Benchmarking and comparison of nature-inspired population-based continuous optimisation algorithms

This paper describes an experimental investigation into four nature-inspired population-based continuous optimisation methods: the Bees Algorithm, Evolutionary Algorithms, Particle Swarm Optimisation, and the Artificial Bee Colony algorithm. The aim of the proposed study is to understand and compare the specific capabilities of each optimisation algorithm. For each algorithm, thirty-two configurations covering different combinations of operators and learning parameters were examined. In order to evaluate the optimisation procedures, twenty-five function minimisation benchmarks were designed by the authors. The proposed set of benchmarks includes many diverse fitness landscapes, and constitutes a contribution to the systematic study of optimisation techniques and operators. The experimental results highlight the strengths and weaknesses of the algorithms and configurations tested. The existence and extent of origin and alignment search biases related to the use of different recombination operators are highlighted. The analysis of the results reveals interesting regularities that help to identify some of the crucial issues in the choice and configuration of the search algorithms.