This volume constitutes selected papers presented during the 8th International Conference on Metaheuristics and Nature Inspired Computing, META 2021, held in Marrakech, Morocco, in October 201. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic the conference was partiqally held online. The 16 papers were thoroughly reviewed and selected from the 53 submissions. They are organized in the topical sections on ​combinatorial optimization; continuous optimization; optimization and machine learning; applications.

Alan Turing pioneered many research areas such as artificial intelligence, computability, heuristics and pattern formation. Nowadays at the information age, it is hard to imagine how the world would be without computers and the Internet. Without Turing's work, especially the core concept of Turing Machine at the heart of every computer, mobile phone and microchip today, so many things on which we are so dependent would be impossible. 2012 is the Alan Turing year -- a centenary celebration of the life and work of Alan Turing. To celebrate Turing's legacy and follow the footsteps of this brilliant mind, we take this golden opportunity to review the latest developments in areas of artificial intelligence, evolutionary computation and metaheuristics, and all these areas can be traced back to Turing's pioneer work. Topics include Turing test, Turing machine, artificial intelligence, cryptography, software testing, image processing, neural networks, nature-inspired algorithms such as bat algorithm and cuckoo search, and multiobjective optimization and many applications. These reviews and chapters not only provide a timely snapshot of the state-of-art developments, but also provide inspiration for young researchers to carry out potentially ground-breaking research in the active, diverse research areas in artificial intelligence, cryptography, machine learning, evolutionary computation, and nature-inspired metaheuristics. This edited book can serve as a timely reference for graduates, researchers and engineers in artificial intelligence, computer sciences, computational intelligence, soft computing, optimization, and applied sciences.

The purpose of this book is to collect contributions that deal with the use of nature inspired metaheuristics for solving multi-objective combinatorial optimization problems. Such a collection intends to provide an overview of the state-of-the-art developments in this field, with the aim of motivating more researchers in operations research, engineering, and computer science, to do research in this area. As such, this book is expected to become a valuable reference for those wishing to do research on the use of nature inspired metaheuristics for solving multi-objective combinatorial optimization problems.

As technology continues to become more sophisticated, mimicking natural processes and phenomena also becomes more of a reality. Continued research in the field of natural computing enables an understanding of the world around us, in addition to opportunities for man-made computing to mirror the natural processes and systems that have existed for centuries. Nature-Inspired Computing: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications takes an interdisciplinary approach to the topic of natural computing, including emerging technologies being developed for the purpose of simulating natural phenomena, applications across industries, and the future outlook of biologically and nature-inspired technologies. Emphasizing critical research in a comprehensive multi-volume set, this publication is designed for use by IT professionals, researchers, and graduate students studying intelligent computing.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Metaheuristics and Nature Inspired Computing, META 2023, held in Marrakech, Morocco, during November 1-4, 2023. The 19 full papers presented in this volume were carefully reviewed and selected from 42 submissions. The papers are divided into the following topical sections: combinatorial optimization; scheduling; continuous optimization; automatic metaheuristics tuning; optimization and machine learning; and applications.

Modern metaheuristic algorithms such as bee algorithms and harmony search start to demonstrate their power in dealing with tough optimization problems and even NP-hard problems. This book reviews and introduces the state-of-the-art nature-inspired metaheuristic algorithms in optimization, including genetic algorithms, bee algorithms, particle swarm optimization, simulated annealing, ant colony optimization, harmony search, and firefly algorithms. We also briefly introduce the photosynthetic algorithm, the enzyme algorithm, and Tabu search. Worked examples with implementation have been used to show how each algorithm works. This book is thus an ideal textbook for an undergraduate and/or graduate course. As some of the algorithms such as the harmony search and firefly algorithms are at the forefront of current research, this book can also serve as a reference book for researchers.

This book exemplifies how algorithms are developed by mimicking nature. Classical techniques for solving day-to-day problems is time-consuming and cannot address complex problems. Metaheuristic algorithms are nature-inspired optimization techniques for solving real-life complex problems. This book emphasizes the social behaviour of insects, animals and other natural entities, in terms of converging power and benefits. Major nature-inspired algorithms discussed in this book include the bee colony algorithm, ant colony algorithm, grey wolf optimization algorithm, whale optimization algorithm, firefly algorithm, bat algorithm, ant lion optimization algorithm, grasshopper optimization algorithm, butterfly optimization algorithm and others. The algorithms have been arranged in chapters to help readers gain better insight into nature-inspired systems and swarm intelligence. All the MATLAB codes have been provided in the appendices of the book to enable readers practice how to solve examples included in all sections. This book is for experts in Engineering and Applied Sciences, Natural and Formal Sciences, Economics, Humanities and Social Sciences.

Nature-Inspired Optimization Algorithms provides a systematic introduction to all major nature-inspired algorithms for optimization. The book's unified approach, balancing algorithm introduction, theoretical background and practical implementation, complements extensive literature with well-chosen case studies to illustrate how these algorithms work. Topics include particle swarm optimization, ant and bee algorithms, simulated annealing, cuckoo search, firefly algorithm, bat algorithm, flower algorithm, harmony search, algorithm analysis, constraint handling, hybrid methods, parameter tuning and control, as well as multi-objective optimization. This book can serve as an introductory book for graduates, doctoral students and lecturers in computer science, engineering and natural sciences. It can also serve a source of inspiration for new applications. Researchers and engineers as well as experienced experts will also find it a handy reference. - Discusses and summarizes the latest developments in nature-inspired algorithms with comprehensive, timely literature - Provides a theoretical understanding as well as practical implementation hints - Provides a step-by-step introduction to each algorithm

This textbook provides a comprehensive introduction to nature-inspired metaheuristic methods for search and optimization, including the latest trends in evolutionary algorithms and other forms of natural computing. Over 100 different types of these methods are discussed in detail. The authors emphasize non-standard optimization problems and utilize a natural approach to the topic, moving from basic notions to more complex ones. An introductory chapter covers the necessary biological and mathematical backgrounds for understanding the main material. Subsequent chapters then explore almost all of the major metaheuristics for search and optimization created based on natural phenomena, including simulated annealing, recurrent neural networks, genetic algorithms and genetic programming, differential evolution, memetic algorithms, particle swarm optimization, artificial immune systems, ant colony optimization, tabu search and scatter search, bee and bacteria foraging algorithms, harmony search, biomolecular computing, quantum computing, and many others. General topics on dynamic, multimodal, constrained, and multiobjective optimizations are also described. Each chapter includes detailed flowcharts that illustrate specific algorithms and exercises that reinforce important topics. Introduced in the appendix are some benchmarks for the evaluation of metaheuristics. Search and Optimization by Metaheuristics is intended primarily as a textbook for graduate and advanced undergraduate students specializing in engineering and computer science. It will also serve as a valuable resource for scientists and researchers working in these areas, as well as those who are interested in search and optimization methods.