155 research outputs found
On the complexity of hierarchical problem solving
Competent Genetic Algorithms can efficiently address problems in which the linkage between variables is limited to a small order k. Problems with higher order dependencies can only be addressed efficiently if further problem properties exist that can be exploited. An important class of problems for which this occurs is that of hierarchical problems. Hierarchical problems can contain dependencies between all variables (k = n) while being solvable in polynomial time. An open question so far is what precise properties a hierarchical problem must possess in order to be solvable efficiently. We study this question by investigating several features of hierarchical problems and determining their effect on computational complexity, both analytically and empirically. The analyses are based on the Hierarchical Genetic Algorithm (HGA), which is developed as part of this work. The HGA is tested on ranges of hierarchical problems, produced by a generator for hierarchical problems
Generating the Ground Truth: Synthetic Data for Label Noise Research
Most real-world classification tasks suffer from label noise to some extent.
Such noise in the data adversely affects the generalization error of learned
models and complicates the evaluation of noise-handling methods, as their
performance cannot be accurately measured without clean labels. In label noise
research, typically either noisy or incomplex simulated data are accepted as a
baseline, into which additional noise with known properties is injected. In
this paper, we propose SYNLABEL, a framework that aims to improve upon the
aforementioned methodologies. It allows for creating a noiseless dataset
informed by real data, by either pre-specifying or learning a function and
defining it as the ground truth function from which labels are generated.
Furthermore, by resampling a number of values for selected features in the
function domain, evaluating the function and aggregating the resulting labels,
each data point can be assigned a soft label or label distribution. Such
distributions allow for direct injection and quantification of label noise. The
generated datasets serve as a clean baseline of adjustable complexity into
which different types of noise may be introduced. We illustrate how the
framework can be applied, how it enables quantification of label noise and how
it improves over existing methodologies
Learning and exploiting mixed variable dependencies with a model-based EA
Mixed-integer optimization considers problems with both discrete and continuous variables. The ability to learn and process problem structure can be of paramount importance for optimization, particularly when faced with black-box optimization (BBO) problems, where no structural knowledge is known a priori. For such cases, model-based Evolutionary Algorithms (EAs) have been very successful in the fields of discrete and continuous optimization. In this paper, we present a model-based EA which integrates techniques from the discrete and continuous domains in order to tackle mixed-integer problems. We furthermore introduce the novel mechanisms to learn and exploit mixed-variable dependencies. Previous approaches only learned dependencies explicitly in either the discrete or the continuous domain. The potential usefulness of addressing mixed dependencies directly is assessed by empirically analyzing algorithm performance on a selection of mixed-integer problems with different types of variable interactions. We find substantially improved, scalable performance on problems that exhibit mixed dependencies
The Multiple Insertion Pyramid: A Fast Parameter-Less Population Scheme
textabstractThe Parameter-less Population Pyramid (P3) uses a novel population scheme, called the population pyramid. This population scheme does not require a fixed population size, instead it keeps adding new solutions to an ever growing set of layered populations. P3 is very efficient in terms of number of fitness function evaluations but its runtime is significantly higher than that of the Gene-pool Optimal Mixing Evolutionary Algorithm (GOMEA) which uses the same method of exploration. This higher run-time is caused by the need to rebuild the linkage tree every time a single new solution is added to the population pyramid.We propose a new population scheme, called the multiple insertion pyramid that results in a faster variant of P3 by inserting multiple solutions at the same time and operating on populations instead of on single solutions
Learning and exploiting mixed variable dependencies with a model-based EA
Mixed-integer optimization considers problems with both discrete and continuous variables. The ability to learn and process problem structure can be of paramount importance for optimization, particularly when faced with black-box optimization (BBO) problems, where no structural knowledge is known a priori. For such cases, model-based Evolutionary Algorithms (EAs) have been very successful in the fields of discrete and continuous optimization. In this paper, we present a model-based EA which integrates techniques from the discrete and continuous domains in order to tackle mixed-integer problems. We furthermore introduce the novel mechanisms to learn and exploit mixed-variable dependencies. Previous approaches only learned dependencies explicitly in either the discrete or the continuous domain. The potential usefulness of addressing mixed dependencies directly is assessed by empirically analyzing algorithm performance on a selection of mixed-integer problems with different types of variable interactions. We find substantially improved, scalable performance on problems that exhibit mixed dependencies
GAMBIT: A parameterless model-based evolutionary algorithm for mixed-integer problems
Learning and exploiting problem structure is one of the key challenges in optimization. This is especially important for black-box optimization (BBO) where prior structural knowledge of a problem is not available. Existing model-based Evolutionary Algorithms (EAs) are very efficient at learning structure in both the discrete, and in the continuous domain. In this article, discrete and continuous model-building mechanisms are integrated for the Mixed-Integer (MI) domain, comprising discrete and continuous variables. We revisit a recently introduced model-based evolutionary algorithm for the MI domain, the Genetic Algorithm for Model-Based mixed-Integer opTimization (GAMBIT). We extend GAMBIT with a parameterless scheme that allows for practical use of the algorithm without the need to explicitly specify any parameters. We furthermore contrast GAMBIT with other model-based alternatives. The ultimate goal of processing mixed dependences explicitly in GAMBIT is also addressed by introducing a new mechanism for the explicit exploitation of mixed dependences. We find that processing mixed dependences with this novel mechanism allows for more efficient optimization. We further contrast the parameterless GAMBIT with Mixed-Integer Evolution Strategies (MIES) and other state-of-the-art MI optimization algorithms from the General Algebraic Modeling System (GAMS) commercial algorithm suite on problems with and without constraints, and show that GAMBIT is capable of solving problems where variable dependences prevent many algorithms from successfully optimizing them
Combining Model-based EAs for Mixed-Integer Problems
A key characteristic of Mixed-Integer (MI) problems is the presence of both continuous and discrete problem variables. These variables can interact in various ways, resulting in challenging optimization problems. In this paper, we study the design of an algorithm that combines the strengths of LTGA and iAMaLGaM: state-of-the-art model-building EAs designed for discrete and continuous search spaces, respectively. We examine and discuss issues which emerge when trying to integrate those two algorithms into the MI setting. Our considerations lead to a design of a new algorithm for solving MI problems, which we motivate and compare with alternative approaches
A Clustering-Based Model-Building EA for Optimization Problems with Binary and Real-Valued Variables
We propose a novel clustering-based model-building evolutionary
algorithm to tackle optimization problems that
have both binary and real-valued variables. The search
space is clustered every generation using a distance metric
that considers binary and real-valued variables jointly
in order to capture and exploit dependencies between variables
of different types. After clustering, linkage learning
takes place within each cluster to capture and exploit dependencies
between variables of the same type. We compare
this with a model-building approach that only considers dependencies
between variables of the same type. Additionally, since many
real-world problems have constraints, we
examine the use of different well-known approaches to handling
constraints: constraint domination, dynamic penalty
and global competitive ranking. We experimentally analyze
the performance of the proposed algorithms on various
unconstrained problems as well as a selection of well-known
MINLP benchmark problems that all have constraints, and
compare our results with the Mixed-Integer Evolution Strategy
(MIES). We find that our approach to clustering that is
aimed at the processing of dependencies between binary and
real-valued variables can significantly improve performance
in terms of required population size and function evaluations
when solving problems that exhibit properties such as multiple
optima, strong mixed dependencies and constraints
Combining model-based EAs for Mixed-Integer problems
A key characteristic of Mixed-Integer (MI) problems is the presence of both continuous and discrete problem variables. These variables can interact in various ways, resulting in challenging optimization problems. In this paper, we study the design of an algorithm that combines the strengths of LTGA and iAMaLGaM: state-of-the-art model-building EAs designed for discrete and continuous search spaces, respectively. We examine and discuss issues which emerge when trying to integrate those two algorithms into the MI setting. Our considerations lead to a design of a new algorithm for solving MI problems, which we motivate and compare with alternative approaches
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