Improved auto control ant colony optimization using lazy ant approach for grid scheduling problem

An auto controlled ant colony optimization algorithm controls the behavior of the ant colony algorithm automatically based on a priori heuristic. During the experimental study of auto controlled ACO algorithm on grid scheduling problem, it was observed that the induction of lazy ants not only reduces the time complexity of the algorithm but also produces better results on the given objectives. Lazy ants are basically a mutated version of active ants that remain alive till the fitter lazy ants are generated in the successive generations. This work presents an improved auto controlled ACO algorithm using the lazy ant concept. Performance study reveals the efficacy and the efficiency achieved by the proposed algorithm. A comparative study of the proposed method with some other recent meta-heuristics such as auto controlled ant colony optimization algorithm, genetic algorithm, quantum genetic algorithm, simulated annealing and particle swarm optimization for grid scheduling problem exhibits so.     

A survey: Ant Colony Optimization based recent research and implementation on several engineering domain

Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) is a Swarm Intelligence technique which inspired from the foraging behaviour of real ant colonies. The ants deposit pheromone on the ground in order to mark the route for identification of their routes from the nest to food that should be followed by other members of the colony. This ACO exploits an optimization mechanism for solving discrete optimization problems in various engineering domain. From the early nineties, when the first Ant Colony Optimization algorithm was proposed, ACO attracted the attention of increasing numbers of researchers and many successful applications are now available. Moreover, a substantial corpus of theoretical results is becoming available that provides useful guidelines to researchers and practitioners in further applications of ACO. This paper review varies recent research and implementation of ACO, and proposed a modified ACO model which is applied for network routing problem and compared with existing traditional routing algorithms.     

Minimizing the multimodal functions with Ant Colony Optimization approach

The ant colony optimization (ACO) algorithms, which are inspired by the behaviour of ants to find solutions to combinatorial optimization problem, are multi-agent systems. This paper presents the ACO-based algorithm that is used to find the global minimum of a nonconvex function. The algorithm is based on that each ant searches only around the best solution of the previous iteration. This algorithm was tested on some standard test functions, and successful results were obtained. Its performance was compared with the other algorithms, and was observed to be better.     

Ant colony optimization for resource-constrained project scheduling

An ant colony optimization (ACO) approach for the resource-constrained project scheduling problem (RCPSP) is presented. Several new features that are interesting for ACO in general are proposed and evaluated. In particular, the use of a combination of two pheromone evaluation methods by the ants to find new solutions, a change of the influence of the heuristic on the decisions of the ants during the run of the algorithm, and the option that an elitist ant forgets the best-found solution are studied. We tested the ACO algorithm on a set of large benchmark problems from the Project Scheduling Library. Compared to several other heuristics for the RCPSP, including genetic algorithms, simulated annealing, tabu search, and different sampling methods, our algorithm performed best on average. For nearly one-third of all benchmark problems, which were not known to be solved optimally before, the algorithm was able to find new best solutions     

一种障碍环境下机器人路径规划的蚁群粒子群算法

针对机器人在障碍环境下寻找最优路径问题, 提出了一种障碍环境下机器人路径规划的蚁群粒子群算法.该方法有效地结合了粒子群算法和蚁群算法的优点, 采用栅格法进行环境建模, 利用粒子群算法的快速简洁等特点得到蚁群算法初始信息素分布, 以减少迭代次数, 加快算法的收敛速度; 同时利用蚁群算法之间的可并行性, 采用分布式技术实现蚂蚁之间的并行搜索, 求解精度高等优点, 求精确解. 仿真实验结果证明了该方法的有效性, 是机器人路径规划的一种较好的方法.     

A hybrid meta-heuristic algorithm for optimization of crew scheduling

Crew scheduling problem is the problem of assigning crew members to the flights so that total cost is minimized while regulatory and legal restrictions are satisfied. The crew scheduling is an NP-hard constrained combinatorial optimization problem and hence, it cannot be exactly solved in a reasonable computational time. This paper presents a particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm synchronized with a local search heuristic for solving the crew scheduling problem. Recent studies use genetic algorithm (GA) or ant colony optimization (ACO) to solve large scale crew scheduling problems. Furthermore, two other hybrid algorithms based on GA and ACO algorithms have been developed to solve the problem. Computational results show the effectiveness and superiority of the proposed hybrid PSO algorithm over other algorithms.     

A low-complexity hybrid algorithm based on particle swarm and ant colony optimization for large-MIMO detection

With rapid increase in demand for higher data rates, multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) wireless communication systems are getting increased research attention because of their high capacity achieving capability. However, the practical implementation of MIMO systems rely on the computational complexity incurred in detection of the transmitted information symbols. The minimum bit error rate performance (BER) can be achieved by using maximum likelihood (ML) search based detection, but it is computationally impractical when number of transmit antennas increases. In this paper, we present a low-complexity hybrid algorithm (HA) to solve the symbol vector detection problem in large-MIMO systems. The proposed algorithm is inspired from the two well known bio-inspired optimization algorithms namely, particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm and ant colony optimization (ACO) algorithm. In the proposed algorithm, we devise a new probabilistic search approach which combines the distance based search of ants in ACO algorithm and the velocity based search of particles in PSO algorithm. The motivation behind using the hybrid of ACO and PSO is to avoid premature convergence to a local solution and to improve the convergence rate. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithm outperforms the popular minimum mean squared error (MMSE) algorithm and the existing ACO algorithms in terms of BER performance while achieve a near ML performance which makes the algorithm suitable for reliable detection in large-MIMO systems. Furthermore, a faster convergence to achieve a target BER is observed which results in reduction in computational efforts.     

Hardware-oriented ant colony optimization

A new kind of ant colony optimization (ACO) algorithm is proposed that is suitable for an implementation in hardware. The new algorithm – called Counter-based ACO – allows to systolically pipe artificial ants through a grid of processing cells. Various features of this algorithm have been designed so that it can be mapped easily to field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs). Examples are a new encoding of pheromone information and a new method to define the decision sequence of ants. Experimental results that are based on simulations for the traveling salesperson problem and the quadratic assignment problem are presented to evaluate the proposed techniques.     

High speed ant colony optimization CMOS chip

Ant colony optimization (ACO) is an optimization computation inspired by the study of the ant colonies’ behavior. This paper presents design and CMOS implementation of the ant colony optimization based algorithm for solving the TSP problem. In order to implement ant colony optimization algorithm in CMOS, we will present a new algorithm. This algorithm is based on the original ant colony optimization but it can be implemented in CMOS. Briefly, pheromone matrix is transformed on the chip area and ants move up-down through the pheromone matrix and they make their decisions. Finally ants select a global path. In previous researches only pheromone values is used, but select the next city in this paper is based on heuristics value and pheromone value. In definition of problem, we use heuristics value as a matrix. Previous researches could not be used for wide type of optimization problem but our chip gives heuristics value initially and we can change initial value of heuristics value according to the optimization problem so this capability increases the flexibility of ACO chip. Simple circuit is used in blocks of our chip to increase the speed of convergence of ACO chip. We use Linear Feedback Shift Register (LSFR) circuit for random number generator in ACO chip. ACO chip has capability of solving the big TSP problem. ACO chip is simulated by HSPICE software and simulation results show the good performance of final chip.     

On scheduling transactions in a grid processing system considering load through Ant Colony Optimization

Load balanced transaction scheduling problem is an important issue in distributed computing environments including grid system. This problem is known to be NP-hard and can be solved by using heuristic as well as any meta-heuristic method. We ponder over the problem of the load balanced transaction scheduling in a grid processing system by using an Ant Colony Optimization for load balancing. The problem that we consider is to achieve good execution characteristics for a given set of transactions that has to be completed within their given deadline. We propose a transaction processing algorithm based on Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) for load balanced transaction scheduling. We modify two meta-heuristic along with ACO and three heuristic scheduling algorithms for the purpose of comparison with our proposed algorithm. The results of the comparison show that the proposed algorithm provides better results for the load balanced transaction scheduling in the grid processing system.     

求解多处理机调度问题的蚁群算法

蚁群算法是受自然界中的蚂蚁觅食行为启发而设计的智能优化算法,特别适合处理离散型的组合优化问题。提出一种求解多处理机调度的蚁群算法,利用一个蚂蚁代表一个处理机来选择任务,并通过分析关键路径及每个任务的最早、最迟开始时间来确定每个任务的紧迫程度,让蚂蚁以此来选择任务。实验证明,该算法可比传统算法取得有更好运行效率的调度策略。     

Ant Colony Optimization with Global Pheromone Evaluation for Scheduling a Single Machine

Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) is a metaheuristic that has recently been applied to scheduling problems. We propose an ACO algorithm for the Single Machine Total Weighted Tardiness Problem and compare it to an existing ACO algorithm for the unweighted problem. The proposed algorithm has some novel properties that are of general interest for ACO optimization. A main novelty is that the ants are guided on their way through the decision space by global pheromone information instead of using only local pheromone information. It is also shown that the ACO optimization behaviour can be improved when priority scheduling heuristics are adapted so that they appropriately reflect absolute quality differences between the alternatives before they are used by the ants. Further improvements can be obtained by identifying situations where the ants can perform optimal decisions.     

Ant colony optimization

Swarm intelligence is a relatively new approach to problem solving that takes inspiration from the social behaviors of insects and of other animals. In particular, ants have inspired a number of methods and techniques among which the most studied and the most successful is the general purpose optimization technique known as ant colony optimization. Ant colony optimization (ACO) takes inspiration from the foraging behavior of some ant species. These ants deposit pheromone on the ground in order to mark some favorable path that should be followed by other members of the colony. Ant colony optimization exploits a similar mechanism for solving optimization problems. From the early nineties, when the first ant colony optimization algorithm was proposed, ACO attracted the attention of increasing numbers of researchers and many successful applications are now available. Moreover, a substantial corpus of theoretical results is becoming available that provides useful guidelines to researchers and practitioners in further applications of ACO. The goal of this article is to introduce ant colony optimization and to survey its most notable applications     

Modeling the dynamics of ant colony optimization

The dynamics of Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) algorithms is studied using a deterministic model that assumes an average expected behavior of the algorithms. The ACO optimization metaheuristic is an iterative approach, where in every iteration, artificial ants construct solutions randomly but guided by pheromone information stemming from former ants that found good solutions. The behavior of ACO algorithms and the ACO model are analyzed for certain types of permutation problems. It is shown analytically that the decisions of an ant are influenced in an intriguing way by the use of the pheromone information and the properties of the pheromone matrix. This explains why ACO algorithms can show a complex dynamic behavior even when there is only one ant per iteration and no competition occurs. The ACO model is used to describe the algorithm behavior as a combination of situations with different degrees of competition between the ants. This helps to better understand the dynamics of the algorithm when there are several ants per iteration as is always the case when using ACO algorithms for optimization. Simulations are done to compare the behavior of the ACO model with the ACO algorithm. Results show that the deterministic model describes essential features of the dynamics of ACO algorithms quite accurately, while other aspects of the algorithms behavior cannot be found in the model.     

差异容量平行批机器环境下基于弱选择约束的调度算法

研究动态到达的差异工件在容量不同的平行批处理机环境下,最小化制造跨度的调度问题,并提出一种有效的元启发式算法.给出一个下界以评价算法的性能,针对所构建批的第1个工件的选择提出弱约束标准及两个基于弱约束的首工件选择策略,并引入到蚁群优化算法.最后通过仿真实验将所提出的改进蚁群算法与已有算法和使用传统选择策略的蚁群算法进行比较,实验结果表明,在建批过程中使用首工件弱约束策略和弱约束下工件尺寸大高概率选择策略是有效的,所提算法的搜索性能较其他算法具有明显优势.     

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.     

多维背包问题的一个蚁群优化算法

蚁群优化(ACO)是一种通用的启发式方法,已被用来求解很多离散优化问题.近年来,已提出几个ACO算法求解多维背包问题(MKP).这些算法虽然能获得较好的解但也耗用太多的CPU时间.为了降低用ACO求解MKP的复杂性,文章基于一种已提出但未实现过的MKP的信息素表示定义了新的选择概率的规则和相应的基于背包项的一种序的启发式信息,从而提出了一种计算复杂性较低、求解性能较好的改进型蚁群算法.实验结果表明,无论串行执行还是虚拟并行执行,在计算相同任务时,新算法耗用时间少且解的价值更高.不仅如此,在实验中,文中的新算法获得了ORLIB中测试算例5.250-22的两个"新"解.     

基于遗传算法与蚁群算法动态融合的网格任务调度

深入分析遗传算法和蚁群算法的机理,并结合网格任务调度的研究,提出基于遗传算法和蚁群算法动态融合的网格任务调度策略.该策略通过不同迭代次数中种群相似度的差值实现两种算法的动态融合.仿真实验表明该策略是可行的,并且具有高效性.     

On solving permutation scheduling problems with ant colony optimization

A new approach for solving permutation scheduling problems with ant colony optimization (ACO) is proposed in this paper. The approach assumes that no precedence constraints between the jobs have to be fulfilled. It is tested with an ACO algorithm for the single-machine total weighted deviation problem. In the new approach the ants allocate the places in the schedule not sequentially, as in the standard approach, but in random order. This leads to a better utilization of the pheromone information. It is shown by experiments that adequate combinations between the standard approach which can profit from list scheduling heuristics and the new approach perform particularly well.     

An ant algorithm for balanced job scheduling in grids

Grid computing utilizes the distributed heterogeneous resources in order to support complicated computing problems. Grid can be classified into two types: computing grid and data grid. Job scheduling in computing grid is a very important problem. To utilize grids efficiently, we need a good job scheduling algorithm to assign jobs to resources in grids.In the natural environment, the ants have a tremendous ability to team up to find an optimal path to food resources. An ant algorithm simulates the behavior of ants. In this paper, we propose a Balanced Ant Colony Optimization (BACO) algorithm for job scheduling in the Grid environment. The main contributions of our work are to balance the entire system load while trying to minimize the makespan of a given set of jobs. Compared with the other job scheduling algorithms, BACO can outperform them according to the experimental results.