Continuous Ant Colony Optimization Algorithm Research Articles

Multiobjective Optimization Design of Interpretable Evolutionary Fuzzy Systems With Type Self-Organizing Learning of Fuzzy Sets

This paper proposes a new multiobjective optimization approach for designing a self-generated interpretable fuzzy logic system (FLS). The types of fuzzy sets can be constructed automatically by self-organizing method, so as to form a hybrid fuzzy system. Different from the existing evolutionary type-1 fuzzy system, which is full of type-1 fuzzy sets, and the evolutionary interval type-2 fuzzy system, which is full of interval type-2 fuzzy sets, there are both type-1 fuzzy sets and interval type-2 fuzzy sets in the hybrid fuzzy system. A new transparency-oriented objective function is defined, and the constraint of the footprint of uncertainty (FOU) of the interval type-2 (IT2) fuzzy set (FS) is considered for the first time. A new FS merging criterion focusing on the proximity of the cores of fuzzy sets is proposed, which is easy to calculate and maintains the characteristics of classical similarity measures. Combined with the new merging criterion, the online cluster and fuzzy set updating (OCFU) algorithm is employed to initialize the reference rule base and the type of fuzzy sets, as it is assumed that no training data are collected in advance. Based on the reference rule base, the advanced multiobjective front-guided continuous ant colony optimization (AMO-FCACO) algorithm is introduced to optimize all the free parameters of the FLS. With the operation mentioned above, the self-generated FLSs achieve a good balance between interpretability and performance. The effectiveness of the proposed method is verified by three nonlinear system tracking problems.

Opposition-based ant colony optimization with all-dimension neighborhood search for engineering design

AbstractThe ant colony optimization algorithm is a classical swarm intelligence algorithm, but it cannot be used for continuous class optimization problems. A continuous ant colony optimization algorithm (ACOR) is proposed to overcome this difficulty. Still, some problems exist, such as quickly falling into local optimum, slow convergence speed, and low convergence accuracy. To solve these problems, this paper proposes a modified version of ACOR called ADNOLACO. There is an opposition-based learning mechanism introduced into ACOR to effectively improve the convergence speed of ACOR. All-dimension neighborhood mechanism is also introduced into ACOR to further enhance the ability of ACOR to avoid getting trapped in the local optimum. To strongly demonstrate these core advantages of ADNOLACO, with the 30 benchmark functions of IEEE CEC2017 as the basis, a detailed analysis of ADNOLACO and ACOR is not only qualitatively performed, but also a comparison experiment is conducted between ADNOLACO and its peers. The results fully proved that ADNOLACO has accelerated the convergence speed and improved the convergence accuracy. The ability to find a balance between local and globally optimal solutions is improved. Also, to show that ADNOLACO has some practical value in real applications, it deals with four engineering problems. The simulation results also illustrate that ADNOLACO can improve the accuracy of the computational results. Therefore, it can be demonstrated that the proposed ADNOLACO is a promising and excellent algorithm based on the results.

Vertical electrical sounding data inversion using continuous ant colony optimization algorithm: A case study from Hassi R'Mel, Algeria

ABSTRACTAmong the existing geophysical methods, the vertical electrical sounding remains a fast and economical way to detect groundwater resources. However, the interpretation of the vertical electrical sounding data often suffers from non‐uniqueness due to the ill‐posed nature of the inverse problem. In recent years, metaheuristic algorithms have been successfully used for solving ill‐conditioned and ill‐posed problems. This work presents a scheme that uses the continuous ant colony optimization (ACOR) technique to invert vertical electrical sounding data. The ACOR is a global search algorithm that explores and finds the globally optimal solution over a search space by mimicking the behaviour of biological ants. The development of this algorithm was due to the requirement to interpret a set of vertical electrical sounding collected at the region of Hassi R'Mel (Algerian Sahara). The area has a particular geological/geoelectrical structure, which renders the interpretation of vertical electrical sounding challenging as standard inversion approaches tend to fail to recover a reliable resistivity model. The ACOR algorithm was initially tested with synthetic data from models simulating the geological/hydrogeological structure of the studied area. The results verified the robustness and stability of the ACOR algorithm even in the presence of a high level of noise. Furthermore, the tests indicated that the ACOR algorithm performed better when compared to other inversion techniques for this particular geoelectrical structure. Five vertical electrical sounding profiles using a Schlumberger array collected in the region of Hassi R'Mel were inverted using the ACOR algorithm. The models confirmed the presence of the two central aquifer systems and showed the geometry of the aquifer with the most favourable conditions for water accumulations.

Reinforcement Neural Fuzzy Surrogate-Assisted Multiobjective Evolutionary Fuzzy Systems With Robot Learning Control Application

This paper proposes a new reinforcement neural fuzzy surrogate (RNFS)-assisted multiobjective evolutionary optimization (RNFS-MEO) algorithm to boost the learning efficiency of data-driven fuzzy controllers (FCs). The RNFS-MEO is applied to evolve a population of FCs in a multiobjective robot wall-following control problem in order to reduce the number of time-consuming control trials and the implementation time of learning. In the RNFS-MEO, the RNFS is incorporated into a typical multiobjective continuous ant colony optimization algorithm to improve its learning efficiency. The RNFS estimates the accumulated multiobjective function values of the FCs in a colony without applying them to control a process, which helps reduce the number of control trials. The RNFS is trained online through structure and parameter learning based on the reinforcement signals from controlling a process. Considering the influence of the current control signals on the future states of a controlled process, the temporal difference technique is used in the RNFS training so that it estimates not only the current but also the future objective function values. The colony of FCs in the RNFS-MEO is repeatedly evolved based on the RNFS estimated values or the objective function values from real evaluations until a colony of successful FCs is found. The RNFS-MEO-based FC learning approach is applied to a robot wall-following control problem. Simulations and experiments on the robot control application are performed to verify the effectiveness and efficiency of the RNFS-MEO.

Possibility of cooperative management in groundwater resources using an evolutionary hydro-economic simulation-optimization model

Groundwater as an open-access and a common pool resource (CPR) among several beneficiaries faces overexploitation especially in arid and semi-arid regions. To tackle such problems, cooperative management method using game theory concepts could be considered as an effective approach in operating a CPR. This study examines the effect of cooperation and internalization of environmental damages on managing the groundwater resources in Namdan aquifer located in Fars province, Iran. For this purpose, an evolutionary hydro-economic simulation-optimization model has been developed and various cooperation and environmental damages internalization scenarios have been considered to the study area over a planning horizon of 30 years. Continuous ant colony optimization (CACO) algorithm, which is an innovative application in this area of study has been applied to the simulation- optimization model. Some cooperative game theory methods have been used to allocate the obtained net benefits. The results indicate that under the full-cooperation scenario, the highest value of the sum of net benefits has been gained for any value of environmental damages. Moreover, internalizing the environmental damages has caused increase in the sum of net benefits among all cooperation scenarios. A sensitivity analysis has been conducted to assess the effect of changing the environmental damages value and also the importance factor of extraction externalities. The results of these analysis indicate that the cooperation conditions are independent of the value of environmental damages and also the intensity of extraction externalities. The methodology presented in this study provides water resource managers with a cooperative management platform in order to evaluate the possibilities of sustainable development of groundwater resources in more realistic conditions. The application of an efficient evolutionary algorithm provides a variety of realistic problems with an opportunity to overcome the limitations of traditional optimization techniques.

Improved continuous Ant Colony Optimization algorithms for real-world engineering optimization problems

The Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) algorithm is a well-known optimization method that has been successfully applied to solve many difficult discrete optimization problems. A decade ago, a variant of ACO, called ACOR, was developed for continuous search spaces.This work proposes two new variants of ACOR; namely, IACOR and LIACOR, with improved performance in solving real-world engineering optimization problems. The IACOR uses a success-based random-walk selection that chooses between Brownian motion and Lévy flights. Thus, trying to balance exploitation and exploration, respectively. The LIACOR, on the other hand, is a memetic version of IACOR where a local search is used to enhance solutions in the colony. Furthermore, the ACOR is tested on the 22 real-world engineering optimization problems of the IEEE CEC 2011. The proposed variants are also tested on the same set of problems against five state-of-the-art optimization methods.The proposed IACOR and LIACOR outperform the original ACOR on most problems. In addition, the results of the comparative analysis show the superiority of LIACOR compared to the other tested algorithms.

Multiobjective Rule-Based Cooperative Continuous Ant Colony Optimized Fuzzy Systems With a Robot Control Application.

This paper proposes a new rule-based cooperative framework for multiobjective evolutionary fuzzy systems (FSs). Based on the framework, a multiobjective rule-based cooperative continuous ant-colony optimization (MO-RCCACO) algorithm is proposed to optimize all of the free parameters in FSs. Instead of optimization using a single colony of FSs (solutions), the MO-RCCACO consists of r subcolonies of size N cooperatively optimizing an FS that consists of r rules, with a subcolony optimizing only a single fuzzy rule. In addition, an auxiliary colony is created to store all of the fuzzy rules in the best-so-far N FSs to enhance the optimization ability of MO-RCCACO. The performance ranking of different fuzzy rules in the same subcolony is performed based on the multiobjective function values of their participating FSs by using Pareto nondominated sorting and the crowding distance. The MO-RCCACO is applied to find the Pareto-optimal fuzzy controllers (FCs) of a mobile robot for wall following with multiple control objectives. The optimization ability of the MO-RCCACO is verified through comparisons with various multiobjective population-based optimization algorithms in the robot wall-following control problem. Experimental results verify the effectiveness of the MO-RCCACO-based FCs for the boundary following control of a real robot.

Navigation of an Autonomous Wheeled Robot in Unknown Environments Based on Evolutionary Fuzzy Control

Navigation of a wheeled robot in unknown environments is proposed in this paper. The approach may be applied to navigating an autonomous vehicle in unknown environments, such as parking lots. The navigation consists of three parts: obstacle avoidance behavior, target seeking behavior, and a behavior supervisor. The obstacle avoidance behavior is achieved by controlling the robot to move along an obstacle boundary through evolutionary fuzzy control. In the evolutionary fuzzy control approach, a Pareto set of fuzzy controllers (FCs) is found though a multi-objective continuous ant colony optimization algorithm. Target seeking behavior is achieved by controlling the robot through hybrid proportional–integral–derivative (PID) controllers. The behavior supervisor determines the switching between obstacle avoidance and target seeking behaviors, where the dead-cycle problem is considered. Simulations and experiments were performed to verify the effectiveness of the proposed navigation scheme.

HYBRID OPTIMIZATION OF OBJECT-BASED CLASSIFICATION IN HIGH-RESOLUTION IMAGES USING CONTINOUS ANT COLONY ALGORITHM WITH EMPHASIS ON BUILDING DETECTION

Abstract. Automatic building detection from High Spatial Resolution (HSR) images is one of the most important issues in Remote Sensing (RS). Due to the limited number of spectral bands in HSR images, using other features will lead to improve accuracy. By adding these features, the presence probability of dependent features will be increased, which leads to accuracy reduction. In addition, some parameters should be determined in Support Vector Machine (SVM) classification. Therefore, it is necessary to simultaneously determine classification parameters and select independent features according to image type. Optimization algorithm is an efficient method to solve this problem. On the other hand, pixel-based classification faces several challenges such as producing salt-paper results and high computational time in high dimensional data. Hence, in this paper, a novel method is proposed to optimize object-based SVM classification by applying continuous Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) algorithm. The advantages of the proposed method are relatively high automation level, independency of image scene and type, post processing reduction for building edge reconstruction and accuracy improvement. The proposed method was evaluated by pixel-based SVM and Random Forest (RF) classification in terms of accuracy. In comparison with optimized pixel-based SVM classification, the results showed that the proposed method improved quality factor and overall accuracy by 17% and 10%, respectively. Also, in the proposed method, Kappa coefficient was improved by 6% rather than RF classification. Time processing of the proposed method was relatively low because of unit of image analysis (image object). These showed the superiority of the proposed method in terms of time and accuracy.

Multimodal continuous ant colony optimization for multisensor remote sensing image registration with local search

Abstract Due to the large differences between different imaging sensors, multisensor remote sensing image registration is a challenging work. Multisensor remote sensing image registration can be formulated as a multimodal problem, and general optimization methods may get trapped into a local optimum when solving complex multimodal problems. In this paper, we introduce a multimodal continuous ant colony optimization algorithm for multisensor remote sensing image registration, and an efficient optimization method is designed as local search operation. Multimodal continuous ant colony optimization algorithm can preserve high diversity and has the global search ability for multimodal problems. Meanwhile, efficient local search operation can improve the efficiency and provide the accurate result. The experimental results have demonstrated the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed method.

Adaptive Multimodal Continuous Ant Colony Optimization

Seeking multiple optima simultaneously, which multimodal optimization aims at, has attracted increasing attention but remains challenging. Taking advantage of ant colony optimization (ACO) algorithms in preserving high diversity, this paper intends to extend ACO algorithms to deal with multimodal optimization. First, combined with current niching methods, an adaptive multimodal continuous ACO algorithm is introduced. In this algorithm, an adaptive parameter adjustment is developed, which takes the difference among niches into consideration. Second, to accelerate convergence, a differential evolution mutation operator is alternatively utilized to build base vectors for ants to construct new solutions. Then, to enhance the exploitation, a local search scheme based on Gaussian distribution is self-adaptively performed around the seeds of niches. Together, the proposed algorithm affords a good balance between exploration and exploitation. Extensive experiments on 20 widely used benchmark multimodal functions are conducted to investigate the influence of each algorithmic component and results are compared with several state-of-the-art multimodal algorithms and winners of competitions on multimodal optimization. These comparisons demonstrate the competitive efficiency and effectiveness of the proposed algorithm, especially in dealing with complex problems with high numbers of local optima.

Understating continuous ant colony optimization for neural network training: A case study on intelligent sensing of manhole gas components

In this work, we proposed various strategies for improving the performance of continuous ant colony optimization algorithm (ACO^*), which was used here for optimizing neural network (NN). Here, a real-world problem, that is, detection of manhole gas components, was used for case study. Manhole cont ains various toxic and explosive gases. Therefore, pre-detection of these toxic gases is crucial to avoid human fatality. Hence, we proposed to design an intelligent sensory system, which used a trained NN for detecting manhole gases. The training to NN was provided using dataset that was generated using laboratory tests, sensor's data-sheets, and literature. The primary focus of this work was on the performance evaluation and improvement of ACO^* algorithm. Hence, understanding of ACO^* parameter tuning and enhancements of ACO^* parameters through %its performance evaluation was well studied. Moreover, complexity analysis of ACO^* was firmly addressed. %in this article. We extended our article scope to cover the performance comparisons between ACO^* and other NN training algorithms. We found that the improved ACO^* performed best in comparison to other NN training algorithms such as backpropagation, conjugate gradient, particle swarm optimization, simulated annealing, and genetic algorithm.

A novel hybrid ant colony optimization and particle swarm optimization algorithm for inverse problems of coupled radiative and conductive heat transfer

In this study, a continuous ant colony optimization algorithm on the basis of probability density function was applied to the inverse problems of one-dimensional coupled radiative and conductive heat transfer. To overcome the slow convergence of the ant colony optimization algorithm for continuous domain problems, a novel hybrid ant colony optimization and particle swarm optimization algorithm was proposed. To illustrate the performances of these algorithms, the thermal conductivity, absorption coefficient and scattering coefficient of the one-dimensional homogeneous semi-transparent medium were retrieved for several test cases. The temperature and radiative heat flux simulated by the finite volume method were served as inputs for the inverse analysis. Through function estimation and parameter estimation, the HAPO algorithm was proved to be effective and robust.

An Interpretable Fuzzy System Learned Through Online Rule Generation and Multiobjective ACO With a Mobile Robot Control Application.

This paper proposes a new multiobjective optimization approach to designing a fuzzy logic system (FLS) using process data and applies it to the wall-following control of a mobile robot. The objectives considered include both the interpretability and control performance of the FLS. It is assumed that no off-line training data are available in advance, and the rule base is initially empty. All rules are generated through an online clustering and fuzzy set merging (OCFM) algorithm using data generated online during the FLS evaluation process. The OCFM builds a reference rule base that flexibly partitions the input space with distinguishable fuzzy sets (FSs). Based on the reference rule base, a new multiobjective front-guided continuous ant-colony optimization (MO-FCACO) algorithm is proposed to optimize the FLS structure and parameters. In addition to the objective functions defined to evaluate the FLS control performance, a transparency-oriented objective function is defined with constraints imposed on the FS parameters to obtain an interpretable FLS with transparent FSs. The MO-FCACO solves the constrained multiobjective optimization problem by optimizing all of the free parameters in an FLS through ant-path selection, sampling operation, and front-guided optimization processes. The multiobjective FLS design approach is applied to control the orientation and moving speed of a mobile robot in performing the wall-following task. Optimization performance of the MO-FCACO is verified through comparisons with various multiobjective population-based optimization algorithms. Experimental results verify the effectiveness of the designed FLSs in controlling a real robot.

Transfer function fitting using a continuous Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) algorithm

An original approach is proposed in order to achieve the fitting of ultra-wideband complex frequency functions, such as the complex impedances, by using the so-called ACO (Ant Colony Optimization) methods. First, we present the optimization principle of ACO, which originally was dedicated to the combinatorial problems. Further on, the extension to the continuous and mixed problems is explained in more details. The interest in this approach is proved by its ability to define practical constraints and objectives, such as minimizing the number of filters used in the model with respect to a fixed relative error. Finally, the establishment of the model for the first and second order filter types illustrates the power of the method and its interest for the time-domain electromagnetic computation.

Rule-Based Cooperative Continuous Ant Colony Optimization to Improve the Accuracy of Fuzzy System Design

This paper proposes a cooperative continuous ant colony optimization (CCACO) algorithm and applies it to address the accuracy-oriented fuzzy systems (FSs) design problems. All of the free parameters in a zero- or first-order Takagi-Sugeno-Kang (TSK) FS are optimized through CCACO. The CCACO algorithm performs optimization through multiple ant colonies, where each ant colony is only responsible for optimizing the free parameters in a single fuzzy rule. The ant colonies cooperate to design a complete FS, with a complete parameter solution vector (encoding a complete FS) that is formed by selecting a subsolution component (encoding a single fuzzy rule) from each colony. Subsolutions in each ant colony are evolved independently using a new continuous ant colony optimization algorithm. In the CCACO, solutions are updated via the techniques of pheromone-based tournament ant path selection, ant wandering operation, and best-ant-attraction refinement. The performance of the CCACO is verified through applications to fuzzy controller and predictor design problems. Comparisons with other population-based optimization algorithms verify the superiority of the CCACO.

The Optimization of Gas Allocation to a Group of Wells in a Gas Lift Using an Efficient Ant Colony Algorithm (ACO)

When the reservoir energy is too low for the well to flow, or the production rate desired is greater than the reservoir energy can deliver, using some kind of artificial lift method to provide the energy to bring the fluid to the surface, seems to be necessary. Continuous flow gas lift is one of the most common artificial lift methods widely used in the oil industry during which, at appropriate pressure, gas is injected in a suitable depth into the tubing to gasify the oil column, and thus assist the production. Each well has an optimal point at which it will produce the most oil. In ideal conditions, at which there is no limitation in the total amount of available gas, a sufficient amount of gas could be injected into each well to get the maximum amount of production. However, often the total amount of available gas is insufficient to reach the maximum oil production for each well. Therefore, allocating an optimum amount of gas to each well to obtain field maximum oil production rate is necessary. In this work, a continuous ant colony optimization algorithm was used to allocate the optimum amount of gas to a group of wells for three fields with a different number of wells. Based upon the total production rates of the studied oil fields resulting from the gas allocation to the wells, the continuous ant colony optimization algorithm shows better gas allocation to the wells in comparison with the previous works with other optimization methods.

Structural Damage Detection Based on Modal Parameters Using Continuous Ant Colony Optimization

A method is presented to detect and quantify structural damages from changes in modal parameters (such as natural frequencies and mode shapes). An inverse problem is formulated to minimize the objective function, defined in terms of discrepancy between the vibration data identified by modal testing and those computed from analytical model, which then solved to locate and assess the structural damage using continuous ant colony optimization algorithm. The damage is formulated as stiffness reduction factor. The study indicates potentiality of the developed code to solve a wide range of inverse identification problems.

A unified ant colony optimization algorithm for continuous optimization

In this article, we propose UACOR, a unified ant colony optimization (ACO) algorithm for continuous optimization. UACOR includes algorithmic components from ACOR,DACOR and IACOR-LS, three ACO algorithms for continuous optimization that have been proposed previously. Thus, it can be used to instantiate each of these three earlier algorithms; in addition, from UACOR we can also generate new continuous ACO algorithms that have not been considered before in the literature. In fact, UACOR allows the usage of automatic algorithm configuration techniques to automatically derive new ACO algorithms. To show the benefits of UACOR’s flexibility, we automatically configure two new ACO algorithms, UACOR-s and UACOR-c, and evaluate them on two sets of benchmark functions from a recent special issue of the Soft Computing (SOCO) journal and the IEEE 2005 Congress on Evolutionary Computation (CEC’05), respectively. We show that UACOR-s is competitive with the best of the 19 algorithms benchmarked on the SOCO benchmark set and that UACOR-c performs superior to IPOP-CMA-ES and statistically significantly better than five other algorithms benchmarked on the CEC’05 set. These results show the high potential ACO algorithms have for continuous optimization and suggest that automatic algorithm configuration is a viable approach for designing state-of-the-art continuous optimizers.

Modeling RFID signal distribution based on neural network combined with continuous ant colony optimization

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) has been rapidly developing for recent years as a kind of near field wireless communication technology depending on radio frequence signal. Now there are widespread researches and applications about RFID. To make the distribution of tags’ position rational and efficient, it is significant to obtain the signal strength model around reader. This paper uses neural network method to model the RFID reflected signal strength distribution. To achieve a satisfied solution, a continuous Ant Colony Optimization algorithm that can overcome the defect of BP algorithm is combined with neural network. We discuss the mechanism of algorithm in detail. The simulation and the actual experiment results are shown to prove the good performance of this method.