An AND/OR-graph Approach to the Container Loading Problem

The container loading problem consists of packing boxes of various sizes into available containers in such a way as to optimize an objective function. In this paper we deal with the special case where there is just one available container and the objective is to maximize the total volume (or the total utility value, supposing that each box has a utility value) of the loaded boxes. We firstly present three heuristic solution methods for the unconstrained problem. Two of them solve the original three-dimensional problem by layers and by stacks reducing it into several problems with lower dimensions. The third one consists of representing possible loading patterns as complete paths in an AND/OR-graph. Bounds and heuristics are proposed in order to reduce the solution space. A proper heuristic is also given to treat the constrained problem by using the AND/OR-graph approach. Moreover, computational results are presented by solving a number of examples.     

Improved Tabu search heuristics for the dynamic space allocation problem

The dynamic space allocation problem (DSAP) presented in this paper considers the task of assigning items (resources) to locations during a multi-period planning horizon such that the cost of rearranging the items is minimized. Three tabu search heuristics are presented for this problem. The first heuristic is a simple basic tabu search heuristic. The second heuristic adds diversification and intensification strategies to the first, and the third heuristic is a probabilistic tabu search heuristic. To test the performances of the heuristics, a set of test problems from the literature is used in the analysis. The results show that the tabu search heuristics are efficient techniques for solving the DSAP. More importantly, the proposed tabu search heuristic with diversification/intensification strategies found new best solutions using less computation time for one-half of all the test problems.     

Designing robust network topologies for wireless sensor networks in adversarial environments

In this paper, we address the problem of deploying sink nodes in a wireless sensor network such that the resulting network topology be robust. In order to measure network robustness, we propose a new metric, called persistence, which better captures the notion of robustness than the widely known connectivity based metrics. We study two variants of the sink deployment problem: sink selection and sink placement. We prove that both problems are NP-hard, and show how the problem of sink placement can be traced back to the problem of sink selection using an optimal search space reduction technique, which may be of independent interest. To solve the problem of sink selection, we propose efficient heuristic algorithms. Finally, we provide experimental results on the performance of our proposed algorithms.     

金属板材三维装箱的启发式算法

针对直方体金属板材装箱问题,提出一种模仿人装箱过程的启发式算法,该算法对木箱进行分层装箱,从最底层开始一层层往上装载,对每层出现的不平整的层进行智能填充,从而提高木箱的空间利用率,采用人工智能方法处理待装金属板材得出装箱结果,实验结果表明,该算法是行之有效的,并具有一定的通用性.     

A greedy gradient-simulated annealing selection hyper-heuristic

Educational timetabling problem is a challenging real world problem which has been of interest to many researchers and practitioners. There are many variants of this problem which mainly require scheduling of events and resources under various constraints. In this study, a curriculum based course timetabling problem at Yeditepe University is described and an iterative selection hyper-heuristic is presented as a solution method. A selection hyper-heuristic as a high level methodology operates on the space formed by a fixed set of low level heuristics which operate directly on the space of solutions. The move acceptance and heuristic selection methods are the main components of a selection hyper-heuristic. The proposed hyper-heuristic in this study combines a simulated annealing move acceptance method with a learning heuristic selection method and manages a set of low level constraint oriented heuristics. A key goal in hyper-heuristic research is to build low cost methods which are general and can be reused on unseen problem instances as well as other problem domains desirably with no additional human expert intervention. Hence, the proposed method is additionally applied to a high school timetabling problem, as well as six other problem domains from a hyper-heuristic benchmark to test its level of generality. The empirical results show that our easy-to-implement hyper-heuristic is effective in solving the Yeditepe course timetabling problem. Moreover, being sufficiently general, it delivers a reasonable performance across different problem domains.     

高效求解三维装箱问题的剩余空间最优化算法

为实现三维装箱问题的高效求解，提出了一个三维的剩余空间最优化算法（Three-Dimensional Residual-Space-Optimized Algorithm，3D-RSO）。在满足3个著名约束的条件下，该算法将三维问题转化为带有高度约束的二维问题，通过对箱子放置后的剩余空间状态分析，提出了基于概率较优的空间分割方法和箱子布置规则。相比于传统算法，3D-RSO在求解过程中不需要任何的预处理和搜索操作，是一种最坏计算复杂度为[O(2n2)]的直接求解算法。针对强异构体的实验表明，该算法能够在极短的时间内对算例进行高效求解，适合应用在大规模或者需要被快速求解的三维装箱问题中。     

Portfolio selection using neural networks

In this paper we apply a heuristic method based on artificial neural networks (NN) in order to trace out the efficient frontier associated to the portfolio selection problem. We consider a generalization of the standard Markowitz mean-variance model which includes cardinality and bounding constraints. These constraints ensure the investment in a given number of different assets and limit the amount of capital to be invested in each asset. We present some experimental results obtained with the NN heuristic and we compare them to those obtained with three previous heuristic methods. The portfolio selection problem is an instance from the family of quadratic programming problems when the standard Markowitz mean-variance model is considered. But if this model is generalized to include cardinality and bounding constraints, then the portfolio selection problem becomes a mixed quadratic and integer programming problem. When considering the latter model, there is not any exact algorithm able to solve the portfolio selection problem in an efficient way. The use of heuristic algorithms in this case is imperative. In the past some heuristic methods based mainly on evolutionary algorithms, tabu search and simulated annealing have been developed. The purpose of this paper is to consider a particular neural network (NN) model, the Hopfield network, which has been used to solve some other optimisation problems and apply it here to the portfolio selection problem, comparing the new results to those obtained with previous heuristic algorithms.     

Parallel hyper heuristic algorithm based on reinforcement learning for the corridor allocation problem and parallel row ordering problem

Hyper heuristics is a relatively new optimisation algorithm. Numerous studies have reported that hyper heuristics are well applied in combinatorial optimisation problems. As a classic combinatorial optimisation problem, the row layout problem has not been publicly reported on applying hyper heuristics to its various sub-problems. To fill this gap, this study proposes a parallel hyper-heuristic approach based on reinforcement learning for corridor allocation problems and parallel row ordering problems. For the proposed algorithm, an outer layer parallel computing framework was constructed based on the encoding of the problem. The simulated annealing, tabu search, and variable neighbourhood algorithms were used in the algorithm as low-level heuristic operations, and Q-learning in reinforcement learning was used as a high-level strategy. A state space containing sequences and fitness values was designed. The algorithm performance was then evaluated for benchmark instances of the corridor allocation problem (37 groups) and parallel row ordering problem (80 groups). The results showed that, in most cases, the proposed algorithm provided a better solution than the best-known solutions in the literature. Finally, the meta-heuristic algorithm applied to three low-level heuristic operations is taken as three independent algorithms and compared with the proposed hyper-heuristic algorithm on four groups of parallel row ordering problem instances. The effectiveness of Q-learning in selection is illustrated by analysing the comparison results of the four algorithms and the number of calls of the three low-level heuristic operations in the proposed method.     

获胜者确定问题的建模与启发式算法

获胜者确定问题是组合拍卖机制的核心问题．因此,对基于OR与XOR标集的获胜者确定问题建立了0-1规划模型,并且提出了免疫算子与单亲算子相结合的启发式算法．提出多个启发式规则以扩大标比较范围,并应用在预处理中缩减解空间．设计了多个评价函数评估标的优劣,从而将特征知识引入到免疫算子中．仿真实验表明,对大规模问题的求解具有良好的寻优效率和求解质量,免疫算子对达优率和收敛速度都有着明显的提升作用．     

Solving a furnace loading problem

This paper presents a heuristic solution procedure for the furnace loading problem in metallurgical industry. The problem is decomposed into two stages: ingot order selection and candidate ingot loading. The 2-stage problems are then iteratively solved. It is shown that practical sized problems can be efficiently solved using the proposed approach.     

On the importance of breaking ties in the relaxed plan heuristic

The relaxed plan heuristic is a domain-independent heuristic for automated planning that computes an estimate of the cost for achieving the goals from a given state. This heuristic is based on the idea of solving a relaxed version of the planning task. Due to the great size of the state space, most heuristic search algorithms in planning suffer from scalability problems. These algorithms have to evaluate a great amount of states, and the time devoted to heuristic evaluations is one of the causes of the scalability problems. We argue that one way to lighten this problem is breaking ties in the heuristic value using additional information computed during the relaxed plan construction. We add a complementary value to the heuristic, allowing algorithms to discriminate between states with relaxed plans of the same length but with a different difficulty. The experimental evaluation in some planning benchmarks shows that the modification to the original heuristic can reduce the number of evaluated nodes for the most common algorithms used in heuristic planning.     

Dynamic and heuristic fuzzy connectives-based crossover operators for controlling the diversity and convergence of real-coded genetic algorithms

Genetic algorithms are adaptive methods which may be used as approximation heuristic for search and optimization problems. Genetic algorithms process a population of search space solutions with three operations: selection, crossover, and mutation. A great problem in the use of genetic algorithms is the premature convergence, a premature stagnation of the search caused by the lack of diversity in the population and a disproportionate relationship between exploitation and exploration. The crossover operator is considered one of the most determinant elements for solving this problem. In this article we present two types of crossover operators based on fuzzy connectives for real-coded genetic algorithms. The first type is designed to keep a suitable sequence between the exploration and the exploitation along the genetic algorithm's run, the dynamic fuzzy connectives-based crossover operators, the second, for generating offspring near to the best parents in order to offer diversity or convergence in a profitable way, the heuristic fuzzy connectives-based crossover operators. We combine both crossover operators for designing dynamic heuristic fuzzy connectives-based crossover operators that show a robust behavior. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

A hybrid multi-population framework for dynamic environments combining online and offline learning

Population based incremental learning algorithms and selection hyper-heuristics are highly adaptive methods which can handle different types of dynamism that may occur while a given problem is being solved. In this study, we present an approach based on a multi-population framework hybridizing these methods to solve dynamic environment problems. A key feature of the hybrid approach is the utilization of offline and online learning methods at successive stages. The performance of our approach along with the influence of different heuristic selection methods used within the selection hyper-heuristic is investigated over a range of dynamic environments produced by a well known benchmark generator as well as a real world problem, referred to as the Unit Commitment Problem. The empirical results show that the proposed approach using a particular hyper-heuristic outperforms some of the best known approaches in literature on the dynamic environment problems dealt with.     

定位2运输路线安排问题的两阶段启发式算法

重点研究了集成化物流中一类特殊的定位一运输路线安排问题(LRP)的解决方法．LRP问题包括设施定位和运输路线优化两方面决策，属于NP-hard难题．由于问题的复杂性，提出基于假设前提的LRP模型及其两阶段启发式求解算法．该方法分两步实现：首先，采用基于最小包络聚类分析的启发式方法确定被选择的潜在设施及由每一个选中的设施所要提供服务的客户群；其次，运用带有控制开关的遗传算法求解每一确定客户类中的优化运输路线．提出利用两阶段启发式算法求解LRP问题，此方法实现容易、运算简单，一定程度上避免了遗传算法中的“局部最优现象”．仿真实验证明了该算法求解单目标LRP的有效性和准确性．     

A framework for learning in search-based systems

We provide an overall framework for learning in search based systems that are used to find optimum solutions to problems. This framework assumes that prior knowledge is available in the form of one or more heuristic functions (or features) of the problem domain. An appropriate clustering strategy is used to partition the state space into a number of classes based on the available features. The number of classes formed will depend on the resource constraints of the system. In the training phase, example problems are run using a standard admissible search algorithm. In this phase, heuristic information corresponding to each class is learned. This new information can be used in the problem solving phase by appropriate search algorithms so that subsequent problem instances can be solved more efficiently. In this framework, we also show that heuristic information of forms other than the conventional single valued underestimate value can be used, since we maintain the heuristic of each class explicitly. We show some novel search algorithms that can work with some such forms. Experimental results have been provided for some domains     

求解加权圆集布局问题的快速启发式搜索算法

加权圆集布局问题是基于性能驱动的一类布局问题,由于其NP-hard属性,难以在多项式时间内求解,提出一种快速启发式搜索算法。权矩阵的行向量1范数作为首次赌轮选择圆的启发信息,依次以权矩阵的当前行（其行号等于当前选择圆的序号）元素作为下次赌轮选择的启发信息,利用图形学理论给出低计算复杂度的定位规则,进而基于该定序定位规则提出一种启发式搜索算法,以求得该问题的最优解。数值实验表明,该算法的性能优于已有算法。     

Stochastic resource allocation using a predictor-based heuristic for optimization via simulation

Some combinatorial stochastic resource allocation problems lack algebraically defined objective functions and hence require optimization via simulation as a mechanism for obtaining good solutions. For this class of problems, we propose a new predictor-based heuristic that uses a distance criterion to perform the solution search. To demonstrate our solution approach, we apply this heuristic to the problem of selecting the proper design configuration of an unmanned aerial system (UAS) fleet so as to maximize mission effectiveness. We compare our approach to black box optimization via simulation approaches (two tabu search-based procedures and a greedy heuristic) and glean both methodological and practical insights.     

Communication-aware task scheduling and voltage selection for total energy minimization in a multiprocessor system using Ant Colony Optimization

Energy consumption is a key parameter when highly computational tasks should be performed in a multiprocessor system. In this case, in order to reduce total energy consumption, task scheduling and low-power methodology should be combined in an efficient way. This paper proposes an algorithm for off-line communication-aware task scheduling and voltage selection using Ant Colony Optimization. The proposed algorithm minimizes total energy consumption of an application executing on a homogeneous multiprocessor system. The artificial agents explore the search space based on stochastic decision-making using global heuristic information with total energy consumption and local heuristic information with interprocessor communication volume. In search space exploration, both voltage selection and the dependencies between tasks are considered. The pheromone trails are updated by normalizing the total energy consumption. The pheromone trails represent the global heuristic information in order to utilize all entire energy consumption information from previous evaluated solutions. Experimental results show that the proposed algorithm outperforms traditional communication-aware task scheduling and task scheduling using genetic algorithms in terms of total energy consumption.     

A new hyper-heuristic as a general problem solver: an implementation in HyFlex

This study provides a new hyper-heuristic design using a learning-based heuristic selection mechanism together with an adaptive move acceptance criterion. The selection process was supported by an online heuristic subset selection strategy. In addition, a pairwise heuristic hybridization method was designed. The motivation behind building an intelligent selection hyper-heuristic using these adaptive hyper-heuristic sub-mechanisms is to facilitate generality. Therefore, the designed hyper-heuristic was tested on a number of problem domains defined in a high-level framework, i.e., HyFlex. The framework provides a set of problems with a number of instances as well as a group of low-level heuristics. Thus, it can be considered a good environment to measure the generality level of selection hyper-heuristics. The computational results demonstrated the generic performance of the proposed strategy in comparison with other tested hyper-heuristics composed of the sub-mechanisms from the literature. Moreover, the performance and behavior analysis conducted for the hyper-heuristic clearly showed its adaptive characteristics under different search conditions. The principles comprising the here presented algorithm were at the heart of the algorithm that won the first international cross-domain heuristic search competition.     

Technology for simulating crowd evacuation behaviors

This paper presents a model for simulating crowd evacuation and investigates three widely recognized problems. For the space continuity problem, this paper presents two computation algorithms: one uses grid space to evaluate the coordinates of the obstacle's bounding box and the other employs the geometry rule to establish individual evacuation routes. For the problem of collision, avoidance, and excess among the individuals, this paper computes the generalized force and friction force and then modifies the direction of march to obtain a speed model based on the crowd density and real time speed. For the exit selection problem, this paper establishes a method of selecting the exits by combining the exit's crowd state with the individuals. Finally, a particle system is used to simulate the behavior of crowd evacuation and produces useful test results.