Genetic algorithms with memory- and elitism-based immigrants in dynamic environments

Abstract In recent years the genetic algorithm community has shown a growing interest in studying dynamic optimization problems. Several approaches have been devised. The random immigrants and memory schemes are two major ones. The random immigrants scheme addresses dynamic environments by maintaining the population diversity while the memory scheme aims to adapt genetic algorithms quickly to new environments by reusing historical information. This paper investigates a hybrid memory and random immigrants scheme, called memory-based immigrants, and a hybrid elitism and random immigrants scheme, called elitism-based immigrants, for genetic algorithms in dynamic environments. In these schemes, the best individual from memory or the elite from the previous generation is retrieved as the base to create immigrants into the population by mutation. This way, not only can diversity be maintained but it is done more efficiently to adapt genetic algorithms to the current environment. Based on a series of systematically constructed dynamic problems, experiments are carried out to compare genetic algorithms with the memory-based and elitism-based immigrants schemes against genetic algorithms with traditional memory and random immigrants schemes and a hybrid memory and multi-population scheme. The sensitivity analysis regarding some key parameters is also carried out. Experimental results show that the memory-based and elitism-based immigrants schemes efficiently improve the performance of genetic algorithms in dynamic environments.     

A memetic algorithm with adaptive hill climbing strategy for dynamic optimization problems

Dynamic optimization problems challenge traditional evolutionary algorithms seriously since they, once converged, cannot adapt quickly to environmental changes. This paper investigates the application of memetic algorithms, a class of hybrid evolutionary algorithms, for dynamic optimization problems. An adaptive hill climbing method is proposed as the local search technique in the framework of memetic algorithms, which combines the features of greedy crossover-based hill climbing and steepest mutation-based hill climbing. In order to address the convergence problem, two diversity maintaining methods, called adaptive dual mapping and triggered random immigrants, respectively, are also introduced into the proposed memetic algorithm for dynamic optimization problems. Based on a series of dynamic problems generated from several stationary benchmark problems, experiments are carried out to investigate the performance of the proposed memetic algorithm in comparison with some peer evolutionary algorithms. The experimental results show the efficiency of the proposed memetic algorithm in dynamic environments.     

Ant colony optimization with immigrants schemes for the dynamic travelling salesman problem with traffic factors

Traditional ant colony optimization (ACO) algorithms have difficulty in addressing dynamic optimization problems (DOPs). This is because once the algorithm converges to a solution and a dynamic change occurs, it is difficult for the population to adapt to a new environment since high levels of pheromone will be generated to a single trail and force the ants to follow it even after a dynamic change. A good solution to address this problem is to increase the diversity via transferring knowledge from previous environments to the pheromone trails using immigrants schemes. In this paper, an ACO framework for dynamic environments is proposed where different immigrants schemes, including random immigrants, elitism-based immigrants, and memory-based immigrants, are integrated into ACO algorithms for solving DOPs. From this framework, three ACO algorithms, where immigrant ants are generated using the aforementioned immigrants schemes and replace existing ants in the current population, are proposed and investigated. Moreover, two novel types of dynamic travelling salesman problems (DTSPs) with traffic factors, i.e., under random and cyclic dynamic environments, are proposed for the experimental study. The experimental results based on different DTSP test cases show that each proposed algorithm performs well on different environmental cases and that the proposed algorithms outperform several other peer ACO algorithms.     

Population-Based Incremental Learning With Associative Memory for Dynamic Environments

In recent years, interest in studying evolutionary algorithms (EAs) for dynamic optimization problems (DOPs) has grown due to its importance in real-world applications. Several approaches, such as the memory and multiple population schemes, have been developed for EAs to address dynamic problems. This paper investigates the application of the memory scheme for population-based incremental learning (PBIL) algorithms, a class of EAs, for DOPs. A PBIL-specific associative memory scheme, which stores best solutions as well as corresponding environmental information in the memory, is investigated to improve its adaptability in dynamic environments. In this paper, the interactions between the memory scheme and random immigrants, multipopulation, and restart schemes for PBILs in dynamic environments are investigated. In order to better test the performance of memory schemes for PBILs and other EAs in dynamic environments, this paper also proposes a dynamic environment generator that can systematically generate dynamic environments of different difficulty with respect to memory schemes. Using this generator, a series of dynamic environments are generated and experiments are carried out to compare the performance of investigated algorithms. The experimental results show that the proposed memory scheme is efficient for PBILs in dynamic environments and also indicate that different interactions exist between the memory scheme and random immigrants, multipopulation schemes for PBILs in different dynamic environments.     

A memetic ant colony optimization algorithm for the dynamic travelling salesman problem

Ant colony optimization (ACO) has been successfully applied for combinatorial optimization problems, e.g., the travelling salesman problem (TSP), under stationary environments. In this paper, we consider the dynamic TSP (DTSP), where cities are replaced by new ones during the execution of the algorithm. Under such environments, traditional ACO algorithms face a serious challenge: once they converge, they cannot adapt efficiently to environmental changes. To improve the performance of ACO on the DTSP, we investigate a hybridized ACO with local search (LS), called Memetic ACO (M-ACO) algorithm, which is based on the population-based ACO (P-ACO) framework and an adaptive inver-over operator, to solve the DTSP. Moreover, to address premature convergence, we introduce random immigrants to the population of M-ACO when identical ants are stored. The simulation experiments on a series of dynamic environments generated from a set of benchmark TSP instances show that LS is beneficial for ACO algorithms when applied on the DTSP, since it achieves better performance than other traditional ACO and P-ACO algorithms.     

A comparative study on the performance of dissortative mating and immigrants-based strategies for evolutionary dynamic optimization

Traditional Genetic Algorithms (GAs) mating schemes select individuals for crossover independently of their genotypic or phenotypic similarities. In Nature, this behavior is known as random mating. However, non-random protocols, in which individuals mate according to their kinship or likeness, are more common in natural species. Previous studies indicate that when applied to GAs, dissortative mating - a type of non-random mating in which individuals are chosen according to their similarities - may improve their performance (on both speed and reliability). Dissortative mating maintains genetic diversity at a higher level during the run, a fact that is frequently observed as a possible cause of dissortative GAs’ ability to escape local optima. Dynamic optimization demands a special attention when designing and tuning a GA, since diversity plays an even more crucial role than it does when tackling static ones. This paper investigates the behavior of the Adaptive Dissortative Mating GA (ADMGA) in dynamic problems and compares it to GAs based on random immigrants. ADMGA selects parents according to their Hamming distance, via a self-adjustable threshold value. The method, by keeping population diversity during the run, provides an effective means to deal with dynamic problems. Tests conducted with dynamic trap functions and dynamic versions of Road Royal and knapsack problems indicate that ADMGA is able to outperform other GAs on a wide range of tests, being particularly effective when the frequency of changes is low. Specifically, ADMGA outperforms two state-of-the-art algorithms on many dynamic scenarios. In addition, and unlike preceding dissortative mating GAs and other evolutionary techniques for dynamic optimization, ADMGA self-regulates the intensity of the mating restrictions and does not increase the set of parameters in GAs, thus being easier to tune.     

Immigrant schemes for evolutionary algorithms in dynamic environments: Adapting the replacement rate

One approach for evolutionary algorithms (EAs) to address dynamic optimization problems (DOPs) is to maintain diversity of the population via introducing immigrants.So far all immigrant schemes developed for EAs have used fixed replacement rates.This paper examines the impact of the replacement rate on the performance of EAs with immigrant schemes in dynamic environments,and proposes a self-adaptive mechanism for EAs with immigrant schemes to address DOPs.Our experimental study showed that the new approach ...     

基于移民策略求解动态TSP 问题的遗传算法

在标准遗传算法（SGA）中加入移民策略可以丰富种群多样性,使SGA能够更好的适应环境的变化。为了改善基于移民策略的遗传算法在搜索空间内的探索能力,受原对偶映射思想的启发,设计了基于原对偶映射的移民策略（Primal-Dual based Immigrants,PDI）,并将这种策略加入到遗传算法中,求解动态旅行商问题（Dynamic Travelling Salesman Problem,DTSP）。仿真结果表明,与基于其他移民策略的遗传算法相比,PDIGA能够更好的适应环境的变化。     

求解动态优化问题的多种群热力学遗传算法

多种群方法已被证明是提高演化算法动态优化性能的重要方法之一。提出了多种群热力学遗传算法（multi-population based thermodynamic genetic algorithm,MPTDGA）。该算法使用一个概率向量在热力学遗传算法迭代过程中不断演化优化与竞争学习,环境变化时分化成三个概率向量,并分别抽样产生原对偶和随机迁入三个子种群,依据这三个种群和记忆种群最好解的情况,选择新的工作概率向量进入新环境进行学习。在动态背包问题上的实验结果表明,MPTDGA比原对偶遗传算法跟踪最优解的能力更强,有很好的多样性,非常适合求解0-1动态优化问题。     

IMMIGRANTS-ENHANCED MULTI-POPULATION GENETIC ALGORITHMS FOR DYNAMIC SHORTEST PATH ROUTING PROBLEMS IN MOBILE AD HOC NETWORKS

One of the most important characteristics in mobile wireless networks is the topology dynamics, that is, the network topology changes over time as a result of energy conservation or node mobility. Therefore, the shortest path (SP) routing problem turns out to be a dynamic optimization problem in mobile wireless networks. In this article, we propose to use multi-population genetic algorithms (GAs) with an immigrants scheme to solve the dynamic SP routing problem in mobile ad hoc networks, which are the representative of new generation wireless networks. Two types of multi-population GAs are investigated. One is the forking GA in which a parent population continuously searches for a new optimum and a number of child populations try to exploit previously detected promising areas. The other is the shifting-balance GA in which a core population is used to exploit the best solution found and a number of colony populations are responsible for exploring different areas in the solution space. Both multi-population GAs are enhanced by an immigrants scheme to handle the dynamic environments. In the construction of the dynamic network environments, two models are proposed and investigated. One is called the general dynamics model, in which the topologies are changed because the nodes are scheduled to sleep or wake up. The other is called the worst dynamics model, in which the topologies are altered because some links on the current best shortest path are removed. Extensive experiments are conducted based on these two models. The experimental results show that the proposed multi-population GAs with immigrants enhancement can quickly adapt to the environmental changes (i.e., the network topology changes) and produce high-quality solutions after each change.     

一种求解动态优化问题的改进自适应差分进化算法

针对原始动态自适应差分进化（SADE）算法局部搜索能力弱和寻优精度低的问题,提出一种求解动态优化问题的邻域搜索差分进化（NSDE）算法。通过引入邻域搜索机制,在划分种群最优个体的邻域空间范围内产生候选解,选取候选解集合中的最优解并对种群最优个体进行迭代,增强算法局部搜索能力。在传统基于距离的排斥方案中,引入hill-valley函数追踪邻近峰,提高算法寻优精度。实验结果表明,与SADE、人工免疫网络动态优化、多种群竞争差分进化和改进差分进化算法相比,NSDE算法在49个测试问题中分别有28、38、29和38个测试问题的平均误差更小,综合性能表现更好。     

A permutation-based dual genetic algorithm for dynamic optimization problems

Adaptation to dynamic optimization problems is currently receiving growing interest as one of the most important applications of genetic algorithms. Inspired by dualism and dominance in nature, genetic algorithms with the dualism mechanism have been applied for several dynamic problems with binary encoding. This paper investigates the idea of dualism for combinatorial optimization problems in dynamic environments, which are also extensively implemented in the real-world. A new variation of the GA, called the permutation-based dual genetic algorithm (PBDGA), is presented. Within this GA, two schemes based on the characters of the permutation in group theory are introduced: a partial-dualism scheme motivated by a new multi-attribute dualism mechanism and a learning scheme. Based on the dynamic test environments constructed by stationary benchmark problems, experiments are carried out to validate the proposed PBDGA. The experimental results show the efficiency of PBDGA in dynamic environments.     

A DE and PSO based hybrid algorithm for dynamic optimization problems

Many real world optimization problems are dynamic in which the fitness landscape is time dependent and the optima change over time. Such problems challenge traditional optimization algorithms. For such problems, optimization algorithms not only have to find the global optimum but also need to closely track its trajectory. In this paper, a new hybrid algorithm integrating a differential evolution (DE) and a particle swarm optimization (PSO) is proposed for dynamic optimization problems. Multi-population strategy is adopted to enhance the diversity and try to keep each subpopulation on a different peak in the fitness landscape. A hybrid operator combining DE and PSO is designed, in which each individual is sequentially carried out DE and PSO operations. An exclusion scheme is proposed that integrates the distance based exclusion scheme with the hill-valley function to track the adjacent peaks. The algorithm is applied to the set of benchmark functions used in CEC 2009 competition for dynamic environment. Experimental results show that it is more effective in terms of overall performance than other comparative algorithms.     

Adaptive Primal–Dual Genetic Algorithms in Dynamic Environments

Recently, there has been an increasing interest in applying genetic algorithms (GAs) in dynamic environments. Inspired by the complementary and dominance mechanisms in nature, a primal-dual GA (PDGA) has been proposed for dynamic optimization problems (DOPs). In this paper, an important operator in PDGA, i.e., the primal-dual mapping (PDM) scheme, is further investigated to improve the robustness and adaptability of PDGA in dynamic environments. In the improved scheme, two different probability-based PDM operators, where the mapping probability of each allele in the chromosome string is calculated through the statistical information of the distribution of alleles in the corresponding gene locus over the population, are effectively combined according to an adaptive Lamarckian learning mechanism. In addition, an adaptive dominant replacement scheme, which can probabilistically accept inferior chromosomes, is also introduced into the proposed algorithm to enhance the diversity level of the population. Experimental results on a series of dynamic problems generated from several stationary benchmark problems show that the proposed algorithm is a good optimizer for DOPs.     

A particle swarm optimization based memetic algorithm for dynamic optimization problems

Recently, there has been an increasing concern from the evolutionary computation community on dynamic optimization problems since many real-world optimization problems are dynamic. This paper investigates a particle swarm optimization (PSO) based memetic algorithm that hybridizes PSO with a local search technique for dynamic optimization problems. Within the framework of the proposed algorithm, a local version of PSO with a ring-shape topology structure is used as the global search operator and a fuzzy cognition local search method is proposed as the local search technique. In addition, a self-organized random immigrants scheme is extended into our proposed algorithm in order to further enhance its exploration capacity for new peaks in the search space. Experimental study over the moving peaks benchmark problem shows that the proposed PSO-based memetic algorithm is robust and adaptable in dynamic environments.     

一类带约束动态多目标优化问题的进化算法

动态多目标约束优化问题是一类NP-Hard问题,定义了动态环境下进化种群中个体的序值和个体的约束度,结合这两个定义给出了一种选择算子.在一种环境变化判断算子下给出了求解环境变量取值于正整数集Z+的一类带约束动态多目标优化问题的进化算法.通过几个典型的Benchmark函数对算法的性能进行了测试,其结果表明新算法能够较好地求出带约束动态多目标优化问题在不同环境下质量较好、分布较均匀的Pareto最优解集.     

Global replacement-based differential evolution with neighbor-based memory for dynamic optimization

Dynamic optimization problems challenge the evolutionary algorithms, owing to the diversity loss or the low search efficiency of the algorithms, especially when the problems change frequently. This paper presents a novel differential evolution algorithm to address the dynamic optimization problems. Unlike the most used “DE/rand/1” mutation operator, in this paper, the “DE/best/1” mutation is employed to generate a mutant individual. In order to enhance the search efficiency of differential evolution, the classical differential evolution algorithm is modified by a novel replacement operator, in which the worst individual in the whole population is replaced by the newly generated trial vector as a “steady-state” manner. During optimizing, some newly generated solutions are stored into a memory set, in which these stored solutions are located around the current best solution. When the environmental change is detected, the stored solutions are expected to guide the reinitialized solutions to track the new location of global optimum as soon as possible. The performance of the proposed algorithm is compared with six state-of-the-art dynamic evolutionary algorithms over some benchmark problems. The experimental results show that the proposed algorithm clearly outperforms the competitors.     

A self-organizing random immigrants genetic algorithm for dynamic optimization problems

In this paper a genetic algorithm is proposed where the worst individual and individuals with indices close to its index are replaced in every generation by randomly generated individuals for dynamic optimization problems. In the proposed genetic algorithm, the replacement of an individual can affect other individuals in a chain reaction. The new individuals are preserved in a subpopulation which is defined by the number of individuals created in the current chain reaction. If the values of fitness are similar, as is the case with small diversity, one single replacement can affect a large number of individuals in the population. This simple approach can take the system to a self-organizing behavior, which can be useful to control the diversity level of the population and hence allows the genetic algorithm to escape from local optima once the problem changes due to the dynamics.     

动态免疫优化算法及其在背包问题中的应用

利用人工免疫系统的学习、记忆、识别等功能,提出一种动态免疫优化算法(DIOA),用于解决一类高维动态约束优化问题.其中对可行抗体进行克隆突变操作,非可行抗体按价值密度使用贪婪算法进行修正,环境识别模块借助记忆细胞产生新的环境初始群,从而加快算法收敛速度.利用DIOA求解不同环境下的高维背包问题,结果表明,与同类算法相比...     

An adaptive optimization technique for dynamic environments

The use of evolutionary algorithms (EAs) is beneficial for addressing optimization problems in dynamic environments. The objective function for such problems changes continually; thus, the optimal solutions likewise change. Such dynamic changes pose challenges to EAs due to the poor adaptability of EAs once they have converged. However, appropriate preservation of a sufficient level of individual diversity may help to increase the adaptive search capability of EAs. This paper proposes an EA-based Adaptive Dynamic OPtimization Technique (ADOPT) for solving time-dependent optimization problems. The purpose of this approach is to identify the current optimal solution as well as a set of alternatives that is not only widespread in the decision space, but also performs well with respect to the objective function. The resultant solutions may then serve as a basis solution for the subsequent search while change is occurring. Thus, such an algorithm avoids the clustering of individuals in the same region as well as adapts to changing environments by exploiting diverse promising regions in the solution space. Application of the algorithm to a test problem and a groundwater contaminant source identification problem demonstrates the effectiveness of ADOPT to adaptively identify solutions in dynamic environments.