A novel evolutionary algorithm inspired by the states of matter for template matching

Template matching (TM) plays an important role in several image processing applications such as feature tracking, object recognition, stereo matching and remote sensing. The TM approach seeks the best possible resemblance between a sub-image, known as template, and its coincident region within a source image. TM has two critical aspects: similarity measurement and search strategy. The simplest available TM method finds the best possible coincidence between the images through an exhaustive computation of the Normalized Cross-Correlation (NCC) value (similarity measurement) for all elements in the source image (search strategy). Unfortunately, the use of such approach is strongly restricted since the NCC evaluation is a computationally expensive operation. Recently, several TM algorithms that are based on evolutionary approaches, have been proposed to reduce the number of NCC operations by calculating only a subset of search locations. In this paper, a new algorithm based on the states of matter phenomenon is proposed to reduce the number of search locations in the TM process. In the proposed approach, individuals emulate molecules that experiment state transitions which represent different exploration–exploitation levels. In the algorithm, the computation of search locations is drastically reduced by incorporating a fitness calculation strategy which indicates when it is feasible to calculate or to only estimate the NCC value for new search locations. Conducted simulations show that the proposed method achieves the best balance in comparison to other TM algorithms considering the estimation accuracy and the computational cost.     

Research on a new optimization algorithm simulating multi- states of matter inspired by finite element analysis approach

A new optimization algorithm is proposed, since a huge problem that many algorithms faced was not being able to effectively balance the global and local search ability. Matter exists in three states: solid, liquid, and gas, which presents different motion characteristics. Inspired by multi- states of matter, individuals of optimization algorithm have different motion characteristics of matter, which could present different search ability. The Finite Element Analysis (FEA) approach can simulate multi- states of matter, which can be adopted to effectively balance the global search ability and local search ability in new optimization algorithm. The new algorithm is creative application of Finite Element Analysis at optimization algorithm field. Artificial Physics Optimization (APO) and Gravitational Search Algorithm (GSA) belongs to the algorithm types defined by force and mass. According to FEA approach, node displacement caused by force and stiffness could be equivalent to motion caused by force and mass of APO and GSA. In the new algorithm framework, stiffness replaces mass of APO and GSA algorithm. This paper performs research on two different algorithms based on APO and GSA respectively. The individuals of new optimization algorithm are divided into solid state, liquid state, and gas state. The effects of main parameters on the performance were studied through experiments of 6 static test functions. The performance is compared with PSO, basic APO, or GSA for four complex models which made up of solid individual, liquid individual, and gas individual in iterative process. The reasonable complex model can be confirmed experimentally. Based on the reasonable complex model, the article conducted complete experiments against Enhancing artificial bee colony algorithm with multi-elite guidance (MGABC), Artificial bee colony algorithm with an adaptive greedy position update strategy (AABC), Multi-strategy ensemble artificial bee colony (MEABC), Self-adaptive heterogeneous PSO (fk-PSO), and APO with 28 CEC2013 test problem. Experimental results show that the proposed method achieves a good performance in comparison to its counterparts as a consequence of its better exploration– exploitation balance. The algorithm supplies a new method to improve physics optimization algorithm.

     

A two‐phase harmony search algorithm for continuous optimization

Harmony search (HS) algorithm is inspired by the music improvisation process in which a musician searches for the best harmony and continues to polish the harmony to improve its aesthetics. The efficiency of evolutionary algorithms depends on the extent of balance between diversification and intensification during the course of the search. An ideal evolutionary algorithm must have efficient exploration in the beginning and enhanced exploitation toward the end. In this paper, a two‐phase harmony search (TPHS) algorithm is proposed that attempts to strike a balance between exploration and exploitation by concentrating on diversification in the first phase using catastrophic mutation and then switches to intensification using local search in the second phase. The performance of TPHS is analyzed and compared with 4 state‐of‐the‐art HS variants on all the 30 IEEE CEC 2014 benchmark functions. The numerical results demonstrate the superiority of the proposed TPHS algorithm in terms of accuracy, particularly on multimodal functions when compared with other state‐of‐the‐art HS variants; further comparison with state‐of‐the‐art evolutionary algorithms reveals excellent performance of TPHS on composition functions. Composition functions are combined, rotated, shifted, and biased version of other unimodal and multimodal test functions and mimic the difficulties of real search spaces by providing a massive number of local optima and different shapes for different regions of the search space. The performance of the TPHS algorithm is also evaluated on a real‐life problem from the field of computer vision called camera calibration problem, ie, a 12‐dimensional highly nonlinear optimization problem with several local optima.     

An experimental study of adaptive control for evolutionary algorithms

In this paper, we investigate how adaptive operator selection techniques are able to efficiently manage the balance between exploration and exploitation in an evolutionary algorithm, when solving combinatorial optimization problems. We introduce new high level reactive search strategies based on a generic algorithm's controller that is able to schedule the basic variation operators of the evolutionary algorithm, according to the observed state of the search. Our experiments on SAT instances show that reactive search strategies improve the performance of the solving algorithm.     

实数编码量子进化算法

为求解复杂函数优化问题,基于量子计算的相关概念和原理,提出一种实数编码量子进化算法.首先构造了由自变量向量的一个分量和量子比特的一对概率幅为等位基因的三倍体染色体,增加了解的多样性;然后利用量子旋转门和依据量子比特概率幅满足归一化条件设计的互补双变异算子进化染色体,实现局部搜索和全局搜索的平衡.标准函数仿真表明,该算法适合求解复杂函数优化问题,具有收敛速度快、全局搜索能力强和稳定性好的优点.     

基于自适应配对控制的多目标演化算法

为了平衡搜索过程中的开采和勘探,设计一种聚类辅助的基于繁殖效用的自适应配对控制策略,进而提出一种基于自适应配对控制的多目标演化算法(ACEA).利用K-means聚类算法发掘种群分布结构,以配对控制概率限制从同一类邻居或者整个种群中挑选父个体繁殖新解,以加强局部搜索或者勘探.采用的配对控制概率根据不同繁殖机制在过去一定代数的繁殖效用,在每一代中自适应地更新.选取标准测试题以及5种代表性的多目标演化算法测试ACEA的性能,通过结果验证所提出算法的优越性.     

Superior solution guided particle swarm optimization combined with local search techniques

Particle swarm optimization (PSO) is an evolutionary algorithm known for its simplicity and effectiveness in solving various optimization problems. PSO should have strong yet balanced exploration and exploitation capabilities to enhance its performance. A superior solution guided PSO (SSG-PSO) framework integrated with an individual level based mutation operator and different local search techniques is proposed in this study. In SSG-PSO, a collection of superior solutions is maintained and updated with the evolutionary process, such that each particle can comprehensively learn from the recorded superior solutions. In addition, to maintain the diversity of the particle swarm, SSG-PSO is combined with an individual level based mutation operator, which will be invoked when a particle is trapped in a local optimum (determined by the fitness and position states of the particle), thereby improving the adaptation and flexibility of each individual particle. Moreover, two gradient-based local search techniques, namely, the Broyden–Fletcher–Goldfarb–Shanno (BFGS) and Davidon–Fletcher–Powell (DFP) Quasi–Newton methods, and two derivative-free local search techniques, namely, pattern search and Nelder–Mead simplex search, are incorporated into SSG-PSO. The performances of SSG-PSO and that of its local search enhanced variants are extensively and comparatively studied on a suit of benchmark optimization functions.     

Distributed memetic differential evolution with the synergy of Lamarckian and Baldwinian learning

As a population-based optimizer, the differential evolution (DE) algorithm has a very good reputation for its competence in global search and numerical robustness. In view of the fact that each member of the population is evaluated individually, DE can be easily parallelized in a distributed way. This paper proposes a novel distributed memetic differential evolution algorithm which integrates Lamarckian learning and Baldwinian learning. In the proposed algorithm, the whole population is divided into several subpopulations according to the von Neumann topology. In order to achieve a better tradeoff between exploration and exploitation, the differential evolution as an evolutionary frame is assisted by the Hooke–Jeeves algorithm which has powerful local search ability. We incorporate the Lamarckian learning and Baldwinian learning by analyzing their characteristics in the process of migration among subpopulations as well as in the hybridization of DE and Hooke–Jeeves local search. The proposed algorithm was run on a set of classic benchmark functions and compared with several state-of-the-art distributed DE schemes. Numerical results show that the proposed algorithm has excellent performance in terms of solution quality and convergence speed for all test problems given in this study.     

Evolutionary parallel local search for function optimization

This paper proposes a kind of evolutionary parallel local search technique (EPLS) that integrates the reproduction mechanisms from evolutionary algorithms and simplex method. The major aim is to explore the tradeoff between exploration and exploitation for optimizing multimodal functions. It has been cost-efficiently reached by means of parallel local search using simplex method. In each generation, EPLS partitions the population into a group of subpopulations, each of which consists of several individuals with adjacent space locations. EPLS independently locates multiple local optima in these disjoint neighborhoods, thus to reduce the probability of losing the global optimum. The local search in a neighborhood speeds up the convergence rate of simplex method. Recombination, adaptive Gaussian mutation and selection are incorporated into EPLS to further enhance the ability of global exploration and exploitation. The experimental observations and the extensive comparisons show that EPLS remarkably outperforms the standard evolutionary algorithms (EA) and some hybrid ones for almost all the problems tested, thus justifying the rationality and the competitive potential of EPLS for optimizing multimodal functions, especially for those with very rugged and deceptive topological structures.     

An adaptive balance optimization algorithm and its engineering application

The policy of balance between exploration capability and exploitation capability directly affects the solution performance of the meta-heuristic algorithm in a limited time. In order to better balance the exploration and exploitation capabilities of the algorithm and meet the solution requirements of complex real-world problems, the adaptive balance optimization algorithm (ABOA) is proposed in this paper. The algorithm consists of a global search phase (GSP) and a local search phase (LSP) and is controlled by a fixed parameter. ABOA not only considers the balance of exploration and exploitation capabilities of the algorithm throughout the whole iterative process but also focuses on the balance of exploration and exploitation in both GSP and LSP. The search in both phases is focused around the respective search centers from outside to inside. ABOA balances the exploration and exploitation capabilities of the algorithm throughout the search process by two adaptive policies: changing the search area and changing the search center. Fifty-two unconstrained benchmark test functions were employed to evaluate the performance of ABOA. The results of ABOA were compared with nine excellent optimization algorithms available in the literature. The statistical results and Friedman test showed that ABOA was significantly competitive. Finally, the results of the examined engineering design problems showed that ABOA can solve the constrained optimization problem better compared to other methods.     

An effective PSO-based memetic algorithm for flow shop scheduling.

This paper proposes an effective particle swarm optimization (PSO)-based memetic algorithm (MA) for the permutation flow shop scheduling problem (PFSSP) with the objective to minimize the maximum completion time, which is a typical non-deterministic polynomial-time (NP) hard combinatorial optimization problem. In the proposed PSO-based MA (PSOMA), both PSO-based searching operators and some special local searching operators are designed to balance the exploration and exploitation abilities. In particular, the PSOMA applies the evolutionary searching mechanism of PSO, which is characterized by individual improvement, population cooperation, and competition to effectively perform exploration. On the other hand, the PSOMA utilizes several adaptive local searches to perform exploitation. First, to make PSO suitable for solving PFSSP, a ranked-order value rule based on random key representation is presented to convert the continuous position values of particles to job permutations. Second, to generate an initial swarm with certain quality and diversity, the famous Nawaz-Enscore-Ham (NEH) heuristic is incorporated into the initialization of population. Third, to balance the exploration and exploitation abilities, after the standard PSO-based searching operation, a new local search technique named NEH_1 insertion is probabilistically applied to some good particles selected by using a roulette wheel mechanism with a specified probability. Fourth, to enrich the searching behaviors and to avoid premature convergence, a simulated annealing (SA)-based local search with multiple different neighborhoods is designed and incorporated into the PSOMA. Meanwhile, an effective adaptive meta-Lamarckian learning strategy is employed to decide which neighborhood to be used in SA-based local search. Finally, to further enhance the exploitation ability, a pairwise-based local search is applied after the SA-based search. Simulation results based on benchmarks demonstrate the effectiveness of the PSOMA. Additionally, the effects of some parameters on optimization performances are also discussed.     

基于混合量子进化计算的混沌系统参数估计

混沌系统参数估计本质上是一多维参数优化问题.为精确估计混沌系统的未知参数,本文提出一种混合量子进化算法(HQEA)用于求解该优化问题,该方法采用实数量子角形式表示染色体,用量子比特的概率作为个体的当前位置信息;提出由差分进化计算更新量子位置状态的量子差分进化算法(QDE),并将其与实数编码量子进化算法(RQEA)相融合,以便令算法在解空间的全局探索和局部开发能力之间取得平衡.算法还引入量子非门算子,对当前最佳个体中按某个概率选中的量子比特位,进行变换操作,以便增强算法跳出局部最优解的能力.基准函数测试表明混合算法的全局搜索能力及可靠性都有很大改善.通过Lorenz混沌系统进行数值仿真,结果表明了该混合算法的有效性.     

基于搜索能力均衡的人工蜂群算法

鉴于标准人工蜂群算法（ABC）局部开发能力不足,提出一种改进搜索策略的人工蜂群算法（IABC）。为提高ABC的局部开发能力,在其雇佣蜂阶段引入了一个新的具有最好个体引导的解搜索方程,为均衡ABC的搜索能力,在ABC跟随蜂阶段的搜索策略中引入了新的随机因素以增强ABC的全局探索能力,为了进一步平衡全局探索和局部开发能力,改进了ABC的侦察蜂搜索机制。为验证IABC的收敛效果,通过在12个复杂基准测试函数上的仿真实验并与其他算法相比较,发现IABC的收敛性能有显著提高。     

An evolutionary algorithm with guided mutation for the maximum clique problem

Estimation of distribution algorithms sample new solutions (offspring) from a probability model which characterizes the distribution of promising solutions in the search space at each generation. The location information of solutions found so far (i.e., the actual positions of these solutions in the search space) is not directly used for generating offspring in most existing estimation of distribution algorithms. This paper introduces a new operator, called guided mutation. Guided mutation generates offspring through combination of global statistical information and the location information of solutions found so far. An evolutionary algorithm with guided mutation (EA/G) for the maximum clique problem is proposed in this paper. Besides guided mutation, EA/G adopts a strategy for searching different search areas in different search phases. Marchiori's heuristic is applied to each new solution to produce a maximal clique in EA/G. Experimental results show that EA/G outperforms the heuristic genetic algorithm of Marchiori (the best evolutionary algorithm reported so far) and a MIMIC algorithm on DIMACS benchmark graphs.     

基于混沌搜索策略的鲸鱼优化算法

针对鲸鱼优化算法存在探索和开发能力难以协调、易陷入局部最优的不足,提出一种基于混沌搜索策略的鲸鱼优化算法(CWOA).首先,采用混沌反向学习策略产生初始种群,为全局搜索多样性奠定基础;其次,设计收敛因子和惯性权重的非线性混沌扰动协同更新策略以平衡全局探索和局部开发能力;最后,将种群进化更新与最优个体的混沌搜索机制相结合,以减小算法陷入局部最优的概率.对10个基准测试函数和6个复合测试函数进行优化,实验结果表明,CWOA在收敛速度、收敛精度、鲁棒性方面均较对比算法有较大提升.     

一种多目标人工蜂群算法

为将标准人工蜂群算法有效应用到多目标优化问题中,设计了一种多目标人工蜂群算法。其进化策略在利用精英解引导搜索的同时结合正弦函数搜索操作来平衡算法对解空间的开发与开采行为。另外,算法借助了外部集合来记录与维护种群进化过程中产生的Pareto最优解。理论分析表明:针对多目标优化问题,本算法能收敛到理论最优解集合。对典型多目标测试问题的仿真实验结果表明:本算法能有效逼近理论最优,具有较好的收敛性和均匀性,并且与同类型算法相比,本算法具有良好的求解性能。     

Auto-tuning strategy for evolutionary algorithms: balancing between exploration and exploitation

Genetic Algorithms (GAs) and other Evolutionary Algorithms (EAs), as powerful and broadly applicable stochastic search and optimization techniques have been successfully applied in the area of management science, operations research and industrial engineering. In the past few years, researchers gave lots of great idea for improvement of evolutionary algorithms, which include population initialization, individual selection, evolution, parameter setting, hybrid approach with conventional heuristics etc. However, though lots of different versions of evolutionary computations have been created, all of them have turned most of its attention to the development of search abilities of approaches. In this paper, for improving the search ability, we focus on how to take a balance between exploration and exploitation of the search space. It is also very difficult to solve problem, because the balance between exploration and exploitation is depending on the characteristic of different problems. The balance also should be changed dynamically depend on the status of evolution process. Purpose of this paper is the design of an effective approach which it can correspond to most optimization problems. In this paper, we propose an auto-tuning strategy by using fuzzy logic control. The main idea is adaptively regulation for taking the balance among the stochastic search and local search probabilities based on the change of the average fitness of parents and offspring which is occurred at each generation. In addition, numerical analyses of different type optimization problems show that the proposed approach has higher search capability that improve quality of solution and enhanced rate of convergence.     

多元优化算法的渐近性分析

本文提出了一种多元化智能个体分工明确、协同合作的超启发式智能优化算法—–多元优化算法.多元优化算法通过交替的全局、局部搜索迭代对解空间搜索以逐渐逼近全局最优解.搜索个体按照分工不同可以分为全局搜索个体(全局元)和局部搜索个体(局部元).全局元负责对整个解空间进行全局搜索以快速找到较优潜在解区域,局部搜索元负责对各个潜在解区域进行局部搜索以提高解的质量.该算法具有两个特点:分工明确的搜索策略不需要考虑均衡全局搜索和局部搜索,能够保证局部搜索能力的同时加强全局搜索以避免陷入局部最优解;全局、局部交替搜索保证了算法对全局最优解的渐近性.本文从理论上证明了算法的渐近性并且基于复杂多模态测试函数比较了几个优秀的进化算法.实验结果表明多元优化算法在渐近性方面优于其他几个比较的算法.     

A new Q-learning algorithm based on the metropolis criterion

The balance between exploration and exploitation is one of the key problems of action selection in Q-learning. Pure exploitation causes the agent to reach the locally optimal policies quickly, whereas excessive exploration degrades the performance of the Q-learning algorithm even if it may accelerate the learning process and allow avoiding the locally optimal policies. In this paper, finding the optimum policy in Q-learning is described as search for the optimum solution in combinatorial optimization. The Metropolis criterion of simulated annealing algorithm is introduced in order to balance exploration and exploitation of Q-learning, and the modified Q-learning algorithm based on this criterion, SA-Q-learning, is presented. Experiments show that SA-Q-learning converges more quickly than Q-learning or Boltzmann exploration, and that the search does not suffer of performance degradation due to excessive exploration.     

A new real-coded quantum-inspired evolutionary algorithm for continuous optimization

This paper presents a recursive deepening hybrid strategy to solve real-parameter optimization problems. It couples a local search technique with a quantum-inspired evolutionary algorithm. In order to adapt the quantum-inspired evolutionary algorithm for continuous optimization without losing the states superposition property, a suitable sampling of the search space that tightens recursively and an integration of a uniformly generated random part after measurement have been utilized. The use of local search provides, for each search window, a good exploitation of the quantum inspired generated solution's neighbourhood. The proposed approach has been tested through the reference black-box optimization benchmarking framework. The comparison of the obtained results with those of some state-of-the-art algorithms has shown its actual effectiveness.