Evolutionary computation algorithms are employed to minimize functions with large number of variables. Biogeography-based optimization (BBO) is an optimization algorithm that is based on the science of biogeography, which researches the migration patterns of species. These migration paradigms provide the main logic behind BBO. Due to the cross-disciplinary nature of the optimization problems, there is a need to develop multiple approaches to tackle them and to study the theoretical reasoning behind their performance. This book explains the mathematical model of BBO algorithm and its variants created to cope with continuous domain problems (with and without constraints) and combinatorial problems.

A clear and lucid bottom-up approach to the basic principles of evolutionary algorithms Evolutionary algorithms (EAs) are a type of artificial intelligence. EAs are motivated by optimization processes that we observe in nature, such as natural selection, species migration, bird swarms, human culture, and ant colonies. This book discusses the theory, history, mathematics, and programming of evolutionary optimization algorithms. Featured algorithms include genetic algorithms, genetic programming, ant colony optimization, particle swarm optimization, differential evolution, biogeography-based optimization, and many others. Evolutionary Optimization Algorithms: Provides a straightforward, bottom-up approach that assists the reader in obtaining a clear but theoretically rigorous understanding of evolutionary algorithms, with an emphasis on implementation Gives a careful treatment of recently developed EAs including opposition-based learning, artificial fish swarms, bacterial foraging, and many others and discusses their similarities and differences from more well-established EAs Includes chapter-end problems plus a solutions manual available online for instructors Offers simple examples that provide the reader with an intuitive understanding of the theory Features source code for the examples available on the author's website Provides advanced mathematical techniques for analyzing EAs, including Markov modeling and dynamic system modeling Evolutionary Optimization Algorithms: Biologically Inspired and Population-Based Approaches to Computer Intelligence is an ideal text for advanced undergraduate students, graduate students, and professionals involved in engineering and computer science.

This book introduces readers to the fundamentals of artificial neural networks, with a special emphasis on evolutionary algorithms. At first, the book offers a literature review of several well-regarded evolutionary algorithms, including particle swarm and ant colony optimization, genetic algorithms and biogeography-based optimization. It then proposes evolutionary version of several types of neural networks such as feed forward neural networks, radial basis function networks, as well as recurrent neural networks and multi-later perceptron. Most of the challenges that have to be addressed when training artificial neural networks using evolutionary algorithms are discussed in detail. The book also demonstrates the application of the proposed algorithms for several purposes such as classification, clustering, approximation, and prediction problems. It provides a tutorial on how to design, adapt, and evaluate artificial neural networks as well, and includes source codes for most of the proposed techniques as supplementary materials.

Evolutionary computation algorithms are employed to minimize functions with large number of variables. Biogeography-based optimization (BBO) is an optimization algorithm that is based on the science of biogeography, which researches the migration patterns of species. These migration paradigms provide the main logic behind BBO. Due to the cross-disciplinary nature of the optimization problems, there is a need to develop multiple approaches to tackle them and to study the theoretical reasoning behind their performance. This book explains the mathematical model of BBO algorithm and its variants created to cope with continuous domain problems (with and without constraints) and combinatorial problems.

A detailed review of a wide range of meta-heuristic and evolutionary algorithms in a systematic manner and how they relate to engineering optimization problems This book introduces the main metaheuristic algorithms and their applications in optimization. It describes 20 leading meta-heuristic and evolutionary algorithms and presents discussions and assessments of their performance in solving optimization problems from several fields of engineering. The book features clear and concise principles and presents detailed descriptions of leading methods such as the pattern search (PS) algorithm, the genetic algorithm (GA), the simulated annealing (SA) algorithm, the Tabu search (TS) algorithm, the ant colony optimization (ACO), and the particle swarm optimization (PSO) technique. Chapter 1 of Meta-heuristic and Evolutionary Algorithms for Engineering Optimization provides an overview of optimization and defines it by presenting examples of optimization problems in different engineering domains. Chapter 2 presents an introduction to meta-heuristic and evolutionary algorithms and links them to engineering problems. Chapters 3 to 22 are each devoted to a separate algorithm— and they each start with a brief literature review of the development of the algorithm, and its applications to engineering problems. The principles, steps, and execution of the algorithms are described in detail, and a pseudo code of the algorithm is presented, which serves as a guideline for coding the algorithm to solve specific applications. This book: Introduces state-of-the-art metaheuristic algorithms and their applications to engineering optimization; Fills a gap in the current literature by compiling and explaining the various meta-heuristic and evolutionary algorithms in a clear and systematic manner; Provides a step-by-step presentation of each algorithm and guidelines for practical implementation and coding of algorithms; Discusses and assesses the performance of metaheuristic algorithms in multiple problems from many fields of engineering; Relates optimization algorithms to engineering problems employing a unifying approach. Meta-heuristic and Evolutionary Algorithms for Engineering Optimization is a reference intended for students, engineers, researchers, and instructors in the fields of industrial engineering, operations research, optimization/mathematics, engineering optimization, and computer science. OMID BOZORG-HADDAD, PhD, is Professor in the Department of Irrigation and Reclamation Engineering at the University of Tehran, Iran. MOHAMMAD SOLGI, M.Sc., is Teacher Assistant for M.Sc. courses at the University of Tehran, Iran. HUGO A. LOÁICIGA, PhD, is Professor in the Department of Geography at the University of California, Santa Barbara, United States of America.

The quadratic assignment problem (QAP) was introduced in 1957 by Koopmans and Beckmann to model a plant location problem. Since then the QAP has been object of numerous investigations by mathematicians, computers scientists, ope- tions researchers and practitioners. Nowadays the QAP is widely considered as a classical combinatorial optimization problem which is (still) attractive from many points of view. In our opinion there are at last three main reasons which make the QAP a popular problem in combinatorial optimization. First, the number of re- life problems which are mathematically modeled by QAPs has been continuously increasing and the variety of the fields they belong to is astonishing. To recall just a restricted number among the applications of the QAP let us mention placement problems, scheduling, manufacturing, VLSI design, statistical data analysis, and parallel and distributed computing. Secondly, a number of other well known c- binatorial optimization problems can be formulated as QAPs. Typical examples are the traveling salesman problem and a large number of optimization problems in graphs such as the maximum clique problem, the graph partitioning problem and the minimum feedback arc set problem. Finally, from a computational point of view the QAP is a very difficult problem. The QAP is not only NP-hard and - hard to approximate, but it is also practically intractable: it is generally considered as impossible to solve (to optimality) QAP instances of size larger than 20 within reasonable time limits.

Nature-inspired computation is an interdisciplinary topic area that connects the natural sciences to computer science. Since natural computing is utilized in a variety of disciplines, it is imperative to research its capabilities in solving optimization issues. The Handbook of Research on Natural Computing for Optimization Problems discusses nascent optimization procedures in nature-inspired computation and the innovative tools and techniques being utilized in the field. Highlighting empirical research and best practices concerning various optimization issues, this publication is a comprehensive reference for researchers, academicians, students, scientists, and technology developers interested in a multidisciplinary perspective on natural computational systems.

In the "black box function optimization" problem, a search strategy is required to find an extremal point of a function without knowing the structure of the function or the range of possible function values. Solving such problems efficiently requires two abilities. On the one hand, a strategy must be capable of learning while searching: It must gather global information about the space and concentrate the search in the most promising regions. On the other hand, a strategy must be capable of sustained exploration: If a search of the most promising region does not uncover a satisfactory point, the strategy must redirect its efforts into other regions of the space. This dissertation describes a connectionist learning machine that produces a search strategy called stochastic iterated genetic hillclimb ing (SIGH). Viewed over a short period of time, SIGH displays a coarse-to-fine searching strategy, like simulated annealing and genetic algorithms. However, in SIGH the convergence process is reversible. The connectionist implementation makes it possible to diverge the search after it has converged, and to recover coarse-grained informa tion about the space that was suppressed during convergence. The successful optimization of a complex function by SIGH usually in volves a series of such converge/diverge cycles.

This book introduces readers to the background, general framework, main operators, and other basic characteristics of biogeography-based optimization (BBO), which is an emerging branch of bio-inspired computation. In particular, the book presents the authors’ recent work on improved variants of BBO, hybridization of BBO with other algorithms, and the application of BBO to a variety of domains including transportation, image processing, and neural network learning. The content will help to advance research into and application of not only BBO but also the whole field of bio-inspired computation. The algorithms and applications are organized in a step-by-step manner and clearly described with the help of pseudo-codes and flowcharts. The readers will learn not only the basic concepts of BBO but also how to apply and adapt the algorithms to the engineering optimization problems they actually encounter.

This book includes papers presented at SOCO 2018, CISIS 2018 and ICEUTE 2018, all held in the beautiful and historic city of San Sebastian (Spain), in June 2018. Soft computing represents a collection or set of computational techniques in machine learning, computer science and some engineering disciplines, which investigate, simulate, and analyze highly complex issues and phenomena. After a rigorous peer-review process, the 13th SOCO 2018 International Program Committee selected 41 papers, with a special emphasis on optimization, modeling and control using soft computing techniques and soft computing applications in the field of industrial and environmental enterprises. The aim of the 11th CISIS 2018 conference was to offer a meeting opportunity for academic and industry researchers from the vast areas of computational intelligence, information security, and data mining. The need for intelligent, flexible behaviour by large, complex systems, especially in mission-critical domains, was the catalyst for the overall event.Eight of the papers included in the book were selected by the CISIS 2018 International Program Committee. The International Program Committee of ICEUTE 2018 selected 11 papers for inclusion in these conference proceedings.