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This paper surveys research on applying neuroevolution (NE) to games. In neuroevolution, artificial neural networks are trained through evolutionary algorithms, taking inspiration from the way biological brains evolved. We analyse the application of NE in games along five different axes, which are the role NE is chosen to play in a game, the different types of neural networks used, the way these networks are evolved, how the fitness is determined and what type of input the network receives. The article also highlights important open research challenges in the field. | Neuroevolution in Games: State of the Art and Open Challenges | 6,300 |
A new hybridization of the Cuckoo Search (CS) is developed and applied to optimize multi-cell solar systems; namely multi-junction and split spectrum cells. The new approach consists of combining the CS with the Nelder-Mead method. More precisely, instead of using single solutions as nests for the CS, we use the concept of a simplex which is used in the Nelder-Mead algorithm. This makes it possible to use the flip operation introduces in the Nelder-Mead algorithm instead of the Levy flight which is a standard part of the CS. In this way, the hybridized algorithm becomes more robust and less sensitive to parameter tuning which exists in CS. The goal of our work was to optimize the performance of multi-cell solar systems. Although the underlying problem consists of the minimization of a function of a relatively small number of parameters, the difficulty comes from the fact that the evaluation of the function is complex and only a small number of evaluations is possible. In our test, we show that the new method has a better performance when compared to similar but more compex hybridizations of Nelder-Mead algorithm using genetic algorithms or particle swarm optimization on standard benchmark functions. Finally, we show that the new method outperforms some standard meta-heuristics for the problem of interest. | Cuckoo Search Inspired Hybridization of the Nelder-Mead Simplex
Algorithm Applied to Optimization of Photovoltaic Cells | 6,301 |
This paper research review Ant colony optimization (ACO) and Genetic Algorithm (GA), both are two powerful meta-heuristics. This paper explains some major defects of these two algorithm at first then proposes a new model for ACO in which, artificial ants use a quick genetic operator and accelerate their actions in selecting next state. Experimental results show that proposed hybrid algorithm is effective and its performance including speed and accuracy beats other version. | Accelerating the ANT Colony Optimization By Smart ANTs, Using Genetic
Operator | 6,302 |
Ant Colony Algorithm (ACA) and Genetic Local Search (GLS) are two optimization algorithms that have been successfully applied to the Traveling Salesman Problem (TSP). In this paper we define new crossover operator then redefine ACAs ants as operate according to defined crossover operator then put forward our GLS that uses these ants to solve Symmetric TSP (STSP) instances. | Using Ants as a Genetic Crossover Operator in GLS to Solve STSP | 6,303 |
The search ability of an Evolutionary Algorithm (EA) depends on the variation among the individuals in the population. Maintaining an optimal level of diversity in the EA population is imperative to ensure that progress of the EA search is unhindered by premature convergence to suboptimal solutions. Clearer understanding of the concept of population diversity, in the context of evolutionary search and premature convergence in particular, is the key to designing efficient EAs. To this end, this paper first presents a comprehensive analysis of the EA population diversity issues. Next we present an investigation on a counter-niching EA technique that introduces and maintains constructive diversity in the population. The proposed approach uses informed genetic operations to reach promising, but un-explored or under-explored areas of the search space, while discouraging premature local convergence. Simulation runs on a number of standard benchmark test functions with Genetic Algorithm (GA) implementation shows promising results. | Diversity Handling In Evolutionary Landscape | 6,304 |
This Paper will deal with a combination of Ant Colony and Genetic Programming Algorithm to optimize Travelling Salesmen problem (NP-Hard). However, the complexity of the algorithm requires considerable computational time and resources. Parallel implementation can reduce the computational time. In this paper, emphasis in the parallelizing section is given to Multi-core architecture and Multi-Processor Systems which is developed and used almost everywhere today and hence, multi-core parallelization to the combination of algorithm is achieved by OpenMP library by Intel Corporation. | Application of Multi-core Parallel Programming to a Combination of Ant
Colony Optimization and Genetic Algorithm | 6,305 |
The model of interaction between learning and evolutionary optimization is designed and investigated. The evolving population of modeled organisms is considered. The mechanism of the genetic assimilation of the acquired features during a number of generations of Darwinian evolution is studied. It is shown that the genetic assimilation takes place as follows: phenotypes of modeled organisms move towards the optimum at learning; then the selection takes place; genotypes of selected organisms also move towards the optimum. The hiding effect is also studied; this effect means that strong learning can inhibit the evolutionary search for the optimal genotype. The mechanism of influence of the learning load on the interaction between learning and evolution is analyzed. It is shown that the learning load can lead to a significant acceleration of evolution. | Model of Interaction between Learning and Evolution | 6,306 |
Recurrent networks with transfer functions that fulfill the Lipschitz continuity with K=1 may be echo state networks if certain limitations on the recurrent connectivity are applied. It has been shown that it is sufficient if the largest singular value of the recurrent connectivity is smaller than 1. The main achievement of this paper is a proof under which conditions the network is an echo state network even if the largest singular value is one. It turns out that in this critical case the exact shape of the transfer function plays a decisive role in determining whether the network still fulfills the echo state condition. In addition, several examples with one neuron networks are outlined to illustrate effects of critical connectivity. Moreover, within the manuscript a mathematical definition for a critical echo state network is suggested. | Echo State Condition at the Critical Point | 6,307 |
Estimation of Distribution Algorithms (EDAs) require flexible probability models that can be efficiently learned and sampled. Restricted Boltzmann Machines (RBMs) are generative neural networks with these desired properties. We integrate an RBM into an EDA and evaluate the performance of this system in solving combinatorial optimization problems with a single objective. We assess how the number of fitness evaluations and the CPU time scale with problem size and with problem complexity. The results are compared to the Bayesian Optimization Algorithm, a state-of-the-art EDA. Although RBM-EDA requires larger population sizes and a larger number of fitness evaluations, it outperforms BOA in terms of CPU times, in particular if the problem is large or complex. RBM-EDA requires less time for model building than BOA. These results highlight the potential of using generative neural networks for combinatorial optimization. | Scalability of using Restricted Boltzmann Machines for Combinatorial
Optimization | 6,308 |
Most experimental studies initialize the population of evolutionary algorithms with random genotypes. In practice, however, optimizers are typically seeded with good candidate solutions either previously known or created according to some problem-specific method. This "seeding" has been studied extensively for single-objective problems. For multi-objective problems, however, very little literature is available on the approaches to seeding and their individual benefits and disadvantages. In this article, we are trying to narrow this gap via a comprehensive computational study on common real-valued test functions. We investigate the effect of two seeding techniques for five algorithms on 48 optimization problems with 2, 3, 4, 6, and 8 objectives. We observe that some functions (e.g., DTLZ4 and the LZ family) benefit significantly from seeding, while others (e.g., WFG) profit less. The advantage of seeding also depends on the examined algorithm. | Seeding the Initial Population of Multi-Objective Evolutionary
Algorithms: A Computational Study | 6,309 |
We derive a synaptic weight update rule for learning temporally precise spike train to spike train transformations in multilayer feedforward networks of spiking neurons. The framework, aimed at seamlessly generalizing error backpropagation to the deterministic spiking neuron setting, is based strictly on spike timing and avoids invoking concepts pertaining to spike rates or probabilistic models of spiking. The derivation is founded on two innovations. First, an error functional is proposed that compares the spike train emitted by the output neuron of the network to the desired spike train by way of their putative impact on a virtual postsynaptic neuron. This formulation sidesteps the need for spike alignment and leads to closed form solutions for all quantities of interest. Second, virtual assignment of weights to spikes rather than synapses enables a perturbation analysis of individual spike times and synaptic weights of the output as well as all intermediate neurons in the network, which yields the gradients of the error functional with respect to the said entities. Learning proceeds via a gradient descent mechanism that leverages these quantities. Simulation experiments demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed learning framework. The experiments also highlight asymmetries between synapses on excitatory and inhibitory neurons. | Learning Precise Spike Train to Spike Train Transformations in
Multilayer Feedforward Neuronal Networks | 6,310 |
We present a technique for developing a network of re-used features, where the topology is formed using a coarse learning method, that allows gradient-descent fine tuning, known as an Abstract Deep Network (ADN). New features are built based on observed co-occurrences, and the network is maintained using a selection process related to evolutionary algorithms. This allows coarse ex- ploration of the problem space, effective for irregular domains, while gradient descent allows pre- cise solutions. Accuracy on standard UCI and Protein-Structure Prediction problems is comparable with benchmark SVM and optimized GBML approaches, and shows scalability for addressing large problems. The discrete implementation is symbolic, allowing interpretability, while the continuous method using fine-tuning shows improved accuracy. The binary multiplexer problem is explored, as an irregular domain that does not support gradient descent learning, showing solution to the bench- mark 135-bit problem. A convolutional implementation is demonstrated on image classification, showing an error-rate of 0.79% on the MNIST problem, without a pre-defined topology. The ADN system provides a method for developing a very sparse, deep feature topology, based on observed relationships between features, that is able to find solutions in irregular domains, and initialize a network prior to gradient descent learning. | Sparse, guided feature connections in an Abstract Deep Network | 6,311 |
In this paper, we perform an experimental study of optimal recombination operator for makespan minimization problem on single machine with sequence-dependent setup times ($1|s_{vu}|C_{\max}$). The computational experiment on benchmark problems from TSPLIB library indicates practical applicability of optimal recombination in crossover operator of genetic algorithm for $1|s_{vu}|C_{\max}$. | Analysis of Optimal Recombination in Genetic Algorithm for a Scheduling
Problem with Setups | 6,312 |
In this paper, we continue the efforts of the Computational Theory of Intelligence (CTI) by extending concepts to include computational processes in terms of Genetic Algorithms (GA's) and Turing Machines (TM's). Active, Passive, and Hybrid Computational Intelligence processes are also introduced and discussed. We consider the ramifications of the assumptions of CTI with regard to the qualities of reproduction and virility. Applications to Biology, Computer Science and Cyber Security are also discussed. | The Computational Theory of Intelligence: Applications to Genetic
Programming and Turing Machines | 6,313 |
In this study we want to connect our previously proposed context-relevant topographical maps with the deep learning community. Our architecture is a classifier with hidden layers that are hierarchical two-dimensional topographical maps. These maps differ from the conventional self-organizing maps in that their organizations are influenced by the context of the data labels in a top-down manner. In this way bottom-up and top-down learning are combined in a biologically relevant representational learning setting. Compared to our previous work, we are here specifically elaborating the model in a more challenging setting compared to our previous experiments and to advance more hidden representation layers to bring our discussions into the context of deep representational learning. | Classifier with Hierarchical Topographical Maps as Internal
Representation | 6,314 |
To improve the problem that the parameter identification for fuzzy neural network has many time complexities in calculating, an improved T-S fuzzy inference method and an parameter identification method for fuzzy neural network are proposed. It mainly includes three parts. First, improved fuzzy inference method based on production term for T-S Fuzzy model is explained. Then, compared with existing Sugeno fuzzy inference based on Compositional rules and type-distance fuzzy inference method, the proposed fuzzy inference algorithm has a less amount of complexity in calculating and the calculating process is simple. Next, a parameter identification method for FNN based on production inference is proposed. Finally, the proposed method is applied for the precipitation forecast and security situation prediction. Test results showed that the proposed method significantly improved the effectiveness of identification, reduced the learning order, time complexity and learning error. | Improved Parameter Identification Method Based on Moving Rate | 6,315 |
This article introduces a robust hybrid method for solving supervised learning tasks, which uses the Echo State Network (ESN) model and the Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithm. An ESN is a Recurrent Neural Network with the hidden-hidden weights fixed in the learning process. The recurrent part of the network stores the input information in internal states of the network. Another structure forms a free-memory method used as supervised learning tool. The setting procedure for initializing the recurrent structure of the ESN model can impact on the model performance. On the other hand, the PSO has been shown to be a successful technique for finding optimal points in complex spaces. Here, we present an approach to use the PSO for finding some initial hidden-hidden weights of the ESN model. We present empirical results that compare the canonical ESN model with this hybrid method on a wide range of benchmark problems. | An Experimental Analysis of the Echo State Network Initialization Using
the Particle Swarm Optimization | 6,316 |
Evolutionary algorithms (EAs) are very popular tools to design and evolve artificial neural networks (ANNs), especially to train them. These methods have advantages over the conventional backpropagation (BP) method because of their low computational requirement when searching in a large solution space. In this paper, we employ Chemical Reaction Optimization (CRO), a newly developed global optimization method, to replace BP in training neural networks. CRO is a population-based metaheuristics mimicking the transition of molecules and their interactions in a chemical reaction. Simulation results show that CRO outperforms many EA strategies commonly used to train neural networks. | Evolutionary Artificial Neural Network Based on Chemical Reaction
Optimization | 6,317 |
Chemical Reaction Optimization (CRO) is a powerful metaheuristic which mimics the interactions of molecules in chemical reactions to search for the global optimum. The perturbation function greatly influences the performance of CRO on solving different continuous problems. In this paper, we study four different probability distributions, namely, the Gaussian distribution, the Cauchy distribution, the exponential distribution, and a modified Rayleigh distribution, for the perturbation function of CRO. Different distributions have different impacts on the solutions. The distributions are tested by a set of well-known benchmark functions and simulation results show that problems with different characteristics have different preference on the distribution function. Our study gives guidelines to design CRO for different types of optimization problems. | Real-Coded Chemical Reaction Optimization with Different Perturbation
Functions | 6,318 |
Air pollution monitoring is a very popular research topic and many monitoring systems have been developed. In this paper, we formulate the Bus Sensor Deployment Problem (BSDP) to select the bus routes on which sensors are deployed, and we use Chemical Reaction Optimization (CRO) to solve BSDP. CRO is a recently proposed metaheuristic designed to solve a wide range of optimization problems. Using the real world data, namely Hong Kong Island bus route data, we perform a series of simulations and the results show that CRO is capable of solving this optimization problem efficiently. | Sensor Deployment for Air Pollution Monitoring Using Public
Transportation System | 6,319 |
An electric vehicle (EV) may be used as energy storage which allows the bi-directional electricity flow between the vehicle's battery and the electric power grid. In order to flatten the load profile of the electricity system, EV scheduling has become a hot research topic in recent years. In this paper, we propose a new formulation of the joint scheduling of EV and Unit Commitment (UC), called EVUC. Our formulation considers the characteristics of EVs while optimizing the system total running cost. We employ Chemical Reaction Optimization (CRO), a general-purpose optimization algorithm to solve this problem and the simulation results on a widely used set of instances indicate that CRO can effectively optimize this problem. | Optimal V2G Scheduling of Electric Vehicles and Unit Commitment using
Chemical Reaction Optimization | 6,320 |
Optimization techniques are frequently applied in science and engineering research and development. Evolutionary algorithms, as a kind of general-purpose metaheuristic, have been shown to be very effective in solving a wide range of optimization problems. A recently proposed chemical-reaction-inspired metaheuristic, Chemical Reaction Optimization (CRO), has been applied to solve many global optimization problems. However, the functionality of the inter-molecular ineffective collision operator in the canonical CRO design overlaps that of the on-wall ineffective collision operator, which can potential impair the overall performance. In this paper we propose a new inter-molecular ineffective collision operator for CRO for global optimization. To fully utilize our newly proposed operator, we also design a scheme to adapt the algorithm to optimization problems with different search space characteristics. We analyze the performance of our proposed algorithm with a number of widely used benchmark functions. The simulation results indicate that the new algorithm has superior performance over the canonical CRO. | An Inter-molecular Adaptive Collision Scheme for Chemical Reaction
Optimization | 6,321 |
The set covering problem (SCP) is one of the representative combinatorial optimization problems, having many practical applications. This paper investigates the development of an algorithm to solve SCP by employing chemical reaction optimization (CRO), a general-purpose metaheuristic. It is tested on a wide range of benchmark instances of SCP. The simulation results indicate that this algorithm gives outstanding performance compared with other heuristics and metaheuristics in solving SCP. | Chemical Reaction Optimization for the Set Covering Problem | 6,322 |
Echo state networks (ESN), a type of reservoir computing (RC) architecture, are efficient and accurate artificial neural systems for time series processing and learning. An ESN consists of a core of recurrent neural networks, called a reservoir, with a small number of tunable parameters to generate a high-dimensional representation of an input, and a readout layer which is easily trained using regression to produce a desired output from the reservoir states. Certain computational tasks involve real-time calculation of high-order time correlations, which requires nonlinear transformation either in the reservoir or the readout layer. Traditional ESN employs a reservoir with sigmoid or tanh function neurons. In contrast, some types of biological neurons obey response curves that can be described as a product unit rather than a sum and threshold. Inspired by this class of neurons, we introduce a RC architecture with a reservoir of product nodes for time series computation. We find that the product RC shows many properties of standard ESN such as short-term memory and nonlinear capacity. On standard benchmarks for chaotic prediction tasks, the product RC maintains the performance of a standard nonlinear ESN while being more amenable to mathematical analysis. Our study provides evidence that such networks are powerful in highly nonlinear tasks owing to high-order statistics generated by the recurrent product node reservoir. | Product Reservoir Computing: Time-Series Computation with Multiplicative
Neurons | 6,323 |
The growing complexity of real-world problems has motivated computer scientists to search for efficient problem-solving methods. Metaheuristics based on evolutionary computation and swarm intelligence are outstanding examples of nature-inspired solution techniques. Inspired by the social spiders, we propose a novel Social Spider Algorithm to solve global optimization problems. This algorithm is mainly based on the foraging strategy of social spiders, utilizing the vibrations on the spider web to determine the positions of preys. Different from the previously proposed swarm intelligence algorithms, we introduce a new social animal foraging strategy model to solve optimization problems. In addition, we perform preliminary parameter sensitivity analysis for our proposed algorithm, developing guidelines for choosing the parameter values. The Social Spider Algorithm is evaluated by a series of widely-used benchmark functions, and our proposed algorithm has superior performance compared with other state-of-the-art metaheuristics. | A Social Spider Algorithm for Global Optimization | 6,324 |
In this research paper novel real/complex valued recurrent Hopfield Neural Network (RHNN) is proposed. The method of synthesizing the energy landscape of such a network and the experimental investigation of dynamics of Recurrent Hopfield Network is discussed. Parallel modes of operation (other than fully parallel mode) in layered RHNN is proposed. Also, certain potential applications are proposed. | On the Dynamics of a Recurrent Hopfield Network | 6,325 |
The benefit of sexual recombination is one of the most fundamental questions both in population genetics and evolutionary computation. It is widely believed that recombination helps solving difficult optimization problems. We present the first result, which rigorously proves that it is beneficial to use sexual recombination in an uncertain environment with a noisy fitness function. For this, we model sexual recombination with a simple estimation of distribution algorithm called the Compact Genetic Algorithm (cGA), which we compare with the classical $\mu+1$ EA. For a simple noisy fitness function with additive Gaussian posterior noise $\mathcal{N}(0,\sigma^2)$, we prove that the mutation-only $\mu+1$ EA typically cannot handle noise in polynomial time for $\sigma^2$ large enough while the cGA runs in polynomial time as long as the population size is not too small. This shows that in this uncertain environment sexual recombination is provably beneficial. We observe the same behavior in a small empirical study. | The Benefit of Sex in Noisy Evolutionary Search | 6,326 |
Multi-objective optimisation is regarded as one of the most promising ways for dealing with constrained optimisation problems in evolutionary optimisation. This paper presents a theoretical investigation of a multi-objective optimisation evolutionary algorithm for solving the 0-1 knapsack problem. Two initialisation methods are considered in the algorithm: local search initialisation and greedy search initialisation. Then the solution quality of the algorithm is analysed in terms of the approximation ratio. | Analysis of Solution Quality of a Multiobjective Optimization-based
Evolutionary Algorithm for Knapsack Problem | 6,327 |
Supralinear and sublinear pre-synaptic and dendritic integration is considered to be responsible for nonlinear computation power of biological neurons, emphasizing the role of nonlinear integration as opposed to nonlinear output thresholding. How, why, and to what degree the transfer function nonlinearity helps biologically inspired neural network models is not fully understood. Here, we study these questions in the context of echo state networks (ESN). ESN is a simple neural network architecture in which a fixed recurrent network is driven with an input signal, and the output is generated by a readout layer from the measurements of the network states. ESN architecture enjoys efficient training and good performance on certain signal-processing tasks, such as system identification and time series prediction. ESN performance has been analyzed with respect to the connectivity pattern in the network structure and the input bias. However, the effects of the transfer function in the network have not been studied systematically. Here, we use an approach tanh on the Taylor expansion of a frequently used transfer function, the hyperbolic tangent function, to systematically study the effect of increasing nonlinearity of the transfer function on the memory, nonlinear capacity, and signal processing performance of ESN. Interestingly, we find that a quadratic approximation is enough to capture the computational power of ESN with tanh function. The results of this study apply to both software and hardware implementation of ESN. | Exploring Transfer Function Nonlinearity in Echo State Networks | 6,328 |
We study the expressive power of positive neural networks. The model uses positive connection weights and multiple input neurons. Different behaviors can be expressed by varying the connection weights. We show that in discrete time, and in absence of noise, the class of positive neural networks captures the so-called monotone-regular behaviors, that are based on regular languages. A finer picture emerges if one takes into account the delay by which a monotone-regular behavior is implemented. Each monotone-regular behavior can be implemented by a positive neural network with a delay of one time unit. Some monotone-regular behaviors can be implemented with zero delay. And, interestingly, some simple monotone-regular behaviors can not be implemented with zero delay. | Positive Neural Networks in Discrete Time Implement Monotone-Regular
Behaviors | 6,329 |
In the biological nervous system, large neuronal populations work collaboratively to encode sensory stimuli. These neuronal populations are characterised by a diverse distribution of tuning curves, ensuring that the entire range of input stimuli is encoded. Based on these principles, we have designed a neuromorphic system called a Trainable Analogue Block (TAB), which encodes given input stimuli using a large population of neurons with a heterogeneous tuning curve profile. Heterogeneity of tuning curves is achieved using random device mismatches in VLSI (Very Large Scale Integration) process and by adding a systematic offset to each hidden neuron. Here, we present measurement results of a single test cell fabricated in a 65nm technology to verify the TAB framework. We have mimicked a large population of neurons by re-using measurement results from the test cell by varying offset. We thus demonstrate the learning capability of the system for various regression tasks. The TAB system may pave the way to improve the design of analogue circuits for commercial applications, by rendering circuits insensitive to random mismatch that arises due to the manufacturing process. | A neuromorphic hardware framework based on population coding | 6,330 |
In this paper, we propose a realistic mathematical model taking into account the mutual interference among the interacting populations. This model attempts to describe the control (vaccination) function as a function of the number of infective individuals, which is an improvement over the existing susceptible infective epidemic models. Regarding the growth of the epidemic as a nonlinear phenomenon we have developed a neural network architecture to estimate the vital parameters associated with this model. This architecture is based on a recently developed new class of neural networks known as co-operative and supportive neural networks. The application of this architecture to the present study involves preprocessing of the input data, and this renders an efficient estimation of the rate of spread of the epidemic. It is observed that the proposed new neural network outperforms a simple feed-forward neural network and polynomial regression. | Estimation of the parameters of an infectious disease model using neural
networks | 6,331 |
Estimation of Distribution Algorithms (EDAs) require flexible probability models that can be efficiently learned and sampled. Autoencoders (AE) are generative stochastic networks with these desired properties. We integrate a special type of AE, the Denoising Autoencoder (DAE), into an EDA and evaluate the performance of DAE-EDA on several combinatorial optimization problems with a single objective. We asses the number of fitness evaluations as well as the required CPU times. We compare the results to the performance to the Bayesian Optimization Algorithm (BOA) and RBM-EDA, another EDA which is based on a generative neural network which has proven competitive with BOA. For the considered problem instances, DAE-EDA is considerably faster than BOA and RBM-EDA, sometimes by orders of magnitude. The number of fitness evaluations is higher than for BOA, but competitive with RBM-EDA. These results show that DAEs can be useful tools for problems with low but non-negligible fitness evaluation costs. | Denoising Autoencoders for fast Combinatorial Black Box Optimization | 6,332 |
Financial forecasting is an estimation of future financial outcomes for a company, industry, country using historical internal accounting and sales data. We may predict the future outcome of BSE_SENSEX practically by some soft computing techniques and can also optimized using PSO (Particle Swarm Optimization), EA (Evolutionary Algorithm) or DEA (Differential Evolutionary Algorithm) etc. PSO is a biologically inspired computational search & optimization method developed in 1995 by Dr. Eberhart and Dr. Kennedy based on the social behaviors of fish schooling or birds flocking. PSO is a promising method to train Artificial Neural Network (ANN). It is easy to implement then Genetic Algorithm except few parameters are adjusted. PSO is a random & pattern search technique based on populating of particle. In PSO, the particles are having some position and velocity in the search space. Two terms are used in PSO one is Local Best and another one is Global Best. To optimize problems that are like Irregular, Noisy, Change over time, Static etc. PSO uses a classic optimization method such as Gradient Decent & Quasi-Newton Methods. The observation and review of few related studies in the last few years, focusing on function of PSO, modification of PSO and operation that have implemented using PSO like function optimization, ANN Training & Fuzzy Control etc. Differential Evolution is an efficient EA technique for optimization of numerical problems, financial problems etc. PSO technique is introduced due to the swarming behavior of animals which is the collective behavior of similar size that aggregates together. | Technical Analysis on Financial Forecasting | 6,333 |
This paper presents a comparative analysis of the performance of the Incremental Ant Colony algorithm for continuous optimization ($IACO_\mathbb{R}$), with different algorithms provided in the NLopt library. The key objective is to understand how the various algorithms in the NLopt library perform in combination with the Multi Trajectory Local Search (Mtsls1) technique. A hybrid approach has been introduced in the local search strategy by the use of a parameter which allows for probabilistic selection between Mtsls1 and a NLopt algorithm. In case of stagnation, the algorithm switch is made based on the algorithm being used in the previous iteration. The paper presents an exhaustive comparison on the performance of these approaches on Soft Computing (SOCO) and Congress on Evolutionary Computation (CEC) 2014 benchmarks. For both benchmarks, we conclude that the best performing algorithm is a hybrid variant of Mtsls1 with BFGS for local search. | Benchmarking NLopt and state-of-art algorithms for Continuous Global
Optimization via Hybrid IACO$_\mathbb{R}$ | 6,334 |
Traffic is a problem in many urban areas worldwide. Traffic flow is dictated by certain devices such as traffic lights. The traffic lights signal when each lane is able to pass through the intersection. Often, static schedules interfere with ideal traffic flow. The purpose of this project was to find a way to make intersections controlled with traffic lights more efficient. This goal was accomplished through the creation of a genetic algorithm, which enhances an input algorithm through genetic principles to produce the fittest algorithm. The program was comprised of two major elements: coding in Java and coding in Simulation of Urban Mobility (SUMO), which is an environment that simulates real traffic. The Java code called upon the SUMO simulation via a command prompt which ran the simulation, received the output, altered the algorithm, and looped. The SUMO component initialized a simulation in which a 1 x 1 street layout was created, each intersection with its own traffic light. Each loop enhanced the input algorithm by altering the scheduling string (dictates the light changes). After the looped simulations were executed, the data was then analyzed. This was accomplished by creating an algorithm based upon regular practice, timed traffic lights, and comparing the output which was comprised of the total time it took for all vehicles to exit the system and the average time it took each individual vehicle to exit the system. These different variables: the time it took the average vehicle to exit the system and total time for all vehicles to exit the system, where then graphed together to provide a visual aid. The genetic algorithm did improve traffic light and traffic flow efficiency in comparison to traditional scheduling methods. | Simulation of Genetic Algorithm: Traffic Light Efficiency | 6,335 |
IR or near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy is a method used to identify a compound or to analyze the composition of a material. Calibration of NIR spectra refers to the use of the spectra as multivariate descriptors to predict concentrations of the constituents. To build a calibration model, state-of-the-art software predominantly uses linear regression techniques. For nonlinear calibration problems, neural network-based models have proved to be an interesting alternative. In this paper, we propose a novel extension of the conventional neural network-based approach, the use of an ensemble of neural network models. The individual neural networks are obtained by resampling the available training data with bootstrapping or cross-validation techniques. The results obtained for a realistic calibration example show that the ensemble-based approach produces a significantly more accurate and robust calibration model than conventional regression methods. | Improved Calibration of Near-Infrared Spectra by Using Ensembles of
Neural Network Models | 6,336 |
The distribution system problems, such as planning, loss minimization, and energy restoration, usually involve the phase balancing or network reconfiguration procedures. The determination of an optimal phase balance is, in general, a combinatorial optimization problem. This paper proposes optimal reconfiguration of the phase balancing using the neural network, to switch on and off the different switches, allowing the three phases supply by the transformer to the end-users to be balanced. This paper presents the application examples of the proposed method using the real and simulated test data. | Feeder Load Balancing using Neural Network | 6,337 |
We characterize the structure of the periods of a neuronal recurrence equation. Firstly, we give a characterization of k-chains in 0-1 periodic sequences. Secondly, we characterize the periods of all cycles of some neuronal recurrence equation. Thirdly, we explain how these results can be used to deduce the existence of the generalized period-halving bifurcation. | Study of all the periods of a Neuronal Recurrence Equation | 6,338 |
Restricted Boltzmann Machines and Deep Belief Networks have been successfully used in a wide variety of applications including image classification and speech recognition. Inference and learning in these algorithms uses a Markov Chain Monte Carlo procedure called Gibbs sampling. A sigmoidal function forms the kernel of this sampler which can be realized from the firing statistics of noisy integrate-and-fire neurons on a neuromorphic VLSI substrate. This paper demonstrates such an implementation on an array of digital spiking neurons with stochastic leak and threshold properties for inference tasks and presents some key performance metrics for such a hardware-based sampler in both the generative and discriminative contexts. | Gibbs Sampling with Low-Power Spiking Digital Neurons | 6,339 |
Neural gas (NG) is a robust vector quantization algorithm with a well-known mathematical model. According to this, the neural gas samples the underlying data distribution following a power law with a magnification exponent that depends on data dimensionality only. The effects of shape in the input data distribution, however, are not entirely covered by the NG model above, due to the technical difficulties involved. The experimental work described here shows that shape is indeed relevant in determining the overall NG behavior; in particular, some experiments reveal richer and complex behaviors induced by shape that cannot be explained by the power law alone. Although a more comprehensive analytical model remains to be defined, the evidence collected in these experiments suggests that the NG algorithm has an interesting potential for detecting complex shapes in noisy datasets. | Some Further Evidence about Magnification and Shape in Neural Gas | 6,340 |
Information encoding in the nervous system is supported through the precise spike-timings of neurons; however, an understanding of the underlying processes by which such representations are formed in the first place remains unclear. Here we examine how networks of spiking neurons can learn to encode for input patterns using a fully temporal coding scheme. To this end, we introduce a learning rule for spiking networks containing hidden neurons which optimizes the likelihood of generating desired output spiking patterns. We show the proposed learning rule allows for a large number of accurate input-output spike pattern mappings to be learnt, which outperforms other existing learning rules for spiking neural networks: both in the number of mappings that can be learnt as well as the complexity of spike train encodings that can be utilised. The learning rule is successful even in the presence of input noise, is demonstrated to solve the linearly non-separable XOR computation and generalizes well on an example dataset. We further present a biologically plausible implementation of backpropagated learning in multilayer spiking networks, and discuss the neural mechanisms that might underlie its function. Our approach contributes both to a systematic understanding of how pattern encodings might take place in the nervous system, and a learning rule that displays strong technical capability. | Encoding Spike Patterns in Multilayer Spiking Neural Networks | 6,341 |
This paper presents a cooperative framework for fireworks algorithm (CoFFWA). A detailed analysis of existing fireworks algorithm (FWA) and its recently developed variants has revealed that (i) the selection strategy lead to the contribution of the firework with the best fitness (core firework) for the optimization overwhelms the contributions of the rest of fireworks (non-core fireworks) in the explosion operator, (ii) the Gaussian mutation operator is not as effective as it is designed to be. To overcome these limitations, the CoFFWA is proposed, which can greatly enhance the exploitation ability of non-core fireworks by using independent selection operator and increase the exploration capacity by crowdness-avoiding cooperative strategy among the fireworks. Experimental results on the CEC2013 benchmark functions suggest that CoFFWA outperforms the state-of-the-art FWA variants, artificial bee colony, differential evolution, the standard particle swarm optimization (SPSO) in 2007 and the most recent SPSO in 2011 in term of convergence performance. | A Cooperative Framework for Fireworks Algorithm | 6,342 |
The problem of optimising a network of discretely firing neurons is addressed. An objective function is introduced which measures the average number of bits that are needed for the network to encode its state. When this is minimised, it is shown that this leads to a number of results, such as topographic mappings, piecewise linear dependence on the input of the probability of a neuron firing, and factorial encoder networks. | Some Theoretical Properties of a Network of Discretely Firing Neurons | 6,343 |
Generally, when genetic programming (GP) is used for function synthesis any valuable experience gained by the system is lost from one problem to the next, even when the problems are closely related. With the aim of developing a system which retains beneficial experience from problem to problem, this paper introduces the novel Node-by-Node Growth Solver (NNGS) algorithm which features a component, called the controller, which can be adapted and improved for use across a set of related problems. NNGS grows a single solution tree from root to leaves. Using semantic backpropagation and acting locally on each node in turn, the algorithm employs the controller to assign subsequent child nodes until a fully formed solution is generated. The aim of this paper is to pave a path towards the use of a neural network as the controller component and also, separately, towards the use of meta-GP as a mechanism for improving the controller component. A proof-of-concept controller is discussed which demonstrates the success and potential of the NNGS algorithm. In this case, the controller constitutes a set of hand written rules which can be used to deterministically and greedily solve standard Boolean function synthesis benchmarks. Even before employing machine learning to improve the controller, the algorithm vastly outperforms other well known recent algorithms on run times, maintains comparable solution sizes, and has a 100% success rate on all Boolean function synthesis benchmarks tested so far. | Retaining Experience and Growing Solutions | 6,344 |
This paper introduces the NK Echo State Network. The problem of learning in the NK Echo State Network is reduced to the problem of optimizing a special form of a Spin Glass Problem known as an NK Landscape. No weight adjustment is used; all learning is accomplished by spinning up (turning on) or spinning down (turning off) neurons in order to find a combination of neurons that work together to achieve the desired computation. For special types of NK Landscapes, an exact global solution can be obtained in polynomial time using dynamic programming. The NK Echo State Network is applied to a reinforcement learning problem requiring a recurrent network: balancing two poles on a cart given no velocity information. Empirical results shows that the NK Echo State Network learns very rapidly and yields very good generalization. | Optimal Neuron Selection: NK Echo State Networks for Reinforcement
Learning | 6,345 |
We propose a sign-based online learning (SOL) algorithm for a neuromorphic hardware framework called Trainable Analogue Block (TAB). The TAB framework utilises the principles of neural population coding, implying that it encodes the input stimulus using a large pool of nonlinear neurons. The SOL algorithm is a simple weight update rule that employs the sign of the hidden layer activation and the sign of the output error, which is the difference between the target output and the predicted output. The SOL algorithm is easily implementable in hardware, and can be used in any artificial neural network framework that learns weights by minimising a convex cost function. We show that the TAB framework can be trained for various regression tasks using the SOL algorithm. | An Online Learning Algorithm for Neuromorphic Hardware Implementation | 6,346 |
Kohonen's Self-Organizing Maps (SOMs) have proven to be a successful data-reduction method to identify the intrinsic lower-dimensional sub-manifold of a data set that is scattered in the higher-dimensional feature space. Motivated by the possibly non-Euclidian nature of the feature space and of the intrinsic geometry of the data set, we extend the definition of classic SOMs to obtain the General Riemannian SOM (GRiSOM). We additionally provide an implementation as a proof-of-concept for geometries with constant curvature. We furthermore perform the analytic and numerical analysis of the stability limits of certain (GRi)SOM configurations covering the different possible regular tessellation of the map space in each geometry. A deviation between the numerical and analytic stability limit has been observed for the square and hexagonal Euclidean maps for very small neighbourhoods in the map space as well as agreement in case of longer-ranged relations between the map nodes. | General Riemannian SOM | 6,347 |
An artificial neural network is presented based on the idea of connections between units that are only active for a specific range of input values and zero outside that range (and so are not evaluated outside the active range). The connection function is represented by a polynomial with compact support. The finite range of activation allows for great activation sparsity in the network and means that theoretically you are able to add computational power to the network without increasing the computational time required to evaluate the network for a given input. The polynomial order ranges from first to fifth order. Unit dropout is used for regularization and a parameter free weight update is used. Better performance is obtained by moving from piecewise linear connections to piecewise quadratic, even better performance can be obtained by moving to higher order polynomials. The algorithm is tested on the MAGIC Gamma ray data set as well as the MNIST data set. | Discontinuous Piecewise Polynomial Neural Networks | 6,348 |
Neuromorphic computing is a brainlike information processing paradigm that requires adaptive learning mechanisms. A spiking neuro-evolutionary system is used for this purpose; plastic resistive memories are implemented as synapses in spiking neural networks. The evolutionary design process exploits parameter self-adaptation and allows the topology and synaptic weights to be evolved for each network in an autonomous manner. Variable resistive memories are the focus of this research; each synapse has its own conductance profile which modifies the plastic behaviour of the device and may be altered during evolution. These variable resistive networks are evaluated on a noisy robotic dynamic-reward scenario against two static resistive memories and a system containing standard connections only. Results indicate that the extra behavioural degrees of freedom available to the networks incorporating variable resistive memories enable them to outperform the comparative synapse types. | Evolving Spiking Networks with Variable Resistive Memories | 6,349 |
A strict interpretation of connectionism mandates complex networks of simple components. The question here is, is this simplicity to be interpreted in absolute terms? I conjecture that absolute simplicity might not be an essential attribute of connectionism, and that it may be effectively exchanged with a requirement for relative simplicity, namely simplicity with respect to the current organizational level. In this paper I provide some elements to the analysis of the above question. In particular I conjecture that fractally organized connectionist networks may provide a convenient means to achive what Leibniz calls an "art of complication", namely an effective way to encapsulate complexity and practically extend the applicability of connectionism to domains such as sociotechnical system modeling and design. Preliminary evidence to my claim is brought by considering the design of the software architecture designed for the telemonitoring service of Flemish project "Little Sister". | Fractally-organized Connectionist Networks: Conjectures and Preliminary
Results | 6,350 |
Hierarchical organization -- the recursive composition of sub-modules -- is ubiquitous in biological networks, including neural, metabolic, ecological, and genetic regulatory networks, and in human-made systems, such as large organizations and the Internet. To date, most research on hierarchy in networks has been limited to quantifying this property. However, an open, important question in evolutionary biology is why hierarchical organization evolves in the first place. It has recently been shown that modularity evolves because of the presence of a cost for network connections. Here we investigate whether such connection costs also tend to cause a hierarchical organization of such modules. In computational simulations, we find that networks without a connection cost do not evolve to be hierarchical, even when the task has a hierarchical structure. However, with a connection cost, networks evolve to be both modular and hierarchical, and these networks exhibit higher overall performance and evolvability (i.e. faster adaptation to new environments). Additional analyses confirm that hierarchy independently improves adaptability after controlling for modularity. Overall, our results suggest that the same force--the cost of connections--promotes the evolution of both hierarchy and modularity, and that these properties are important drivers of network performance and adaptability. In addition to shedding light on the emergence of hierarchy across the many domains in which it appears, these findings will also accelerate future research into evolving more complex, intelligent computational brains in the fields of artificial intelligence and robotics. | The evolutionary origins of hierarchy | 6,351 |
Nanoscale resistive memories are expected to fuel dense integration of electronic synapses for large-scale neuromorphic system. To realize such a brain-inspired computing chip, a compact CMOS spiking neuron that performs in-situ learning and computing while driving a large number of resistive synapses is desired. This work presents a novel leaky integrate-and-fire neuron design which implements the dual-mode operation of current integration and synaptic drive, with a single opamp and enables in-situ learning with crossbar resistive synapses. The proposed design was implemented in a 0.18 $\mu$m CMOS technology. Measurements show neuron's ability to drive a thousand resistive synapses, and demonstrate an in-situ associative learning. The neuron circuit occupies a small area of 0.01 mm$^2$ and has an energy-efficiency of 9.3 pJ$/$spike$/$synapse. | A CMOS Spiking Neuron for Brain-Inspired Neural Networks with Resistive
Synapses and In-Situ Learning | 6,352 |
The spike trains are the main components of the information processing in the brain. To model spike trains several point processes have been investigated in the literature. And more macroscopic approaches have also been studied, using partial differential equation models. The main aim of the present article is to build a bridge between several point processes models (Poisson, Wold, Hawkes) that have been proved to statistically fit real spike trains data and age-structured partial differential equations as introduced by Pakdaman, Perthame and Salort. | Microscopic approach of a time elapsed neural model | 6,353 |
A striking difference between brain-inspired neuromorphic processors and current von Neumann processors architectures is the way in which memory and processing is organized. As Information and Communication Technologies continue to address the need for increased computational power through the increase of cores within a digital processor, neuromorphic engineers and scientists can complement this need by building processor architectures where memory is distributed with the processing. In this paper we present a survey of brain-inspired processor architectures that support models of cortical networks and deep neural networks. These architectures range from serial clocked implementations of multi-neuron systems to massively parallel asynchronous ones and from purely digital systems to mixed analog/digital systems which implement more biological-like models of neurons and synapses together with a suite of adaptation and learning mechanisms analogous to the ones found in biological nervous systems. We describe the advantages of the different approaches being pursued and present the challenges that need to be addressed for building artificial neural processing systems that can display the richness of behaviors seen in biological systems. | Memory and information processing in neuromorphic systems | 6,354 |
Coevolution is a powerful tool in evolutionary computing that mitigates some of its endemic problems, namely stagnation in local optima and lack of convergence in high dimensionality problems. Since its inception in 1990, there are multiple articles that have contributed greatly to the development and improvement of the coevolutionary techniques. In this report we review some of those landmark articles dwelving in the techniques they propose and how they fit to conform robust evolutionary algorithms | A review of landmark articles in the field of co-evolutionary computing | 6,355 |
In this paper, a neuron with nonlinear dendrites (NNLD) and binary synapses that is able to learn temporal features of spike input patterns is considered. Since binary synapses are considered, learning happens through formation and elimination of connections between the inputs and the dendritic branches to modify the structure or "morphology" of the NNLD. A morphological learning algorithm inspired by the 'Tempotron', i.e., a recently proposed temporal learning algorithm-is presented in this work. Unlike 'Tempotron', the proposed learning rule uses a technique to automatically adapt the NNLD threshold during training. Experimental results indicate that our NNLD with 1-bit synapses can obtain similar accuracy as a traditional Tempotron with 4-bit synapses in classifying single spike random latency and pair-wise synchrony patterns. Hence, the proposed method is better suited for robust hardware implementation in the presence of statistical variations. We also present results of applying this rule to real life spike classification problems from the field of tactile sensing. | Learning Spike time codes through Morphological Learning with Binary
Synapses | 6,356 |
Most research in the theory of evolutionary computation assumes that the problem at hand has a fixed problem size. This assumption does not always apply to real-world optimization challenges, where the length of an optimal solution may be unknown a priori. Following up on previous work of Cathabard, Lehre, and Yao [FOGA 2011] we analyze variants of the (1+1) evolutionary algorithm for problems with unknown solution length. For their setting, in which the solution length is sampled from a geometric distribution, we provide mutation rates that yield an expected optimization time that is of the same order as that of the (1+1) EA knowing the solution length. We then show that almost the same run times can be achieved even if \emph{no} a priori information on the solution length is available. Finally, we provide mutation rates suitable for settings in which neither the solution length nor the positions of the relevant bits are known. Again we obtain almost optimal run times for the \textsc{OneMax} and \textsc{LeadingOnes} test functions, thus solving an open problem from Cathabard et al. | Solving Problems with Unknown Solution Length at (Almost) No Extra Cost | 6,357 |
Understanding how crossover works is still one of the big challenges in evolutionary computation research, and making our understanding precise and proven by mathematical means might be an even bigger one. As one of few examples where crossover provably is useful, the $(1+(\lambda, \lambda))$ Genetic Algorithm (GA) was proposed recently in [Doerr, Doerr, Ebel: TCS 2015]. Using the fitness level method, the expected optimization time on general OneMax functions was analyzed and a $O(\max\{n\log(n)/\lambda, \lambda n\})$ bound was proven for any offspring population size $\lambda \in [1..n]$. We improve this work in several ways, leading to sharper bounds and a better understanding of how the use of crossover speeds up the runtime in this algorithm. We first improve the upper bound on the runtime to $O(\max\{n\log(n)/\lambda, n\lambda \log\log(\lambda)/\log(\lambda)\})$. This improvement is made possible from observing that in the parallel generation of $\lambda$ offspring via crossover (but not mutation), the best of these often is better than the expected value, and hence several fitness levels can be gained in one iteration. We then present the first lower bound for this problem. It matches our upper bound for all values of $\lambda$. This allows to determine the asymptotically optimal value for the population size. It is $\lambda = \Theta(\sqrt{\log(n)\log\log(n)/\log\log\log(n)})$, which gives an optimization time of $\Theta(n \sqrt{\log(n)\log\log\log(n)/\log\log(n)})$. Hence the improved runtime analysis gives a better runtime guarantee along with a better suggestion for the parameter $\lambda$. We finally give a tail bound for the upper tail of the runtime distribution, which shows that the actual runtime exceeds our runtime guarantee by a factor of $(1+\delta)$ with probability $O((n/\lambda^2)^{-\delta})$ only. | A Tight Runtime Analysis of the $(1+(λ, λ))$ Genetic
Algorithm on OneMax | 6,358 |
Different types of evolutionary algorithms have been developed for constrained continuous optimization. We carry out a feature-based analysis of evolved constrained continuous optimization instances to understand the characteristics of constraints that make problems hard for evolutionary algorithm. In our study, we examine how various sets of constraints can influence the behaviour of e-Constrained Differential Evolution. Investigating the evolved instances, we obtain knowledge of what type of constraints and their features make a problem difficult for the examined algorithm. | A Feature-Based Analysis on the Impact of Set of Constraints for
e-Constrained Differential Evolution | 6,359 |
Deep learning Networks play a crucial role in the evolution of a vast number of current machine learning models for solving a variety of real world non-trivial tasks. Such networks use big data which is generally unlabeled unsupervised and multi-layered requiring no form of supervision for training and learning data and has been used to successfully build automatic supervisory neural networks. However the question still remains how well the learned data represents interestingness, and their effectiveness i.e. efficiency in deep learning models or applications. If the output of a network of deep learning models can be beamed unto a scene of observables, we could learn the variational frequencies of these stacked networks in a parallel and distributive way.This paper seeks to discover and represent interesting patterns in an efficient and less complex way by incorporating the concept of Mode synthesizers in the deep learning process models | Learning Representations from Deep Networks Using Mode Synthesizers | 6,360 |
Stochastic optimization is an important task in many optimization problems where the tasks are not expressible as convex optimization problems. In the case of non-convex optimization problems, various different stochastic algorithms like simulated annealing, evolutionary algorithms, and tabu search are available. Most of these algorithms require user-defined parameters specific to the problem in order to find out the optimal solution. Moreover, in many situations, iterative fine-tunings are required for the user-defined parameters, and therefore these algorithms cannot adapt if the search space and the optima changes over time. In this paper we propose an \underline{a}daptive parameter-free \underline{s}tochastic \underline{o}ptimization technique for \underline{c}ontinuous random variables called ASOC. | ASOC: An Adaptive Parameter-free Stochastic Optimization Techinique for
Continuous Variables | 6,361 |
Numerous genotypic diversity measures (GDMs) are available in the literature to assess the convergence status of an evolutionary algorithm (EA) or describe its search behavior. In a recent study, the authors of this paper drew attention to the need for a GDM validation framework. In response, this study proposes three requirements (monotonicity in individual varieties, twinning, and monotonicity in distance) that can clearly portray any GDMs. These diversity requirements are analysed by means of controlled population arrangements. In this paper four GDMs are evaluated with the proposed validation framework. The results confirm that properly evaluating population diversity is a rather difficult task, as none of the analysed GDMs complies with all the diversity requirements. | Evaluation of Genotypic Diversity Measurements Exploited in Real-Coded
Representation | 6,362 |
This paper describes Postfix-GP system, postfix notation based Genetic Programming (GP), for solving symbolic regression problems. It presents an object-oriented architecture of Postfix-GP framework. It assists the user in understanding of the implementation details of various components of Postfix-GP. Postfix-GP provides graphical user interface which allows user to configure the experiment, to visualize evolved solutions, to analyze GP run, and to perform out-of-sample predictions. The use of Postfix-GP is demonstrated by solving the benchmark symbolic regression problem. Finally, features of Postfix-GP framework are compared with that of other GP systems. | Developing Postfix-GP Framework for Symbolic Regression Problems | 6,363 |
The merit of evolutionary algorithms (EA) to solve convex optimization problems is widely acknowledged. In this paper, a genetic algorithm (GA) optimization based waveform design framework is used to improve the features of radar pulses relying on the orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) structure. Our optimization techniques focus on finding optimal phase code sequences for the OFDM signal. Several optimality criteria are used since we consider two different radar processing solutions which call either for single or multiple-objective optimizations. When minimization of the so-called peak-to-mean envelope power ratio (PMEPR) single-objective is tackled, we compare our findings with existing methods and emphasize on the merit of our approach. In the scope of the two-objective optimization, we first address PMEPR and peak-to-sidelobe level ratio (PSLR) and show that our approach based on the non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm-II (NSGA-II) provides design solutions with noticeable improvements as opposed to random sets of phase codes. We then look at another case of interest where the objective functions are two measures of the sidelobe level, namely PSLR and the integrated-sidelobe level ratio (ISLR) and propose to modify the NSGA-II to include a constrain on the PMEPR instead. In the last part, we illustrate via a case study how our encoding solution makes it possible to minimize the single objective PMEPR while enabling a target detection enhancement strategy, when the SNR metric would be chosen for the detection framework. | Design of OFDM radar pulses using genetic algorithm based techniques | 6,364 |
Social Spider Algorithm (SSA) is a recently proposed general-purpose real-parameter metaheuristic designed to solve global numerical optimization problems. This work systematically benchmarks SSA on a suite of 11 functions with different control parameters. We conduct parameter sensitivity analysis of SSA using advanced non-parametric statistical tests to generate statistically significant conclusion on the best performing parameter settings. The conclusion can be adopted in future work to reduce the effort in parameter tuning. In addition, we perform a success rate test to reveal the impact of the control parameters on the convergence speed of the algorithm. | Parameter Sensitivity Analysis of Social Spider Algorithm | 6,365 |
A newly proposed chemical-reaction-inspired metaheurisic, Chemical Reaction Optimization (CRO), has been applied to many optimization problems in both discrete and continuous domains. To alleviate the effort in tuning parameters, this paper reduces the number of optimization parameters in canonical CRO and develops an adaptive scheme to evolve them. Our proposed Adaptive CRO (ACRO) adapts better to different optimization problems. We perform simulations with ACRO on a widely-used benchmark of continuous problems. The simulation results show that ACRO has superior performance over canonical CRO. | Adaptive Chemical Reaction Optimization for Global Numerical
Optimization | 6,366 |
Random device mismatch that arises as a result of scaling of the CMOS (complementary metal-oxide semi-conductor) technology into the deep submicron regime degrades the accuracy of analogue circuits. Methods to combat this increase the complexity of design. We have developed a novel neuromorphic system called a Trainable Analogue Block (TAB), which exploits device mismatch as a means for random projections of the input to a higher dimensional space. The TAB framework is inspired by the principles of neural population coding operating in the biological nervous system. Three neuronal layers, namely input, hidden, and output, constitute the TAB framework, with the number of hidden layer neurons far exceeding the input layer neurons. Here, we present measurement results of the first prototype TAB chip built using a 65nm process technology and show its learning capability for various regression tasks. Our TAB chip exploits inherent randomness and variability arising due to the fabrication process to perform various learning tasks. Additionally, we characterise each neuron and discuss the statistical variability of its tuning curve that arises due to random device mismatch, a desirable property for the learning capability of the TAB. We also discuss the effect of the number of hidden neurons and the resolution of output weights on the accuracy of the learning capability of the TAB. | A Trainable Neuromorphic Integrated Circuit that Exploits Device
Mismatch | 6,367 |
We present a hardware architecture that uses the Neural Engineering Framework (NEF) to implement large-scale neural networks on Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) for performing pattern recognition in real time. NEF is a framework that is capable of synthesising large-scale cognitive systems from subnetworks. We will first present the architecture of the proposed neural network implemented using fixed-point numbers and demonstrate a routine that computes the decoding weights by using the online pseudoinverse update method (OPIUM) in a parallel and distributed manner. The proposed system is efficiently implemented on a compact digital neural core. This neural core consists of 64 neurons that are instantiated by a single physical neuron using a time-multiplexing approach. As a proof of concept, we combined 128 identical neural cores together to build a handwritten digit recognition system using the MNIST database and achieved a recognition rate of 96.55%. The system is implemented on a state-of-the-art FPGA and can process 5.12 million digits per second. The architecture is not limited to handwriting recognition, but is generally applicable as an extremely fast pattern recognition processor for various kinds of patterns such as speech and images. | A neuromorphic hardware architecture using the Neural Engineering
Framework for pattern recognition | 6,368 |
There has been significant research over the past two decades in developing new platforms for spiking neural computation. Current neural computers are primarily developed to mimick biology. They use neural networks which can be trained to perform specific tasks to mainly solve pattern recognition problems. These machines can do more than simulate biology, they allow us to re-think our current paradigm of computation. The ultimate goal is to develop brain inspired general purpose computation architectures that can breach the current bottleneck introduced by the Von Neumann architecture. This work proposes a new framework for such a machine. We show that the use of neuron like units with precise timing representation, synaptic diversity, and temporal delays allows us to set a complete, scalable compact computation framework. The presented framework provides both linear and non linear operations, allowing us to represent and solve any function. We show usability in solving real use cases from simple differential equations to sets of non-linear differential equations leading to chaotic attractors. | STICK: Spike Time Interval Computational Kernel, A Framework for General
Purpose Computation using Neurons, Precise Timing, Delays, and Synchrony | 6,369 |
Energy disaggregation estimates appliance-by-appliance electricity consumption from a single meter that measures the whole home's electricity demand. Recently, deep neural networks have driven remarkable improvements in classification performance in neighbouring machine learning fields such as image classification and automatic speech recognition. In this paper, we adapt three deep neural network architectures to energy disaggregation: 1) a form of recurrent neural network called `long short-term memory' (LSTM); 2) denoising autoencoders; and 3) a network which regresses the start time, end time and average power demand of each appliance activation. We use seven metrics to test the performance of these algorithms on real aggregate power data from five appliances. Tests are performed against a house not seen during training and against houses seen during training. We find that all three neural nets achieve better F1 scores (averaged over all five appliances) than either combinatorial optimisation or factorial hidden Markov models and that our neural net algorithms generalise well to an unseen house. | Neural NILM: Deep Neural Networks Applied to Energy Disaggregation | 6,370 |
Computational models are of increasing complexity and their behavior may in particular emerge from the interaction of different parts. Studying such models becomes then more and more difficult and there is a need for methods and tools supporting this process. Multi-objective evolutionary algorithms generate a set of trade-off solutions instead of a single optimal solution. The availability of a set of solutions that have the specificity to be optimal relative to carefully chosen objectives allows to perform data mining in order to better understand model features and regularities. We review the corresponding work, propose a unifying framework, and highlight its potential use. Typical questions that such a methodology allows to address are the following: what are the most critical parameters of the model? What are the relations between the parameters and the objectives? What are the typical behaviors of the model? Two examples are provided to illustrate the capabilities of the methodology. The features of a flapping-wing robot are thus evaluated to find out its speed-energy relation, together with the criticality of its parameters. A neurocomputational model of the Basal Ganglia brain nuclei is then considered and its most salient features according to this methodology are presented and discussed. | Multi-objective analysis of computational models | 6,371 |
A virtual chemical spectrophotometer for the simultaneous analysis of nickel (Ni) and cobalt (Co) was developed based on an artificial neural network (ANN). The developed ANN correlates the respective concentrations of Co and Ni given the absorbance profile of a Co-Ni mixture based on the Beer's Law. The virtual chemical spectrometer was trained using a 3-layer jump connection neural network model (NNM) with 126 input nodes corresponding to the 126 absorbance readings from 350 nm to 600 nm, 70 nodes in the hidden layer using a logistic activation function, and 2 nodes in the output layer with a logistic function. Test result shows that the NNM has correlation coefficients of 0.9953 and 0.9922 when predicting [Co] and [Ni], respectively. We observed, however, that the NNM has a duality property and that there exists a real-world practical application in solving the dual problem: Predict the Co-Ni mixture's absorbance profile given [Co] and [Ni]. It turns out that the dual problem is much harder to solve because the intended output has a much bigger cardinality than that of the input. Thus, we trained the dual ANN, a 3-layer jump connection nets with 2 input nodes corresponding to [Co] and [Ni], 70-logistic-activated nodes in the hidden layer, and 126 output nodes corresponding to the 126 absorbance readings from 250 nm to 600 nm. Test result shows that the dual NNM has correlation coefficients that range from 0.9050 through 0.9980 at 356 nm through 578 nm with the maximum coefficient observed at 480 nm. This means that the dual ANN can be used to predict the absorbance profile given the respective Co-Ni concentrations which can be of importance in creating academic models for a virtual chemical spectrophotometer. | A Neural Prototype for a Virtual Chemical Spectrophotometer | 6,372 |
Economic Load Dispatch (ELD) is one of the essential components in power system control and operation. Although conventional ELD formulation can be solved using mathematical programming techniques, modern power system introduces new models of the power units which are non-convex, non-differentiable, and sometimes non-continuous. In order to solve such non-convex ELD problems, in this paper we propose a new approach based on the Social Spider Algorithm (SSA). The classical SSA is modified and enhanced to adapt to the unique characteristics of ELD problems, e.g., valve-point effects, multi-fuel operations, prohibited operating zones, and line losses. To demonstrate the superiority of our proposed approach, five widely-adopted test systems are employed and the simulation results are compared with the state-of-the-art algorithms. In addition, the parameter sensitivity is illustrated by a series of simulations. The simulation results show that SSA can solve ELD problems effectively and efficiently. | A Social Spider Algorithm for Solving the Non-convex Economic Load
Dispatch Problem | 6,373 |
In this paper, we consider a fitness-level model of a non-elitist mutation-only evolutionary algorithm (EA) with tournament selection. The model provides upper and lower bounds for the expected proportion of the individuals with fitness above given thresholds. In the case of so-called monotone mutation, the obtained bounds imply that increasing the tournament size improves the EA performance. As corollaries, we obtain an exponentially vanishing tail bound for the Randomized Local Search on unimodal functions and polynomial upper bounds on the runtime of EAs on 2-SAT problem and on a family of Set Cover problems proposed by E. Balas. | On Proportions of Fit Individuals in Population of Evolutionary
Algorithm with Tournament Selection | 6,374 |
The complex effect of genetic algorithm's (GA) operators and parameters to its performance has been studied extensively by researchers in the past but none studied their interactive effects while the GA is under different problem sizes. In this paper, We present the use of experimental model (1)~to investigate whether the genetic operators and their parameters interact to affect the offline performance of GA, (2)~to find what combination of genetic operators and parameter settings will provide the optimum performance for GA, and (3)~to investigate whether these operator-parameter combination is dependent on the problem size. We designed a GA to optimize a family of traveling salesman problems (TSP), with their optimal solutions known for convenient benchmarking. Our GA was set to use different algorithms in simulating selection ($\Omega_s$), different algorithms ($\Omega_c$) and parameters ($p_c$) in simulating crossover, and different parameters ($p_m$) in simulating mutation. We used several $n$-city TSPs ($n=\{5, 7, 10, 100, 1000\}$) to represent the different problem sizes (i.e., size of the resulting search space as represented by GA schemata). Using analysis of variance of 3-factor factorial experiments, we found out that GA performance is affected by $\Omega_s$ at small problem size (5-city TSP) where the algorithm Partially Matched Crossover significantly outperforms Cycle Crossover at $95\%$ confidence level. | The Interactive Effects of Operators and Parameters to GA Performance
Under Different Problem Sizes | 6,375 |
Deep neural networks have been demonstrated impressive results in various cognitive tasks such as object detection and image classification. In order to execute large networks, Von Neumann computers store the large number of weight parameters in external memories, and processing elements are timed-shared, which leads to power-hungry I/O operations and processing bottlenecks. This paper describes a neuromorphic computing system that is designed from the ground up for the energy-efficient evaluation of large-scale neural networks. The computing system consists of a non-conventional compiler, a neuromorphic architecture, and a space-efficient microarchitecture that leverages existing integrated circuit design methodologies. The compiler factorizes a trained, feedforward network into a sparsely connected network, compresses the weights linearly, and generates a time delay neural network reducing the number of connections. The connections and units in the simplified network are mapped to silicon synapses and neurons. We demonstrate an implementation of the neuromorphic computing system based on a field-programmable gate array that performs the MNIST hand-written digit classification with 97.64% accuracy. | INsight: A Neuromorphic Computing System for Evaluation of Large Neural
Networks | 6,376 |
LSTM (Long Short-Term Memory) recurrent neural networks have been highly successful in a number of application areas. This technical report describes the use of the MNIST and UW3 databases for benchmarking LSTM networks and explores the effect of different architectural and hyperparameter choices on performance. Significant findings include: (1) LSTM performance depends smoothly on learning rates, (2) batching and momentum has no significant effect on performance, (3) softmax training outperforms least square training, (4) peephole units are not useful, (5) the standard non-linearities (tanh and sigmoid) perform best, (6) bidirectional training combined with CTC performs better than other methods. | Benchmarking of LSTM Networks | 6,377 |
In this article we provide a comprehensive review of the different evolutionary algorithm techniques used to address multimodal optimization problems, classifying them according to the nature of their approach. On the one hand there are algorithms that address the issue of the early convergence to a local optimum by differentiating the individuals of the population into groups and limiting their interaction, hence having each group evolve with a high degree of independence. On the other hand other approaches are based on directly addressing the lack of genetic diversity of the population by introducing elements into the evolutionary dynamics that promote new niches of the genotypical space to be explored. Finally, we study multi-objective optimization genetic algorithms, that handle the situations where multiple criteria have to be satisfied with no penalty for any of them. Very rich literature has arised over the years on these topics, and we aim at offering an overview of the most important techniques of each branch of the field. | Genetic Algorithms for multimodal optimization: a review | 6,378 |
The recent development of multi-agent simulations brings about a need for population synthesis. It is a task of reconstructing the entire population from a sampling survey of limited size (1% or so), supplying the initial conditions from which simulations begin. This paper presents a new kernel density estimator for this task. Our method is an analogue of the classical Breiman-Meisel-Purcell estimator, but employs novel techniques that harness the huge degree of freedom which is required to model high-dimensional nonlinearly correlated datasets: the crossover kernel, the k-nearest neighbor restriction of the kernel construction set and the bagging of kernels. The performance as a statistical estimator is examined through real and synthetic datasets. We provide an "optimization-free" parameter selection rule for our method, a theory of how our method works and a computational cost analysis. To demonstrate the usefulness as a population synthesizer, our method is applied to a household synthesis task for an urban micro-simulator. | Population Synthesis via k-Nearest Neighbor Crossover Kernel | 6,379 |
Learning Classifier Systems (LCS) are population-based reinforcement learners that were originally designed to model various cognitive phenomena. This paper presents an explicitly cognitive LCS by using spiking neural networks as classifiers, providing each classifier with a measure of temporal dynamism. We employ a constructivist model of growth of both neurons and synaptic connections, which permits a Genetic Algorithm (GA) to automatically evolve sufficiently-complex neural structures. The spiking classifiers are coupled with a temporally-sensitive reinforcement learning algorithm, which allows the system to perform temporal state decomposition by appropriately rewarding "macro-actions," created by chaining together multiple atomic actions. The combination of temporal reinforcement learning and neural information processing is shown to outperform benchmark neural classifier systems, and successfully solve a robotic navigation task. | A Cognitive Architecture Based on a Learning Classifier System with
Spiking Classifiers | 6,380 |
Neuromorphic computing --- brainlike computing in hardware --- typically requires myriad CMOS spiking neurons interconnected by a dense mesh of nanoscale plastic synapses. Memristors are frequently citepd as strong synapse candidates due to their statefulness and potential for low-power implementations. To date, plentiful research has focused on the bipolar memristor synapse, which is capable of incremental weight alterations and can provide adaptive self-organisation under a Hebbian learning scheme. In this paper we consider the Unipolar memristor synapse --- a device capable of non-Hebbian switching between only two states (conductive and resistive) through application of a suitable input voltage --- and discuss its suitability for neuromorphic systems. A self-adaptive evolutionary process is used to autonomously find highly fit network configurations. Experimentation on a two robotics tasks shows that unipolar memristor networks evolve task-solving controllers faster than both bipolar memristor networks and networks containing constant nonplastic connections whilst performing at least comparably. | Evolving Unipolar Memristor Spiking Neural Networks | 6,381 |
This paper proposes a new algorithm based on multi-scale stochastic local search with binary representation for training neural networks. In particular, we study the effects of neighborhood evaluation strategies, the effect of the number of bits per weight and that of the maximum weight range used for mapping binary strings to real values. Following this preliminary investigation, we propose a telescopic multi-scale version of local search where the number of bits is increased in an adaptive manner, leading to a faster search and to local minima of better quality. An analysis related to adapting the number of bits in a dynamic way is also presented. The control on the number of bits, which happens in a natural manner in the proposed method, is effective to increase the generalization performance. Benchmark tasks include a highly non-linear artificial problem, a control problem requiring either feed-forward or recurrent architectures for feedback control, and challenging real-world tasks in different application domains. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method. | A Telescopic Binary Learning Machine for Training Neural Networks | 6,382 |
We present an analogue Very Large Scale Integration (aVLSI) implementation that uses first-order lowpass filters to implement a conductance-based silicon neuron for high-speed neuromorphic systems. The aVLSI neuron consists of a soma (cell body) and a single synapse, which is capable of linearly summing both the excitatory and inhibitory postsynaptic potentials (EPSP and IPSP) generated by the spikes arriving from different sources. Rather than biasing the silicon neuron with different parameters for different spiking patterns, as is typically done, we provide digital control signals, generated by an FPGA, to the silicon neuron to obtain different spiking behaviours. The proposed neuron is only ~26.5 um2 in the IBM 130nm process and thus can be integrated at very high density. Circuit simulations show that this neuron can emulate different spiking behaviours observed in biological neurons. | A compact aVLSI conductance-based silicon neuron | 6,383 |
We present a neuromorphic Analogue-to-Digital Converter (ADC), which uses integrate-and-fire (I&F) neurons as the encoders of the analogue signal, with modulated inhibitions to decohere the neuronal spikes trains. The architecture consists of an analogue chip and a control module. The analogue chip comprises two scan chains and a twodimensional integrate-and-fire neuronal array. Individual neurons are accessed via the chains one by one without any encoder decoder or arbiter. The control module is implemented on an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), which sends scan enable signals to the scan chains and controls the inhibition for individual neurons. Since the control module is implemented on an FPGA, it can be easily reconfigured. Additionally, we propose a pulse width modulation methodology for the lateral inhibition, which makes use of different pulse widths indicating different strengths of inhibition for each individual neuron to decohere neuronal spikes. Software simulations in this paper tested the robustness of the proposed ADC architecture to fixed random noise. A circuit simulation using ten neurons shows the performance and the feasibility of the architecture. | A Reconfigurable Mixed-signal Implementation of a Neuromorphic ADC | 6,384 |
This paper adapts the corner classification algorithm (CC4) to train the neural networks using spread unary inputs. This is an important problem as spread unary appears to be at the basis of data representation in biological learning. The modified CC4 algorithm is tested using the pattern classification experiment and the results are found to be good. Specifically, we show that the number of misclassified points is not particularly sensitive to the chosen radius of generalization. | Training of CC4 Neural Network with Spread Unary Coding | 6,385 |
Artificial neural networks learn how to solve new problems through a computationally intense and time consuming process. One way to reduce the amount of time required is to inject preexisting knowledge into the network. To make use of past knowledge, we can take advantage of techniques that transfer the knowledge learned from one task, and reuse it on another (sometimes unrelated) task. In this paper we propose a novel selective breeding technique that extends the transfer learning with behavioural genetics approach proposed by Kohli, Magoulas and Thomas (2013), and evaluate its performance on financial data. Numerical evidence demonstrates the credibility of the new approach. We provide insights on the operation of transfer learning and highlight the benefits of using behavioural principles and selective breeding when tackling a set of diverse financial applications problems. | Transfer learning approach for financial applications | 6,386 |
This article proposes a convenient tool for decoding the output of neural networks trained by Connectionist Temporal Classification (CTC) for handwritten text recognition. We use regular expressions to describe the complex structures expected in the writing. The corresponding finite automata are employed to build a decoder. We analyze theoretically which calculations are relevant and which can be avoided. A great speed-up results from an approximation. We conclude that the approximation most likely fails if the regular expression does not match the ground truth which is not harmful for many applications since the low probability will be even underestimated. The proposed decoder is very efficient compared to other decoding methods. The variety of applications reaches from information retrieval to full text recognition. We refer to applications where we integrated the proposed decoder successfully. | Regular expressions for decoding of neural network outputs | 6,387 |
In this paper we introduce a new method which employs the concept of "Orientation Vectors" to train a feed forward neural network and suitable for problems where large dimensions are involved and the clusters are characteristically sparse. The new method is not NP hard as the problem size increases. We `derive' the method by starting from Kolmogrov's method and then relax some of the stringent conditions. We show for most classification problems three layers are sufficient and the network size depends on the number of clusters. We prove as the number of clusters increase from N to N+dN the number of processing elements in the first layer only increases by d(logN), and are proportional to the number of classes, and the method is not NP hard. Many examples are solved to demonstrate that the method of Orientation Vectors requires much less computational effort than Radial Basis Function methods and other techniques wherein distance computations are required, in fact the present method increases logarithmically with problem size compared to the Radial Basis Function method and the other methods which depend on distance computations e.g statistical methods where probabilistic distances are calculated. A practical method of applying the concept of Occum's razor to choose between two architectures which solve the same classification problem has been described. The ramifications of the above findings on the field of Deep Learning have also been briefly investigated and we have found that it directly leads to the existence of certain types of NN architectures which can be used as a "mapping engine", which has the property of "invertibility", thus improving the prospect of their deployment for solving problems involving Deep Learning and hierarchical classification. The latter possibility has a lot of future scope in the areas of machine learning and cloud computing. | Some Theorems for Feed Forward Neural Networks | 6,388 |
Estimation of Distribution Algorithms (EDAs) require flexible probability models that can be efficiently learned and sampled. Deep Boltzmann Machines (DBMs) are generative neural networks with these desired properties. We integrate a DBM into an EDA and evaluate the performance of this system in solving combinatorial optimization problems with a single objective. We compare the results to the Bayesian Optimization Algorithm. The performance of DBM-EDA was superior to BOA for difficult additively decomposable functions, i.e., concatenated deceptive traps of higher order. For most other benchmark problems, DBM-EDA cannot clearly outperform BOA, or other neural network-based EDAs. In particular, it often yields optimal solutions for a subset of the runs (with fewer evaluations than BOA), but is unable to provide reliable convergence to the global optimum competitively. At the same time, the model building process is computationally more expensive than that of other EDAs using probabilistic models from the neural network family, such as DAE-EDA. | Deep Boltzmann Machines in Estimation of Distribution Algorithms for
Combinatorial Optimization | 6,389 |
In this paper, a hybrid method for solving multi-objective problem has been provided. The proposed method is combining the {\epsilon}-Constraint and the Cuckoo algorithm. First the multi objective problem transfers into a single-objective problem using $\epsilon$-Constraint, then the Cuckoo optimization algorithm will optimize the problem in each task. At last the optimized Pareto frontier will be drawn. The advantage of this method is the high accuracy and the dispersion of its Pareto frontier. In order to testing the efficiency of the suggested method, a lot of test problems have been solved using this method. Comparing the results of this method with the results of other similar methods shows that the Cuckoo algorithm is more suitable for solving the multi-objective problems. | A hybrid COA$ε$-constraint method for solving multi-objective
problems | 6,390 |
Solving constrained optimization problems by multi-objective evolutionary algorithms has scored tremendous achievements in the last decade. Standard multi-objective schemes usually aim at minimizing the objective function and also the degree of constraint violation simultaneously. This paper proposes a new multi-objective method for solving constrained optimization problems. The new method keeps two standard objectives: the original objective function and the sum of degrees of constraint violation. But besides them, four more objectives are added. One is based on the feasible rule. The other three come from the penalty functions. This paper conducts an initial experimental study on thirteen benchmark functions. A simplified version of CMODE is applied to solving multi-objective optimization problems. Our initial experimental results confirm our expectation that adding more helper functions could be useful. The performance of SMODE with more helper functions (four or six) is better than that with only two helper functions. | Multi-objective Differential Evolution with Helper Functions for
Constrained Optimization | 6,391 |
Estimation of Distribution Algorithms (EDAs) require flexible probability models that can be efficiently learned and sampled. Generative Adversarial Networks (GAN) are generative neural networks which can be trained to implicitly model the probability distribution of given data, and it is possible to sample this distribution. We integrate a GAN into an EDA and evaluate the performance of this system when solving combinatorial optimization problems with a single objective. We use several standard benchmark problems and compare the results to state-of-the-art multivariate EDAs. GAN-EDA doe not yield competitive results - the GAN lacks the ability to quickly learn a good approximation of the probability distribution. A key reason seems to be the large amount of noise present in the first EDA generations. | Generative Adversarial Networks in Estimation of Distribution Algorithms
for Combinatorial Optimization | 6,392 |
We present our asynchronous implementation of the LM-CMA-ES algorithm, which is a modern evolution strategy for solving complex large-scale continuous optimization problems. Our implementation brings the best results when the number of cores is relatively high and the computational complexity of the fitness function is also high. The experiments with benchmark functions show that it is able to overcome its origin on the Sphere function, reaches certain thresholds faster on the Rosenbrock and Ellipsoid function, and surprisingly performs much better than the original version on the Rastrigin function. | An Asynchronous Implementation of the Limited Memory CMA-ES | 6,393 |
Differential Evolution (DE) is one of the most successful and powerful evolutionary algorithms for global optimization problem. The most important operator in this algorithm is mutation operator which parents are selected randomly to participate in it. Recently, numerous papers are tried to make this operator more intelligent by selection of parents for mutation intelligently. The intelligent selection for mutation vectors is performed by applying design space (also known as decision space) criterion or fitness space criterion, however, in both cases, half of valuable information of the problem space is disregarded. In this article, a Universal Differential Evolution (UDE) is proposed which takes advantage of both design and fitness spaces criteria for intelligent selection of mutation vectors. The experimental analysis on UDE are performed on CEC2005 benchmarks and the results stated that UDE significantly improved the performance of differential evolution in comparison with other methods that only use one criterion for intelligent selection. | A novel mutation operator based on the union of fitness and design
spaces information for Differential Evolution | 6,394 |
Differential Evolution (DE) proved to be one of the most successful evolutionary algorithms for global optimization purposes in continuous problems. The core operator in DE is mutation which can provide the algorithm with both exploration and exploitation. In this article, a new notation for DE is proposed which has a formula that can be utilized for generating and extracting novel mutations and by applying this new notation, four novel mutations are proposed. More importantly, by combining these novel trial vector generation strategies and four other well-known ones, we proposed Generalized Mutation Differential Evolution (GMDE) that takes advantage of two mutation pools that have both explorative and exploitative strategies inside them. Results and experimental analysis are performed on CEC2005 benchmarks and the results stated that GMDE is surprisingly competitive and significantly improved the performance of this algorithm. Finally, GMDE is also applied to parameters optimization, modification and improvement of a feature selection method for cancer classification purposes over gene expression microarray profiles. | Differential Evolution with Generalized Mutation Operator for Parameters
Optimization in Gene Selection for Cancer Classification | 6,395 |
This paper addresses the reservoir design problem in the context of delay-based reservoir computers for multidimensional input signals, parallel architectures, and real-time multitasking. First, an approximating reservoir model is presented in those frameworks that provides an explicit functional link between the reservoir parameters and architecture and its performance in the execution of a specific task. Second, the inference properties of the ridge regression estimator in the multivariate context is used to assess the impact of finite sample training on the decrease of the reservoir capacity. Finally, an empirical study is conducted that shows the adequacy of the theoretical results with the empirical performances exhibited by various reservoir architectures in the execution of several nonlinear tasks with multidimensional inputs. Our results confirm the robustness properties of the parallel reservoir architecture with respect to task misspecification and parameter choice that had already been documented in the literature. | Nonlinear memory capacity of parallel time-delay reservoir computers in
the processing of multidimensional signals | 6,396 |
Adversarial examples have raised questions regarding the robustness and security of deep neural networks. In this work we formalize the problem of adversarial images given a pretrained classifier, showing that even in the linear case the resulting optimization problem is nonconvex. We generate adversarial images using shallow and deep classifiers on the MNIST and ImageNet datasets. We probe the pixel space of adversarial images using noise of varying intensity and distribution. We bring novel visualizations that showcase the phenomenon and its high variability. We show that adversarial images appear in large regions in the pixel space, but that, for the same task, a shallow classifier seems more robust to adversarial images than a deep convolutional network. | Exploring the Space of Adversarial Images | 6,397 |
The search ability of an Evolutionary Algorithm (EA) depends on the variation among the individuals in the population [3, 4, 8]. Maintaining an optimal level of diversity in the EA population is imperative to ensure that progress of the EA search is unhindered by premature convergence to suboptimal solutions. Clearer understanding of the concept of population diversity, in the context of evolutionary search and premature convergence in particular, is the key to designing efficient EAs. To this end, this paper first presents a brief analysis of the EA population diversity issues. Next we present an investigation on a counter-niching EA technique [4] that introduces and maintains constructive diversity in the population. The proposed approach uses informed genetic operations to reach promising, but unexplored or under-explored areas of the search space, while discouraging premature local convergence. Simulation runs on a suite of standard benchmark test functions with Genetic Algorithm (GA) implementation shows promising results. | Evolutionary Landscape and Management of Population Diversity | 6,398 |
Since their introduction in 1994 (Sims), evolved virtual creatures (EVCs) have employed the coevolution of morphology and control to produce high-impact work in multiple fields, including graphics, evolutionary computation, robotics, and artificial life. However, in contrast to fixed-morphology creatures, there has been no clear increase in the behavioral complexity of EVCs in those two decades. This paper describes a method for moving beyond this limit, making use of high-level human input in the form of a syllabus of intermediate learning tasks--along with mechanisms for preservation, reuse, and combination of previously learned tasks. This method--named ESP for its three components: encapsulation, syllabus, and pandemonium--is presented in two complementary versions: Fast ESP, which constrains later morphological changes to achieve linear growth in computation time as behavioral complexity is added, and General ESP, which allows this restriction to be removed when sufficient computational resources are available. Experiments demonstrate that the ESP method allows evolved virtual creatures to reach new levels of behavioral complexity in the co-evolution of morphology and control, approximately doubling the previous state of the art. | Increasing Behavioral Complexity for Evolved Virtual Creatures with the
ESP Method | 6,399 |
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