Evolutionary multi-task optimization (EMTO) is an emerging research topic in the field of evolutionary computation, which aims to simultaneously optimize several component tasks within a problem and output the best solution for each task. Since EMTO has widespread applications in solving real-world multi-task optimization problems, in recent years, some EMTO algorithms have been proposed. However, most of which are based on the multifactorial evolution framework which has difficulties in independently controlling the optimization of each component task and implementing parallel computing. To tackle this problem and enrich the EMTO algorithms' family, this paper firstly designs a novel EMTO framework inspired by the brainstorming process of human beings when they solve multi-task problems. Under this framework, a novel EMTO algorithm, named as brain storm multi-task optimization (BSMTO), is presented, where the optimization for each component task and the knowledge transfer between different tasks are both implemented by the proposed brainstorming operations. Furthermore, through investigating the knowledge transfer process in the proposed algorithm, an enhanced BSMTO algorithm named as BSMTO-II is further proposed, where the knowledge transfer in each component task can be managed and controlled by our newly designed scheme. Finally, the proposed two algorithms are tested on benchmark problems. Experimental results show that BSMTO-II has a competitive performance compared with both classical and state-of-the-art algorithms. Moreover, the effectiveness of the proposed EMTO framework and the knowledge transfer control scheme is proved through experiments, and the key parameters settings and the algorithmic complexity are also discussed at last.
The pursuit domain, or predator-prey problem is a standard testbed for the study of coordination techniques. In spite that its problem setup is apparently simple, it is challenging for the research of the emerged swarm intelligence. This paper presents a particle swarm optimization (PSO) based cooperative coevolutionary algorithm for the predator robots, called CCPSO-R, where real and virtual robots coexist for the first time in an evolutionary algorithm (EA).Virtual robots sample and explore the vicinity of the corresponding real robot and act as their action spaces, while the real robots consist of the real predators swarm who actually pursue the prey robot without fixed behavior rules under the immediate guidance of the fitness function, which is designed in a modular manner with very limited domain knowledges. In addition, kinematic limits and collision avoidance considerations are integrated into the update rules of robots. Experiments are conducted on a scalable predator robots swarm with 4 types of preys, the statistical results of which show the reliability, generality, and scalability of the proposed CCPSO-R. Finally, the codes of this paper are public availabe at: https://github.com/LijunSun90/pursuitCCPSO R.
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