Abstract: Searching for the (near) optimal subset of features is a challenging problem in the process of feature selection (FS). In the literature, Swarm Intelligence (SI) algorithms show superior performance in solving this problem. This motivated our attempts to test the performance of the newly proposed Salp Swarm Algorithm (SSA) in this area. As such, two new wrapper FS approaches that use SSA as the search strategy are proposed. In the first approach, eight transfer functions are employed to convert the continuous version of SSA to binary. In the second approach, the crossover operator is used in addition to the transfer functions to replace the average operator and enhance the exploratory behavior of the algorithm. The proposed approaches are benchmarked on 22 well-known UCI datasets and the results are compared with 5 FS methods: Binary Grey Wolf Optimizer (BGWO), Binary Gravitational Search Algorithms (BGSA), Binary Bat Algorithm (BBA), Binary Particle Swarm Optimization (BPSO), and Genetic Algorithm (GA). The paper also considers an extensive study of the parameter setting for the proposed technique. From the results, it is observed that the proposed approach significantly outperforms others on around 90% of the datasets.

Abstract: Metaheuristic algorithms are computational intelligence paradigms especially used for sophisticated solving optimization problems. This chapter aims to review of all metaheuristics related issues. First, metaheuristic algorithms were divided according to metaphor based and non-metaphor based in order to differentiate between them in searching schemes and clarify how the metaphor based algorithms simulate the selected phenomenon behavior in the search area. The major algorithms in each metaphor subcategory are discussed including: Genetic Algorithm (GA), Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO), Water Waves Optimization (WWO), Clonal Selection Algorithm (CLONALG), Chemical Reaction Optimization (CRO), Harmony Search (HS), Sine Cosine Algorithm (SCA), Simulated Annealing (SA), Teaching–Learning-Based Optimization (TLBO), League Championship Algorithm (LCA), and others. Also, some non-metaphor based metaheuristics are explained as Tabu Search (TS), Variable Neighborhood Search (VNS). Second, different variants of metaheuristics are categorized into improved metaheuristics, adaptive, hybridized metaheuristics. Also, various examples are discussed. Third, a real-time case study “Welded Beam Design Problem” is solved with 10 different metaheuristics and the experimental results are statistically analyzed with non-parametric Friedman test in order to estimate the different performance of metaheuristics. Finally, limitation and new trends of metaheuristics are discussed. Besides, the chapter is accompanied with literature survey of existing metaheuristics with references for more details.

Abstract: Good path planning technology of mobile robot can not only save a lot of time, but also reduce the wear and capital investment of mobile robot. Several methodologies have been proposed and reported in the literature for the path planning of mobile robot. Although these methodologies do not guarantee an optimal solution, they have been successfully applied in their works. The purpose of this paper is to review the modeling, optimization criteria and solution algorithms for the path planning of mobile robot. The survey shows GA (genetic algorithm), PSO (particle swarm optimization algorithm), APF (artificial potential field), and ACO (ant colony optimization algorithm) are the most used approaches to solve the path planning of mobile robot. Finally, future research is discussed which could provide reference for the path planning of mobile robot.

Abstract: The Dragonfly Algorithm (DA) is a recently proposed heuristic search algorithm that was shown to have excellent performance for numerous optimization problems. In this paper, a wrapper-feature selection algorithm is proposed based on the Binary Dragonfly Algorithm (BDA). The key component of the BDA is the transfer function that maps a continuous search space to a discrete search space. In this study, eight transfer functions, categorized into two families (S-shaped and V-shaped functions) are integrated into the BDA and evaluated using eighteen benchmark datasets obtained from the UCI data repository. The main contribution of this paper is the proposal of time-varying S-shaped and V-shaped transfer functions to leverage the impact of the step vector on balancing exploration and exploitation. During the early stages of the optimization process, the probability of changing the position of an element is high, which facilitates the exploration of new solutions starting from the initial population. On the other hand, the probability of changing the position of an element becomes lower towards the end of the optimization process. This behavior is obtained by considering the current iteration number as a parameter of transfer functions. The performance of the proposed approaches is compared with that of other state-of-art approaches including the DA, binary grey wolf optimizer (bGWO), binary gravitational search algorithm (BGSA), binary bat algorithm (BBA), particle swarm optimization (PSO), and genetic algorithm in terms of classification accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, area under the curve, and number of selected attributes. Results show that the time-varying S-shaped BDA approach outperforms compared approaches.

Abstract: 1. Understanding how landscape features affect functional connectivity among populations is a cornerstone of landscape genetic analyses. However, parameterization of resistance surfaces that best describe connectivity is largely a subjective process that explores a limited parameter space. 2. ResistanceGA is a new R package that utilizes a genetic algorithm to optimize resistance surfaces based on pairwise genetic distances and either CIRCUITSCAPE resistance distances or cost distances calculated along least cost paths. Functions in this package allow for the optimization of both categorical and continuous resistance surfaces, as well as the simultaneous optimization of multiple resistance surfaces. 3. There is considerable controversy concerning the use of Mantel tests to accurately relate pairwise genetic distances with resistance distances. Optimization in ResistanceGA uses linear mixed effects models with the maximum likelihood population effects parameterization to determine AICc, which is the fitness function for the genetic algorithm. 4. ResistanceGA fills a void in the landscape genetic toolbox, allowing for unbiased optimization of resistance surfaces and for the simultaneous optimization of multiple resistance surfaces to create a novel composite resistance surface.

Abstract: With the increasing popularity of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), it is foreseen that they will play an important role in broadening the horizon of mobile crowd sensing (MCS). Specifically, UAV-aided MCS allows autonomous data collection anytime and anywhere due to the capability of fast deployment and controllable mobility. However, the on-board battery capacity of UAVs imposes a limitation on their endurance capability and performance. In this paper, we consider the fixed-wing UAV-aided MCS system and investigate the corresponding joint route planning and task assignment problem from an energy efficiency perspective. The formulated joint optimization problem is transformed into a two-sided two-stage matching problem, in which the route planning problem is solved in the first stage based on either dynamic programming or genetic algorithms, and the task assignment problem is addressed in the second stage by exploring the Gale–Shapley algorithm. We provide a comprehensive theoretical analysis, and elaborate the procedures of practical implementation. Numerical results demonstrate that significant performance improvement can be achieved by the proposed scheme.

Abstract: To tackle the contradiction between the computation intensive applications and the resource-hungry mobile user equipments (UEs), mobile edge computing (MEC) has been provisioned as a promising solution, which enables the UEs to offload the tasks to the MEC servers. Considering the characteristics of small cell networks (SCNs), integrating MEC into SCNs is natural. But in terms of the high interference, multi-access property, and limited resources of small cell base stations (SBSs), an efficient computation offloading scheme is essential. However, there still lack comprehensive studies on this problem in the densely deployed SCNs. In this paper, we study the energy-efficient computation offloading management scheme in the MEC system with SCNs. The aim of this paper is to minimize the energy consumption of all UEs via jointly optimizing computation offloading decision making, spectrum, power, and computation resource allocation. Specially, the UEs need not only to decide whether to offload but also to determine where to offload. First, we present the computation offloading model and formulate this problem as a mix integer non-linear programming problem, which is NP-hard. Taking advantages of genetic algorithm (GA) and particle swarm optimization (PSO), we design a suboptimal algorithm named as hierarchical GA and PSO-based computation algorithm to solve this problem. Finally, the convergence of this algorithm is studied by simulation, and the performance of the proposed algorithm is verified by comparing with the other baseline algorithms.

Abstract: In the era of big data, with the increasing number of audit data features, human-centered smart intrusion detection system performance is decreasing in training time and classification accuracy, and many support vector machine (SVM)-based intrusion detection algorithms have been widely used to identify an intrusion quickly and accurately. This paper proposes the FWP-SVM-genetic algorithm (GA) (feature selection, weight, and parameter optimization of support vector machine based on the genetic algorithm) based on the characteristics of the GA and the SVM algorithm. The algorithm first optimizes the crossover probability and mutation probability of GA according to the population evolution algebra and fitness value; then, it subsequently uses a feature selection method based on the genetic algorithm with an innovation in the fitness function that decreases the SVM error rate and increases the true positive rate. Finally, according to the optimal feature subset, the feature weights and parameters of SVM are simultaneously optimized. The simulation results show that the algorithm accelerates the algorithm convergence, increases the true positive rate, decreases the error rate, and shortens the classification time. Compared with other SVM-based intrusion detection algorithms, the detection rate is higher and the false positive and false negative rates are lower.

Abstract: Many engineering problems require the optimization of expensive, black-box functions involving multiple conflicting criteria, such that commonly used methods like multiobjective genetic algorithms are inadequate. To tackle this problem several algorithms have been developed using surrogates. However, these often have disadvantages such as the requirement of a priori knowledge of the output functions or exponentially scaling computational cost with respect to the number of objectives. In this paper a new algorithm is proposed, TSEMO, which uses Gaussian processes as surrogates. The Gaussian processes are sampled using spectral sampling techniques to make use of Thompson sampling in conjunction with the hypervolume quality indicator and NSGA-II to choose a new evaluation point at each iteration. The reference point required for the hypervolume calculation is estimated within TSEMO. Further, a simple extension was proposed to carry out batch-sequential design. TSEMO was compared to ParEGO, an expected hypervolume implementation, and NSGA-II on nine test problems with a budget of 150 function evaluations. Overall, TSEMO shows promising performance, while giving a simple algorithm without the requirement of a priori knowledge, reduced hypervolume calculations to approach linear scaling with respect to the number of objectives, the capacity to handle noise and lastly the ability for batch-sequential usage.

Abstract: Military unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are employed in highly dynamic environments and must often adjust their trajectories based on the evolving situation. To operate autonomously and safely, a UAV must be equipped with a path planning module capable of quickly recalculating a feasible and quasi-optimal path in flight while in the event a new obstacle or threat has been detected or simply if the destination point is changed during the mission. To allow for a fast path planning, this paper proposes a parallel implementation of the genetic algorithm on graphics processing unit (GPU). The trajectories are built as series of line segments connected by circular arcs resulting in smooth paths suitable for fixed-wing UAVs. The fitness function we defined takes into account the dynamic constraints of the UAVs and aims to minimize fuel consumption and average flying altitude in order to improve range and avoid detection by enemy radars. This fitness function is also implemented on the GPU and different parallelization strategies were developed and tested for each step of the fitness evaluation. By exploiting the massively parallel architecture of GPUs, the execution time of the proposed path planner was reduced by a factor of 290x compared to a sequential execution on CPU. The path planning module developed was tested using 18 scenarios on six realistic three-dimensional terrains with multiple no-fly zones. We found that the proposed GPU-based path planner was able to find quasi-optimal solutions in a timely fashion allowing in-flight planning.

Abstract: In smart grids, one of the most important objectives is the ability to improve the grid's situational awareness and allow for fast-acting changes in power generation. In such systems, an energy management system should gather all the needed information, solve an optimization problem, and communicate back to each distributed energy resource (DER) its correct allocation of energy. This paper proposes a memory-based genetic algorithm (MGA) that optimally shares the power generation task among a number of DERs. The MGA is utilized for minimization of the energy production cost in the smart grid framework. It shares optimally the power generation in a microgrid including wind plants, photovoltaic plants, and a combined heat and power system. In order to evaluate the performance of the proposed approach, the results obtained by the MGA are compared with the results found by a genetic algorithm and two variants of particle swarm optimization. Simulation results accentuate the superiority of the proposed MGA technique.

Abstract: In this paper, a variant of gray wolf optimization (GWO) that uses reinforcement learning principles combined with neural networks to enhance the performance is proposed. The aim is to overcome, by reinforced learning, the common challenge of setting the right parameters for the algorithm. In GWO, a single parameter is used to control the exploration/exploitation rate, which influences the performance of the algorithm. Rather than using a global way to change this parameter for all the agents, we use reinforcement learning to set it on an individual basis. The adaptation of the exploration rate for each agent depends on the agent’s own experience and the current terrain of the search space. In order to achieve this, experience repository is built based on the neural network to map a set of agents’ states to a set of corresponding actions that specifically influence the exploration rate. The experience repository is updated by all the search agents to reflect experience and to enhance the future actions continuously. The resulted algorithm is called experienced GWO (EGWO) and its performance is assessed on solving feature selection problems and on finding optimal weights for neural networks algorithm. We use a set of performance indicators to evaluate the efficiency of the method. Results over various data sets demonstrate an advance of the EGWO over the original GWO and over other metaheuristics, such as genetic algorithms and particle swarm optimization.

Abstract: We investigate a hybrid quantum-classical solution method to the mean-variance portfolio optimization problems. Starting from real financial data statistics and following the principles of the Modern Portfolio Theory, we generate parametrized samples of portfolio optimization problems that can be related to quadratic binary optimization forms programmable in the analog D-Wave Quantum Annealer 2000Q. The instances are also solvable by an industry-established Genetic Algorithm approach, which we use as a classical benchmark. We investigate several options to run the quantum computation optimally, ultimately discovering that the best results in terms of expected time-to-solution as a function of number of variables for the hardest instances set are obtained by seeding the quantum annealer with a solution candidate found by a greedy local search and then performing a reverse annealing protocol. The optimized reverse annealing protocol is found to be more than 100 times faster than the corresponding forward quantum annealing on average.

Abstract: The performance of most metaheuristic algorithms depends on parameters whose settings essentially serve as a key function in determining the quality of the solution and the efficiency of the search. A trend that has emerged recently is to make the algorithm parameters automatically adapt to different problems during optimization, thereby liberating the user from the tedious and time-consuming task of manual setting. These fine-tuning techniques continue to be the object of ongoing research. Differential evolution (DE) is a simple yet powerful population-based metaheuristic. It has demonstrated good convergence, and its principles are easy to understand. DE is very sensitive to its parameter settings and mutation strategy; thus, this study aims to investigate these settings with the diverse versions of adaptive DE algorithms. This study has two main objectives: (1) to present an extension for the original taxonomy of evolutionary algorithms (EAs) parameter settings that has been overlooked by prior research and therefore minimize any confusion that might arise from the former taxonomy and (2) to investigate the various algorithmic design schemes that have been used in the different variants of adaptive DE and convey them in a new classification style. In other words, this study describes in depth the structural analysis and working principle that underlie the promising and recent work in this field, to analyze their advantages and disadvantages and to gain future insights that can further improve these algorithms. Finally, the interpretation of the literature and the comparative analysis of the algorithmic schemes offer several guidelines for designing and implementing adaptive DE algorithms. The proposed design framework provides readers with the main steps required to integrate any proposed meta-algorithm into parameter and/or strategy adaptation schemes.

Abstract: The use of containers in cloud architectures has become widespread, owing to advantages such as limited overheads, easier and faster deployment, and higher portability. Moreover, they present a suitable architectural solution for the deployment of applications created using a microservice development pattern. Despite the large number of solutions and implementations, there remain open issues that have not been completely addressed in container automation and management. Container resource allocation influences system performance and resource consumption, and so it is a key factor for cloud providers. We propose a genetic algorithm approach, using the Non-dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm-II (NSGA-II), to optimize container allocation and elasticity management, motivated by the good results obtained with this algorithm in other resource management optimization problems in cloud architectures. Our optimization algorithm enhances system provisioning, system performance, system failure, and network overhead. A model for cloud clusters, containers, microservices, and four optimization objectives is presented. Experimental results demonstrate that our approach is a suitable solution for addressing the problem of container allocation and elasticity, and it obtains better objective values than the container management policies implemented in Kubernetes.

Abstract: Shear strength of the soil is an important engineering parameter used in the design and audit of geo-technical structures. In this research, we aim to investigate and compare the performance of four machine learning methods, Particle Swarm Optimization - Adaptive Network based Fuzzy Inference System (PANFIS), Genetic Algorithm - Adaptive Network based Fuzzy Inference System (GANFIS), Support Vector Regression (SVR), and Artificial Neural Networks (ANN), for predicting the strength of soft soils. For this purpose, case studies of 188 plastic clay soil samples collected from two major projects, Nhat Tan and Cua Dai bridges in Viet Nam have been used for generating training and testing datasets for constructing and validating the models. Validation and comparison of the models have been carried out using RMSE, and R. The results show that the PANFIS has the highest prediction capability (RMSE = 0.038 and R = 0.601), followed by the GANFIS (RMSE = 0.04 and R = 0.569), SVR (RMSE = 0.044 and R = 0.549), and ANN (RMSE = 0.059 and R = 0.49). It can be concluded that out of four models the PANFIS indicates as a promising technique for prediction of the strength of soft soils.

Abstract: Understanding how the time complexity of evolutionary algorithms (EAs) depend on their parameter settings and characteristics of fitness landscapes is a fundamental problem in evolutionary computation. Most rigorous results were derived using a handful of key analytic techniques, including drift analysis. However, since few of these techniques apply effortlessly to population-based EAs, most time complexity results concern simple EAs, such as the (1+1) EA. We present the level-based theorem , a new technique tailored to population-based processes. It applies to any nonelitist process where offspring are sampled independently from a distribution depending only on the current population. Given conditions on this distribution, our technique provides upper bounds on the expected time until the process reaches a target state. The technique is demonstrated on pseudo-Boolean functions, the sorting problem, and approximation of optimal solutions in combinatorial optimization. The conditions of the theorem are often straightforward to verify, even for genetic algorithms and estimation of distribution algorithms which were considered highly nontrivial to analyze. The proofs for the example applications are available in the supplementary materials. Finally, we prove that the theorem is nearly optimal for the processes considered. Given the information the theorem requires about the process, a much tighter bound cannot be proved.

Abstract: The traditional power grid is inadequate to overcome modern day challenges. As the modern era demands the traditional power grid to be more reliable, resilient, and cost-effective, the concept of smart grid evolves and various methods have been developed to overcome these demands which make the smart grid superior over the traditional power grid. One of the essential components of the smart grid, home energy management system (HEMS) enhances the energy efficiency of electricity infrastructure in a residential area. In this aspect, we propose an efficient home energy management controller (EHEMC) based on genetic harmony search algorithm (GHSA) to reduce electricity expense, peak to average ratio (PAR), and maximize user comfort. We consider EHEMC for a single home and multiple homes with real-time electricity pricing (RTEP) and critical peak pricing (CPP) tariffs. In particular, for multiple homes, we classify modes of operation for the appliances according to their energy consumption with varying operation time slots. The constrained optimization problem is solved using heuristic algorithms: wind-driven optimization (WDO), harmony search algorithm (HSA), genetic algorithm (GA), and proposed algorithm GHSA. The proposed algorithm GHSA shows higher search efficiency and dynamic capability to attain optimal solutions as compared to existing algorithms. Simulation results also show that the proposed algorithm GHSA outperforms the existing algorithms in terms of reduction in electricity cost, PAR, and maximize user comfort.

Abstract: A new model for a viable battery swapping station is proposed to minimize its cost by determining the optimized charging schedule for swapped electric vehicle (EV) batteries. The aim is to minimize an objective function considering three factors: the number of batteries taken from stock to serve all the swapping orders from incoming EVs, potential charging damage with the use of high-rate chargers, and electricity cost for different time period of the day. A mathematical model is formulated for the charging process following the constant-current/constant-voltage charging strategy. An integrated algorithm is proposed to determine an optimal charging schedule, which is inspired by genetic algorithm, differential evolution, and particle swarm optimization. A series of simulation studies are executed to assess the feasibility of the proposed model and compare the performance between the proposed algorithm and the typical evolutionary algorithms.

Abstract: Air overpressure is one of the most undesirable destructive effects induced by blasting operation. Hence, a precise prediction of AOp has vital importance to minimize or reduce the environmental effects. This paper presents the development of two artificial intelligence techniques, namely artificial neural network (ANN) and ANN based on genetic algorithm (GA) for prediction of AOp. For this purpose, a database was compiled from 97 blasting events in a granite quarry in Penang, Malaysia. The values of maximum charge per delay and the distance from the blast-face were set as model inputs to predict AOp. To verify the quality and reliability of the ANN and GA-ANN models, several statistical functions, i.e., root means square error (RMSE), coefficient of determination (R2) and variance account for (VAF) were calculated. Based on the obtained results, the GA-ANN model is found to be better than ANN model in estimating AOp induced by blasting. Considering only testing datasets, values of 0.965, 0.857, 0.77 and 0.82 for R2, 96.380, 84.257, 70.07 and 78.06 for VAF, and 0.049, 0.117, 8.62 and 6.54 for RMSE were obtained for GA-ANN, ANN, USBM and MLR models, respectively, which prove superiority of the GA-ANN in AOp prediction. It can be concluded that GA-ANN model can perform better compared to other implemented models in predicting AOp.