Cost-benefit Analysis and Evolutionary Computing


Book Description

"Demonstrating the application of evolutionary computing techniques to an exceptionally complex problem in the real business world, Cost-Benefit Analysis and Evolutionary Computing will be of great value to academics and those practitioners and researchers interested in addressing the classic issue of evaluating road expansion and maintenance programs."--BOOK JACKET.




Markov Networks in Evolutionary Computation


Book Description

Markov networks and other probabilistic graphical modes have recently received an upsurge in attention from Evolutionary computation community, particularly in the area of Estimation of distribution algorithms (EDAs). EDAs have arisen as one of the most successful experiences in the application of machine learning methods in optimization, mainly due to their efficiency to solve complex real-world optimization problems and their suitability for theoretical analysis. This book focuses on the different steps involved in the conception, implementation and application of EDAs that use Markov networks, and undirected models in general. It can serve as a general introduction to EDAs but covers also an important current void in the study of these algorithms by explaining the specificities and benefits of modeling optimization problems by means of undirected probabilistic models. All major developments to date in the progressive introduction of Markov networks based EDAs are reviewed in the book. Hot current research trends and future perspectives in the enhancement and applicability of EDAs are also covered. The contributions included in the book address topics as relevant as the application of probabilistic-based fitness models, the use of belief propagation algorithms in EDAs and the application of Markov network based EDAs to real-world optimization problems. The book should be of interest to researchers and practitioners from areas such as optimization, evolutionary computation, and machine learning.




Exploitation of Linkage Learning in Evolutionary Algorithms


Book Description

One major branch of enhancing the performance of evolutionary algorithms is the exploitation of linkage learning. This monograph aims to capture the recent progress of linkage learning, by compiling a series of focused technical chapters to keep abreast of the developments and trends in the area of linkage. In evolutionary algorithms, linkage models the relation between decision variables with the genetic linkage observed in biological systems, and linkage learning connects computational optimization methodologies and natural evolution mechanisms. Exploitation of linkage learning can enable us to design better evolutionary algorithms as well as to potentially gain insight into biological systems. Linkage learning has the potential to become one of the dominant aspects of evolutionary algorithms; research in this area can potentially yield promising results in addressing the scalability issues.




Swarm, Evolutionary, and Memetic Computing


Book Description

The two-volume set LNCS 8297 and LNCS 8298 constitutes the proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Swarm, Evolutionary and Memetic Computing, SEMCCO 2013, held in Chennai, India, in December 2013. The total of 123 papers presented in this volume was carefully reviewed and selected for inclusion in the proceedings. They cover cutting-edge research on swarm, evolutionary and memetic computing, neural and fuzzy computing and its application.




Knowledge Incorporation in Evolutionary Computation


Book Description

Incorporation of a priori knowledge, such as expert knowledge, meta-heuristics and human preferences, as well as domain knowledge acquired during evolu tionary search, into evolutionary algorithms has received increasing interest in the recent years. It has been shown from various motivations that knowl edge incorporation into evolutionary search is able to significantly improve search efficiency. However, results on knowledge incorporation in evolution ary computation have been scattered in a wide range of research areas and a systematic handling of this important topic in evolutionary computation still lacks. This edited book is a first attempt to put together the state-of-art and re cent advances on knowledge incorporation in evolutionary computation within a unified framework. Existing methods for knowledge incorporation are di vided into the following five categories according to the functionality of the incorporated knowledge in the evolutionary algorithms. 1. Knowledge incorporation in representation, population initialization, - combination and mutation. 2. Knowledge incorporation in selection and reproduction. 3. Knowledge incorporation in fitness evaluations. 4. Knowledge incorporation through life-time learning and human-computer interactions. 5. Incorporation of human preferences in multi-objective evolutionary com putation. The intended readers of this book are graduate students, researchers and practitioners in all fields of science and engineering who are interested in evolutionary computation. The book is divided into six parts. Part I contains one introductory chapter titled "A selected introduction to evolutionary computation" by Yao, which presents a concise but insightful introduction to evolutionary computation.




Computational Intelligence in Bioinformatics


Book Description

Combining biology, computer science, mathematics, and statistics, the field of bioinformatics has become a hot new discipline with profound impacts on all aspects of biology and industrial application. Now, Computational Intelligence in Bioinformatics offers an introduction to the topic, covering the most relevant and popular CI methods, while also encouraging the implementation of these methods to readers' research.




Evolutionary Computation in Data Mining


Book Description

Data mining (DM) consists of extracting interesting knowledge from re- world, large & complex data sets; and is the core step of a broader process, called the knowledge discovery from databases (KDD) process. In addition to the DM step, which actually extracts knowledge from data, the KDD process includes several preprocessing (or data preparation) and post-processing (or knowledge refinement) steps. The goal of data preprocessing methods is to transform the data to facilitate the application of a (or several) given DM algorithm(s), whereas the goal of knowledge refinement methods is to validate and refine discovered knowledge. Ideally, discovered knowledge should be not only accurate, but also comprehensible and interesting to the user. The total process is highly computation intensive. The idea of automatically discovering knowledge from databases is a very attractive and challenging task, both for academia and for industry. Hence, there has been a growing interest in data mining in several AI-related areas, including evolutionary algorithms (EAs). The main motivation for applying EAs to KDD tasks is that they are robust and adaptive search methods, which perform a global search in the space of candidate solutions (for instance, rules or another form of knowledge representation).




Parallel Problem Solving from Nature - PPSN X


Book Description

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Parallel Problem Solving from Nature, PPSN 2008, held in Dortmund, Germany, in September 2008. The 114 revised full papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 206 submissions. The conference covers a wide range of topics, such as evolutionary computation, quantum computation, molecular computation, neural computation, artificial life, swarm intelligence, artificial ant systems, artificial immune systems, self-organizing systems, emergent behaviors, and applications to real-world problems. The paper are organized in topical sections on formal theory, new techniques, experimental analysis, multiobjective optimization, hybrid methods, and applications.




Evolutionary Computation in Practice


Book Description

This book is loaded with examples in which computer scientists and engineers have used evolutionary computation - programs that mimic natural evolution - to solve many real-world problems. They aren’t abstract, mathematically intensive papers, but accounts of solving important problems, including tips from the authors on how to avoid common pitfalls, maximize the effectiveness and efficiency of the search process, and many other practical suggestions.




Natural Computing for Simulation and Knowledge Discovery


Book Description

Nature has long provided the inspiration for a variety of scientific discoveries in engineering, biomedicine, and computing, though only recently have these elements of nature been used directly in computational systems. Natural Computing for Simulation and Knowledge Discovery investigates the latest developments in nature-influenced technologies. Within its pages, readers will find an in-depth analysis of such advances as cryptographic solutions based on cell division, the creation and manipulation of biological computers, and particle swarm optimization techniques. Scientists, practitioners, and students in fields such as computing, mathematics, and molecular science will make use of this essential reference to explore current trends in natural computation and advance nature-inspired technologies to the next generation.