A Novel Approach to Enhance DIRECT-Type Algorithms for Hyper-Rectangle Identification

Abstract

This paper introduces novel enhancements to the most recent versions of DIRECT-type algorithms, especially when dealing with solutions located at the hyper-rectangle vertices. The BIRECT algorithm encounters difficulties in efficiently sampling points at the boundaries of the feasible region, leading to potential slowdowns in convergence. This issue is particularly pronounced when the optimal solution resides near the boundary. Our research explores diverse approaches, with a primary focus on incorporating a grouping strategy for hyper-rectangles of similar sizes. This categorization into different classes, constrained by a predefined threshold, aims to enhance computational efficiency, particularly involving a substantial number of hyper-rectangles of varying sizes. To further improve the new algorithm’s efficiency, we implemented a mechanism to prevent oversampling and mitigate redundancy in sampling at shared vertices within descendant sub-regions. Comparisons with several DIRECT-type algorithms highlight the promising nature of the proposed algorithms as a global optimization solution. Statistical analyses, including Friedman and Wilcoxon tests, demonstrated the effectiveness of the improvements introduced in this new algorithm.