692 research outputs found
Evidence of coevolution in multi-objective evolutionary algorithms
This paper demonstrates that simple yet important characteristics of coevolution can occur in evolutionary algorithms when only a few conditions are met. We find that interaction-based fitness measurements such as fitness (linear) ranking allow for a form of coevolutionary dynamics that is observed when 1) changes are made in what solutions are able to interact during the ranking process and 2) evolution takes place in a multi-objective environment. This research contributes to the study of simulated evolution in a at least two ways. First, it establishes a broader relationship between coevolution and multi-objective optimization than has been previously considered in the literature. Second, it demonstrates that the preconditions for coevolutionary behavior are weaker than previously thought. In particular, our model indicates that direct cooperation or competition between species is not required for coevolution to take place. Moreover, our experiments provide evidence that environmental perturbations can drive coevolutionary processes; a conclusion that mirrors arguments put forth in dual phase evolution theory. In the discussion, we briefly consider how our results may shed light onto this and other recent theories of evolution
Degeneracy: a design principle for achieving robustness and evolvability
Robustness, the insensitivity of some of a biological system's
functionalities to a set of distinct conditions, is intimately linked to
fitness. Recent studies suggest that it may also play a vital role in enabling
the evolution of species. Increasing robustness, so is proposed, can lead to
the emergence of evolvability if evolution proceeds over a neutral network that
extends far throughout the fitness landscape. Here, we show that the design
principles used to achieve robustness dramatically influence whether robustness
leads to evolvability. In simulation experiments, we find that purely redundant
systems have remarkably low evolvability while degenerate, i.e. partially
redundant, systems tend to be orders of magnitude more evolvable. Surprisingly,
the magnitude of observed variation in evolvability can neither be explained by
differences in the size nor the topology of the neutral networks. This suggests
that degeneracy, a ubiquitous characteristic in biological systems, may be an
important enabler of natural evolution. More generally, our study provides
valuable new clues about the origin of innovations in complex adaptive systems.Comment: Accepted in the Journal of Theoretical Biology (Nov 2009
The Self-Organization of Interaction Networks for Nature-Inspired Optimization
Over the last decade, significant progress has been made in understanding
complex biological systems, however there have been few attempts at
incorporating this knowledge into nature inspired optimization algorithms. In
this paper, we present a first attempt at incorporating some of the basic
structural properties of complex biological systems which are believed to be
necessary preconditions for system qualities such as robustness. In particular,
we focus on two important conditions missing in Evolutionary Algorithm
populations; a self-organized definition of locality and interaction epistasis.
We demonstrate that these two features, when combined, provide algorithm
behaviors not observed in the canonical Evolutionary Algorithm or in
Evolutionary Algorithms with structured populations such as the Cellular
Genetic Algorithm. The most noticeable change in algorithm behavior is an
unprecedented capacity for sustainable coexistence of genetically distinct
individuals within a single population. This capacity for sustained genetic
diversity is not imposed on the population but instead emerges as a natural
consequence of the dynamics of the system
Use of statistical outlier detection method in adaptive evolutionary algorithms
In this paper, the issue of adapting probabilities for Evolutionary Algorithm
(EA) search operators is revisited. A framework is devised for distinguishing
between measurements of performance and the interpretation of those
measurements for purposes of adaptation. Several examples of measurements and
statistical interpretations are provided. Probability value adaptation is
tested using an EA with 10 search operators against 10 test problems with
results indicating that both the type of measurement and its statistical
interpretation play significant roles in EA performance. We also find that
selecting operators based on the prevalence of outliers rather than on average
performance is able to provide considerable improvements to adaptive methods
and soundly outperforms the non-adaptive case
Robustness and Adaptiveness Analysis of Future Fleets
Making decisions about the structure of a future military fleet is a
challenging task. Several issues need to be considered such as the existence of
multiple competing objectives and the complexity of the operating environment.
A particular challenge is posed by the various types of uncertainty that the
future might hold. It is uncertain what future events might be encountered; how
fleet design decisions will influence and shape the future; and how present and
future decision makers will act based on available information, their personal
biases regarding the importance of different objectives, and their economic
preferences. In order to assist strategic decision-making, an analysis of
future fleet options needs to account for conditions in which these different
classes of uncertainty are exposed. It is important to understand what
assumptions a particular fleet is robust to, what the fleet can readily adapt
to, and what conditions present clear risks to the fleet. We call this the
analysis of a fleet's strategic positioning. This paper introduces how
strategic positioning can be evaluated using computer simulations. Our main aim
is to introduce a framework for capturing information that can be useful to a
decision maker and for defining the concepts of robustness and adaptiveness in
the context of future fleet design. We demonstrate our conceptual framework
using simulation studies of an air transportation fleet. We capture uncertainty
by employing an explorative scenario-based approach. Each scenario represents a
sampling of different future conditions, different model assumptions, and
different economic preferences. Proposed changes to a fleet are then analysed
based on their influence on the fleet's robustness, adaptiveness, and risk to
different scenarios
Degenerate neutrality creates evolvable fitness landscapes
Understanding how systems can be designed to be evolvable is fundamental to
research in optimization, evolution, and complex systems science. Many
researchers have thus recognized the importance of evolvability, i.e. the
ability to find new variants of higher fitness, in the fields of biological
evolution and evolutionary computation. Recent studies by Ciliberti et al
(Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci., 2007) and Wagner (Proc. R. Soc. B., 2008) propose a
potentially important link between the robustness and the evolvability of a
system. In particular, it has been suggested that robustness may actually lead
to the emergence of evolvability. Here we study two design principles,
redundancy and degeneracy, for achieving robustness and we show that they have
a dramatically different impact on the evolvability of the system. In
particular, purely redundant systems are found to have very little evolvability
while systems with degeneracy, i.e. distributed robustness, can be orders of
magnitude more evolvable. These results offer insights into the general
principles for achieving evolvability and may prove to be an important step
forward in the pursuit of evolvable representations in evolutionary
computation
Credit Assignment in Adaptive Evolutionary Algorithms
In this paper, a new method for assigning credit to search\ud
operators is presented. Starting with the principle of optimizing\ud
search bias, search operators are selected based on an ability to\ud
create solutions that are historically linked to future generations.\ud
Using a novel framework for defining performance\ud
measurements, distributing credit for performance, and the\ud
statistical interpretation of this credit, a new adaptive method is\ud
developed and shown to outperform a variety of adaptive and\ud
non-adaptive competitors
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