11136511
Learning the Search Range for Evolutionary Optimization in Dynamic Environments
Conventional evolutionary algorithms operate in a fixed search space with limiting parameter range, which is often predefined via a priori knowledge or trial and error in order to ‘guess’ a suitable region comprising the global optimal solution. This requirement is hard, if not impossible, to fulfil in many real-world optimization problems since there is often no clue of where the desired solutions are located in these problems. Thus, this paper proposes an inductive–deductive learning approach for single- and multi-objective evolutionary optimization. The method is capable of directing evolution towards more promising search regions even if these regions are outside the initial predefined space. For problems where the global optimum is included in the initial search space, it is capable of shrinking the search space dynamically for better resolution in genetic representation to facilitate the evolutionary search towards more accurate optimal solutions. Validation results based on benchmark optimization problems show that the proposed inductive–deductive learning is capable of handling different fitness landscapes as well as distributing nondominated solutions uniformly along the final trade-offs in multi-objective optimization, even if there exist many local optima in a high-dimensional search space or the global optimum is outside the predefined search region.
7510335
Intelligent Sensor Fusion And Learning For Autonomous Robot Navigation
ABSTRACT This paper presents the design and implementation of an autonomous robot navigation system for intelligent target collection in dynamic environments. A feature-based multi-stage fuzzy logic (MSFL) sensor fusion system is developed for target recognition, which is capable of mapping noisy sensor inputs into reliable decisions. The robot exploration and path planning are based on a grid map oriented reinforcement path learning system (GMRPL), which allows for long-term predictions and path adaptation via dynamic interactions with physical environments. In our implementation, the MSFL and GMRPL are integrated into subsumption architecture for intelligent target-collecting applications. The subsumption architecture is a layered reactive agent structure that enables the robot to implement higher-layer functions including path learning and target recognition regardless of lower-layer functions such as obstacle detection and avoidance. The real-world application using a Khepera robot shows the robustnes...
26533495
A Tabu-Based Exploratory Evolutionary Algorithm for Multiobjective Optimization
This paper presents an exploratorymultiobjective evolutionary algorithm (EMOEA)that integrates the features of tabu search andevolutionary algorithm for multiobjective (MO)optimization. The method incorporates the taburestriction in individual examination andpreservation in order to maintain the searchdiversity in evolutionary MO optimization,which subsequently helps to prevent the searchfrom trapping in local optima as well as topromote the evolution towards the globaltrade-offs concurrently. In addition, a newlateral interference is presented in the paperto distribute nondominated individuals alongthe discovered Pareto-front uniformly. Unlikemany niching or sharing methods, the lateralinterference can be performed without the needof parameter settings and can be flexiblyapplied in either the parameter or objectivedomain. The features of the proposed algorithmare examined based upon three benchmarkproblems. Experimental results show that EMOEAperforms well in searching and distributingnondominated solutions along the trade-offsuniformly, and offers a competitive behavior toescape from local optima in a noisyenvironment.
16493154
Estimating the Number of Hidden Neurons in a Feedforward Network Using the Singular Value Decomposition
In this letter, we attempt to quantify the significance of increasing the number of neurons in the hidden layer of a feedforward neural network architecture using the singular value decomposition (SVD). Through this, we extend some well-known properties of the SVD in evaluating the generalizability of single hidden layer feedforward networks (SLFNs) with respect to the number of hidden layer neurons. The generalization capability of the SLFN is measured by the degree of linear independency of the patterns in hidden layer space, which can be indirectly quantified from the singular values obtained from the SVD, in a postlearning step. A pruning/growing technique based on these singular values is then used to estimate the necessary number of neurons in the hidden layer. More importantly, we describe in detail properties of the SVD in determining the structure of a neural network particularly with respect to the robustness of the selected model
23752904
Solving multiobjective vehicle routing problem with stochastic demand via evolutionary computation
Abstract This paper considers the routing of vehicles with limited capacity from a central depot to a set of geographically dispersed customers where actual demand is revealed only when the vehicle arrives at the customer. The solution to this vehicle routing problem with stochastic demand (VRPSD) involves the optimization of complete routing schedules with minimum travel distance, driver remuneration, and number of vehicles, subject to a number of constraints such as time windows and vehicle capacity. To solve such a multiobjective and multi-modal combinatorial optimization problem, this paper presents a multiobjective evolutionary algorithm that incorporates two VRPSD-specific heuristics for local exploitation and a route simulation method to evaluate the fitness of solutions. A new way of assessing the quality of solutions to the VRPSD on top of comparing their expected costs is also proposed. It is shown that the algorithm is capable of finding useful tradeoff solutions for the VRPSD and the solutions are robust to the stochastic nature of the problem. The developed algorithm is further validated on a few VRPSD instances adapted from Solomon’s vehicle routing problem with time windows (VRPTW) benchmark problems.
35739456
A Fast Learning Algorithm Based on Layered Hessian Approximations and the Pseudoinverse
In this article, we present a simple, effective method to learning for an MLP that is based on approximating the Hessian using only local information, specifically, the correlations of output activations from previous layers of hidden neurons. This approach of training the hidden layer weights with the Hessian approximation combined with the training of the final output layer of weights using the pseudoinverse [1] yields improved performance at a fraction of the computational and structural complexity of conventional learning algorithms.
6776829
Semi-supervised Kernel-Based Fuzzy C-Means
This paper presents a semi-supervised kernel-based fuzzy c-means algorithm called S 2 KFCM by introducing semi-supervised learning technique and the kernel method simultaneously into conventional fuzzy clustering algo- rithm. Through using labeled and unlabeled data together, S 2 KFCM can be ap- plied to both clustering and classification tasks. However, only the latter is con- cerned in this paper. Experimental results show that S 2 KFCM can improve classification accuracy significantly, compared with conventional classifiers trained with a small number of labeled data only. Also, it outperforms a similar approach S 2 FCM.
10451148
Discontinuity preserving stereo with small baseline multi-flash illumination
Currently, sharp discontinuities in depth and partial occlusions in multiview imaging systems pose serious challenges for many dense correspondence algorithms. However, it is important for 3D reconstruction methods to preserve depth edges as they correspond to important shape features like silhouettes which are critical for understanding the structure of a scene. In this paper, we show how active illumination algorithms can produce a rich set of feature maps that are useful in dense 3D reconstruction. We start by showing a method to compute a qualitative depth map from a single camera, which encodes object relative distances and can be used as a prior for stereo. In a multiview setup, we show that along with depth edges, binocular half-occluded pixels can also be explicitly and reliably labeled. To demonstrate the usefulness of these feature maps, we show how they can be used in two different algorithms for dense stereo correspondence. Our experimental results show that our enhanced stereo algorithms are able to extract high quality, discontinuity preserving correspondence maps from scenes that are extremely challenging for conventional stereo methods.
12986050
Improving the Robustness of ‘Online Agglomerative Clustering Method’ Based on Kernel-Induce Distance Measures
Recently, an online agglomerative clustering method called AddC (I. D. Guedalia et al. Neural Comput. {\bf 11} (1999), 521--540) was proposed for nonstationary data clustering. Although AddC possesses many good attributes, a vital problem of that method is its sensitivity to noises, which limits its use in real-word applications. In this paper, based on \hbox{kernel-induced} distance measures, a robust online clustering (ROC) algorithm is proposed to remedy the problem of AddC. Experimental results on artificial and benchmark data sets show that ROC has better clustering performances than AddC, while still inheriting advantages such as clustering data in a single pass and without knowing the exact number of clusters beforehand.
38019738
Energy‐efficient selective cache invalidation
In a mobile environment, users of portable computers can query databases over the wireless communication channels. To reduce contention on the limited bandwidth of the wireless channels, frequently accessed data are cached at the mobile clients. However, maintenance of the cache consistency is complicated by the mobile clients' frequent disconnection to conserve energy. One promising approach in the literature is for the server to periodically broadcast invalidation reports from which clients can salvage their cache content that are still valid. This mechanism is, however, not energy efficient as clients are expected to examine the entire invalidation report. In this paper, we reexamine the cache coherency problem and propose three novel cache coherency schemes. While these schemes are based on periodic broadcast of invalidation reports, they allow clients to selectively tune to the portions of the invalidation report that are of interest to them. This allows the clients to minimize the power consumption when invalidating their cache content. We conducted extensive studies based on a simulation model. Our study shows that the proposed schemes are not only effective in salvaging the cache content that are still valid (and hence result in lower access time), but are also efficient in energy utilization. While none of the proposed algorithms is superior in both the access time and energy efficiency, one of the schemes, Selective Cache Invalidation, provides the best overall performance.
20194190
An Evaluation of Color-Spatial Retrieval Techniques for Large Image Databases
In a color-spatial retrieval technique, the color information is integrated with the knowledge of the colors' spatial distribution to facilitate content-based image retrieval. Several techniques have been proposed in the literature, but these works have been developed independently without much comparison. In this paper, we present an experimental evaluation of three color-spatial retrieval techniques—the signature-based technique, the partition-based algorithm and the cluster-based method. We implemented these techniques and compare them on their retrieval effectiveness and retrieval efficiency. The experimental study is performed on an image database consisting of 12,000 images. With the proliferation of image retrieval mechanisms and the lack of extensive performance study, the experimental results can serve as guidelines in selecting a suitable technique and designing a new technique.