Gaussian variable neighborhood search for continuous optimization

Variable Neighborhood Search (VNS) has shown to be a powerful tool for solving both discrete and box-constrained continuous optimization problems. In this note we extend the methodology by allowing also to address unconstrained continuous optimization problems.Instead of perturbing the incumbent solution by randomly generating a trial point in a ball of a given metric, we propose to perturb the incumbent solution by adding some noise, following a Gaussian distribution. This way of generating new trial points allows one to give, in a simple and intuitive way, preference to some directions in the search space, or, contrarily, to treat uniformly all directions. Computational results show some advantages of this new approach.     

Intelligent video target tracking using an evolutionary particle filter based upon improved cuckoo search

The aim of this paper is to propose an evolutionary particle filter based upon improved cuckoo search algorithm which will overcome the sample impoverishment problem of generic particle filter. In our proposed method, improved cuckoo search (ICS) algorithm is embedded into particle filter (PF) framework. Improved cuckoo search algorithm uses levy flight for generating new particles in the solution and introduced randomness in samples by abandoning a fraction of these particles. The second important contribution in this article is introduction of new way for tackling scaling and rotational error in object tracking. Performance of proposed improved cuckoo particle filter is investigated and evaluated on synthetic and standard video sequences and compared with the generic particle filter and particle swarm optimization based particle filter. We show that object tracking using improved cuckoo particle filter provides more reliable and efficient tracking results than generic particle filter and PSO-particle filter. The proposed technique works for real time video objects tracking.     

Ant colony optimization for bearings-only maneuvering target tracking in sensors network

In this paper, the problem of bearings-only maneuvering target tracking in sensors network is investigated. Two objectives are proposed and optimized by the ant colony optimization （ACO）, then two kinds of node searching strategies of the ACO algorithm are presented. On the basis of the nodes determined by the ACO algorithm, the interacting multiple models extended Kalman filter （IMMEKF） for the multi-sensor bearings-only maneuvering target tracking is introduced. Simulation results indicate that the proposed ACO algorithm performs better than the Closest Nodes method. Furthermore, the Strategy 2 of the two given strategies is preferred in terms of the requirement of real time.     

基于特征约束和均值漂移的机动目标粒子跟踪

粒子滤波是适用于非线性非高斯系统下目标跟踪的强有力工具．ＭｉｒｏＳｏｔ足球机器人系统可以作为研究机动目标跟踪问题的平台．对此,在分析ＭｉｒｏＳｏｔ系统目标特征的基础上,提出一种基于目标特征约束的均值漂移粒子滤波算法,利用约束和优化的思想提高粒子的质量并减少其数量．对比实验表明,该方法有效地克服了传统粒子滤波的计算量和粒子退化问题,保证了多机动目标跟踪的准确性和实时性．     

Multi-dimensional visual tracking using scatter search particle filter

Multi-dimensional visual tracking (MVT) problems include visual tracking tasks where the system state is defined by a high number of variables corresponding to multiple model components and/or multiple targets. A MVT problem can be modeled as a dynamic optimization problem. In this context, we propose an algorithm which hybridizes particle filters (PF) and the scatter search (SS) metaheuristic, called scatter search particle filter (SSPF), where the optimization strategies from SS are embedded into the PF framework. Scatter search is a population-based metaheuristic successfully applied to several complex combinatorial optimization problems. The most representative optimization strategies from SS are both solution combination and solution improvement. Combination stage enables the solutions to share information about the problem to produce better solutions. Improvement stage makes also possible to obtain better solutions by exploring the neighborhood of a given solution. In this paper, we have described and evaluated the performance of the scatter search particle filter (SSPF) in MVT problems. Specifically, we have compared the performance of several state-of-the-art PF-based algorithms with SSPF algorithm in different instances of 2D articulated object tracking problem and 2D multiple object tracking. Some of these instances are from the CVBase’06 standard database. Experimental results show an important performance gain and better tracking accuracy in favour of our approach.     

A population-based variable neighborhood search for the single machine total weighted tardiness problem

This paper investigates the single machine total weighted tardiness problem, in which a set of independent jobs with distinct processing times, weights, and due dates are to be scheduled on a single machine to minimize the sum of weighted tardiness of all jobs. This problem is known to be strongly NP-hard, and thus provides a challenging area for metaheuristics. A population-based variable neighborhood search (PVNS) algorithm is developed to solve it. This algorithm differs from the basic variable neighborhood search (VNS). First, the PVNS consists of a number of iterations of the basic VNS, and in each iteration a population of solutions is used to simultaneously generate multiple trial solutions in a neighborhood so as to improve the search diversification. Second, the PVNS adopts a combination of path-relinking, variable depth search and tabu search to act as the local search procedure so as to improve the search intensification. Computational experiments show that the proposed PVNS algorithm can obtain the optimal or best known solutions within a reasonable computation time for all standard benchmark problem instances from the literature.     

The double traveling salesman problem with multiple stacks: A variable neighborhood search approach

The double traveling salesman problem with multiple stacks (DTSPMS) is a vehicle routing problem that consists on finding the minimum total length tours in two separated networks, one for pickups and one for deliveries. A set of orders is given, each one consisting of a pickup location and a delivery location, and it is required to send an item from the former location to the latter one. Repacking is not allowed, but collected items can be packed in several rows in such a way that each row must obey the LIFO principle. In this paper, a variable neighborhood search approach using four new neighborhood structures is presented to solve the problem.     

基于形状上下文和粒子滤波的多目标跟踪

目标跟踪是计算机视觉领域里研究的热点和难点。提出一种基于形状上下文和粒子滤波的多目标跟踪算法,通过在跟踪过程中融入目标检测信息来处理目标进入与离开场景问题和目标重叠与分离问题。首先,采用自适应增强检测算法对视频区域中的目标进行检测;然后,利用形状上下文特征来建立被跟踪目标的外观模型;最后,利用粒子滤波方法进行粒子的选择和目标的跟踪。实验证明,提出的算法能够有效处理目标进入与离开场景的问题和目标重合与分离的问题,在单一背景和复杂背景下都能进行较为准确的跟踪,还能一定程度上处理部分遮挡问题。     

An efficient variable neighborhood search heuristic for very large scale vehicle routing problems

In this paper, we present an efficient variable neighborhood search heuristic for the capacitated vehicle routing problem. The objective is to design least cost routes for a fleet of identically capacitated vehicles to service geographically scattered customers with known demands. The variable neighborhood search procedure is used to guide a set of standard improvement heuristics. In addition, a strategy reminiscent of the guided local search metaheuristic is used to help escape local minima. The developed solution method is specifically aimed at solving very large scale real-life vehicle routing problems. To speed up the method and cut down memory usage, new implementation concepts are used. Computational experiments on 32 existing large scale benchmarks, as well as on 20 new very large scale problem instances, demonstrate that the proposed method is fast, competitive and able to find high-quality solutions for problem instances with up to 20,000 customers within reasonable CPU times.     

目标跟踪状态估计排序粒子群算法研究

基于视觉的无人机地面目标跟踪状态估计为非线性滤波问题,针对使用一般粒子滤波算法存在粒子退化和计算量大的缺陷问题,提出了一种基于排序的粒子滤波算法,对粒子依误差大小进行排序并计算粒子权重。仿真试验表明,该方法减轻了粒子贫化的影响,提高了状态估计精度。     

Composing fifth species counterpoint music with a variable neighborhood search algorithm

In this paper, a variable neighborhood search (VNS) algorithm is developed and analyzed that can generate fifth species counterpoint fragments. The existing species counterpoint rules are quantified and form the basis of the objective function used by the algorithm. The VNS developed in this research is a local search metaheuristic that starts from a randomly generated fragment and gradually improves this solution by changing one or two notes at a time. An in-depth statistical analysis reveals the significance as well as the optimal settings of the parameters of the VNS. The algorithm has been implemented in a user-friendly software environment called Optimuse. Optimuse allows a user to input basic characteristics such as length, key and mode. Based on this input, a fifth species counterpoint fragment is generated by the system that can be edited and played back immediately.     

A variable neighborhood search algorithm for the optimization of a dial-a-ride problem in a large city

On-demand transportation is becoming a new necessary service for modern (public and private) mobility and logistics providers. Large cities are demanding more and more share transportation services with flexible routes, resulting from user dynamic demands. In this study a new algorithm is proposed for solving the problem of computing the best routes that a public transportation company could offer to satisfy a number of customer requests. In this problem, known in the literature as the dial-a-ride problem, a number of passengers has to be transported between pickup and delivery locations trying to minimize the routing costs while respecting a set of pre-specified constraints (maximum pickup time, maximum ride duration and maximum load per vehicle). For optimizing this problem, a new variable neighborhood search has been developed and tested on a set of 24 different scenarios of a large-scale dial-a-ride problem in the city of San Francisco. The results have been compared against two state-of-the-art algorithms of the literature and validated by means of statistical procedures proving that the new algorithm has obtained the best overall results.     

A variable neighborhood search for minimizing single machine weighted earliness and tardiness with common due date

Although the concept of just-in-time (JIT) production systems has been proposed for over two decades, it is still important in real-world production systems. In this paper, we consider minimizing the total weighted earliness and tardiness with a restrictive common due date in a single machine environment, which has been proved as an NP-hard problem. Due to the complexity of the problem, metaheuristics, including simulated annealing, genetic algorithm, tabu search, among others, have been proposed for searching good solutions in reasonable computation times. In this paper, we propose a hybrid metaheuristic that uses tabu search within variable neighborhood search (VNS/TS). There are several distinctive features in the VNS/TS algorithm, including different ratio of the two neighborhoods, generating five points simultaneously in a neighborhood, implementation of the B/F local search, and combination of TS with VNS. By examining the 280 benchmark problem instances, the algorithm shows an excellent performance in not only the solution quality but also the computation time. The results obtained are better than those reported previously in the literature.     

粒子滤波在机动目标跟踪中的应用

机动目标跟踪问题一直是数据融合领域的难点.本文提出将粒子滤波应用于跟踪机动目标.该算法不仅可解决非线性问题,且对机动目标有很好的跟踪效果.仿真实验结果表明了该滤波器的有效性.     

Variable neighborhood search for location routing

In this paper we propose various neighborhood search heuristics (VNS) for solving the location routing problem with multiple capacitated depots and one uncapacitated vehicle per depot. The objective is to find depot locations and to design least cost routes for vehicles. We integrate a variable neighborhood descent as the local search in the general variable neighborhood heuristic framework to solve this problem. We propose five neighborhood structures which are either of routing or location type and use them in both shaking and local search steps. The proposed three VNS methods are tested on benchmark instances and successfully compared with other two state-of-the-art heuristics.     

Multi-objective scheduling of dynamic job shop using variable neighborhood search

Dynamic job shop scheduling that considers random job arrivals and machine breakdowns is studied in this paper. Considering an event driven policy rescheduling, is triggered in response to dynamic events by variable neighborhood search (VNS). A trained artificial neural network (ANN) updates parameters of VNS at any rescheduling point. Also, a multi-objective performance measure is applied as objective function that consists of makespan and tardiness. The proposed method is compared with some common dispatching rules that have widely used in the literature for dynamic job shop scheduling problem. Results illustrate the high effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed method in a variety of shop floor conditions.     

基于TBD的粒子滤波红外点状动目标跟踪算法研究

提出了一种新的低信噪比红外序列图像运动点目标检测与跟踪算法,该算法有机地结合了TBD检测算法与粒子滤波跟踪算法。首先通过多帧TBD处理后,检测出运动目标的初始位置和运动速度,然后在跟踪阶段采用粒子滤波算法估计目标运动状态,可实现信噪比为2的点目标的检测与跟踪。对真实红外图像序列进行实验仿真,仿真结果证明,该算法具有良好的实时性与很高的精确性。     

A variable neighborhood search based approach for uncapacitated multilevel lot-sizing problems

In this paper, an effective approach based on the variable neighborhood search (VNS) algorithm is presented to solve the uncapacitated multilevel lot-sizing (MLLS) problems with component commonality and multiple end-items. A neighborhood structure for the MLLS problem is defined, and two kinds of solution move policies, i.e., move at first improvement (MAFI) and move at best improvement (MABI), are used in the algorithm. A new rule called Setup shifting is developed to conduct a more efficient neighborhood search for the MLLS problems. Computational studies are carried out on two sets of benchmark problems. The experimental results show that the VNS algorithm is capable of solving MLLS problems with good optimality and high computational efficiency as well, outperforming most of the existing algorithms in comparison.     

Gravity optimised particle filter for hand tracking

This paper presents a gravity optimised particle filter (GOPF) where the magnitude of the gravitational force for every particle is proportional to its weight. GOPF attracts nearby particles and replicates new particles as if moving the particles towards the peak of the likelihood distribution, improving the sampling efficiency. GOPF is incorporated into a technique for hand features tracking. A fast approach to hand features detection and labelling using convexity defects is also presented. Experimental results show that GOPF outperforms the standard particle filter and its variants, as well as state-of-the-art CamShift guided particle filter using a significantly reduced number of particles.     

非线性粒子滤波目标跟踪应用仿真

针对非线性环境中存在的机动目标跟踪问题,对基于贝叶斯估计的粒子滤波器进行研究,为解决混合退火粒子滤波重要密度函数构造的问题,在混合退火粒子滤波的基础上,通过对系统状态和观测粒子方差的研究,提出了非线性环境下动态退火参数粒子滤波的改进算法,在混合退火粒子滤波中引入动态退火参数来构造高效的重要密度函数,提高了混合退火粒子滤波的跟踪精度,应用该滤波方法对机动目标模型进行仿真,并对多种滤波跟踪算法进行性能测试和比较,仿真实验结果表明,在非线性环境下该粒子滤波方法可行有效.