forma existosa, aplicando la misma técnica: Simulación combinada con optimización multiobjetivo. Esta tesis comienza presentando un caso de técnicas de optimización multiobjetivo a través de la simulación para ayudar a los directores de proyectos de software a encontrar las mejores configuraciones para los proyectos basados ITIL (Information Technology Infrastructure Library), de manera que se optimicen las estimaciones de calendario para un proyecto determinado, el tiempo y la productividad. Los datos de gestión de proyectos pueden obtenerse mediante simulación, por ejemplo, para optimizar el número de recursos utilizados en cada fase de la vida del proyecto. También se presenta otro caso de estudio sobre la forma en que la optimización de la simulación puede ayudar en el diseño de cualquier tipo de antena. En este caso de estudio, el objetivo es lograr una antena helicoidal, de doble banda, lo más compacta posible, para la telemetría, el seguimiento y el control (TTC) de los satélites. En los satélites es esencial reducir el volumen y el peso de los dispositivos instalados, manteniendo al mismo tiempo los requisitos de funcionamiento. Adicionalmente, esta tesis realiza un aporte teórico proponiendo un nuevo algoritmo llamado MNDS (Merge Non-Dominated Sorting) que mejora el rendimiento de los algoritmos de optimización multi-objectivo basados en el cálculo del Pareto Front

Heurísticas bioinspiradas para el problema de Floorplanning 3D térmico de dispositivos MPSoCs

Tesis inédita de la Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Facultad de Informática, Departamento de Arquitectura de Computadores y Automática, leída el 20-06-2013Depto. de Arquitectura de Computadores y AutomáticaFac. de InformáticaTRUEunpu

A Review of Geophysical Modeling Based on Particle Swarm Optimization

This paper reviews the application of the algorithm particle swarm optimization (PSO) to perform stochastic inverse modeling of geophysical data. The main features of PSO are summarized, and the most important contributions in several geophysical felds are analyzed. The aim is to indicate the fundamental steps of the evolution of PSO methodologies that have been adopted to model the Earth’s subsurface and then to undertake a critical evaluation of their benefts and limitations. Original works have been selected from the existing geophysical literature to illustrate successful PSO applied to the interpretation of electromagnetic (magnetotelluric and time-domain) data, gravimetric and magnetic data, self-potential, direct current and seismic data. These case studies are critically described and compared. In addition, joint optimization of multiple geophysical data sets by means of multi-objective PSO is presented to highlight the advantage of using a single solver that deploys Pareto optimality to handle diferent data sets without conficting solutions. Finally, we propose best practices for the implementation of a customized algorithm from scratch to perform stochastic inverse modeling of any kind of geophysical data sets for the beneft of PSO practitioners or inexperienced researchers