Showing papers by "Christian Blum published in 2013"

The travelling salesman problem with time windows: Adapting algorithms from travel-time to makespan optimization

Abstract: In combinatorial optimization it is not rare to find problems whose mathematical structure is nearly the same, differing only in some aspect related to the motivating application. For example, many problems in machine scheduling and vehicle routing have equivalent formulations and only differ with respect to the optimization objective, or particular constraints. Moreover, while some problems receive a lot of attention from the research community, their close relatives receive hardly any attention at all. Given two closely related problems, it is intuitive that it may be effective to adapt state-of-the-art algorithms-initially introduced for the well-studied problem variant-to the less-studied problem variant. In this paper we provide an example based on the travelling salesman problem with time windows that supports this intuition. In this context, the well-studied problem variant minimizes the travel time, while the less-studied problem variant minimizes the makespan. Indeed, the results show that the algorithms that we adapt from travel-time minimization to makespan minimization significantly outperform the existing state-of-the-art approaches for makespan minimization.

Solving the 2D Bin Packing Problem by Means of a Hybrid Evolutionary Algorithm

Abstract: Combinatorial optimization problems dealing with 2D bin packing find applications, for example, in the context of transporta- tion/warehousing and for the cutting of glass, wood, and metal. In this work we consider the oriented 2D bin packing problem under free guillotine cutting, a problem in which a set of oriented rectangular items is given which must be packed into a minimum number of bins of equal size. Our algorithm proposal to tackle this problem concerns an evolutionary algorithm that makes heavy use of a randomized one-pass heuristic for constructing solutions. The results of the proposed algorithm are compared to some of the best approaches from the literature. This comparison shows that our algorithms is very competitive to state-of-the-art approaches. In particular, the optimal solutions to four previously unsolved instances were found.

Proceedings of the 15th annual conference on Genetic and evolutionary computation

Abstract: It is my pleasure to welcome you to Amsterdam for the 2013 Genetic and Evolutionary Computation Conference (GECCO-2013). This year GECCO is being held in Europe, and we very much hope you enjoy the city of Amsterdam, as well as the many historical and modern places directly reachable from it. We hope to offer you an appealing combination of research and culture worth experiencing. Organizing GECCO has been for me both a pleasure and an honor. A pleasure, because I have been involved in it since 1999: now a long trip, with this incredible community of skilled people and close friends. An honor, since I am having the possibility to give back to the community what I have got from GECCO, personally and in my own research. The high quality, the ideas, and the possibility to interact with GECCO's attendees had a profound impact in my students, my postdocs, and my actual research program. Christian Blum served as the editor-in-chief this year, and did a superb job in maintaining the well-known high quality of this conference. GECCO-2013 accepted 204 full papers for oral presentation out of a total of 570 submitted. This large number of submissions accounts for the world interest in this year's GECCO. But also, it represents an acceptance rate of less than 36%, what tells on the expected quality of the accepted works. I am very thankful to Christian Blum, Leonardo Vanneschi (this year's Proceedings Chair), and all the track chairs for their hard work managing the review, selection, and scheduling process for the scientific papers. Thanks also to Linklings and Sheridan Printing for their assistance with the publication of the proceedings. One of the highlights of every GECCO is the set of free tutorials and free workshops held during the first two days of the conference. I found these to be incredibly helpful when I was still learning about the field, and even now, to keep my knowledge fresh on specialized new trends. Thanks to Gabriela Ochoa for chairing the tutorials and Mike Preuss for chairing the workshops. Guys, you are great. In addition to the main program, there are many other parts that make GECCO a special and meaningful experience. Evert Haasdijk and Peter Bosman served as Local Chairs, and were very helpful with planning our visit to Amsterdam. Xavier Llora did an excellent job of publicity with the help of our webmaster and design consultant, Gerardo Valencia. Daniele Loiacono did a great job as the Competitions Chair and, as Student Chair, Emilia Tantar masterfully oversaw the process of awarding student travel grants. I would also like to thank Thomas Bartz-Beielstein and Joern Mehnen for their role as EC in Practice Chairs.

Beam-ACO for the Repetition-Free Longest Common Subsequence Problem

Abstract: In this paper we propose a Beam-ACO approach for a combinatorial optimization problem known as the repetition-free longest common subsequence problem Given two input sequences \(x\) and \(y\) over a finite alphabet \(\varSigma \), this problem concerns to find a longest common subsequence of \(x\) and \(y\) in which no letter is repeated Beam-ACO algorithms are combinations between the metaheuristic ant colony optimization and a deterministic tree search technique called beam search The algorithm that we present is an adaptation of a previously published Beam-ACO algorithm for the classical longest common subsequence problem The results of the proposed algorithm outperform existing heuristics from the literature

Evolutionary computation in combinatorial optimization : 13th European Conference, EvoCOP 2013, Vienna, Austria, April 3-5, 2013 : proceedings

Abstract: A Hyper-heuristic with a Round Robin Neighbourhood.- A Multiobjective Approach Based on the Law of Gravity and Mass Interactions for Optimizing Networks.- A Multi-objective Feature Selection Approach Based on Binary PSO and Rough Set Theory.- A New Crossover for Solving Constraint Satisfaction Problems.- A Population-Based Strategic Oscillation Algorithm for Linear Ordering Problem with Cumulative Costs.- A Study of Adaptive Perturbation Strategy for Iterated Local Search.- Adaptive MOEA/D for QoS-Based Web Service Composition.- An Analysis of Local Search for the Bi-objective Bidimensional Knapsack Problem.- An Artificial Immune System Based Approach for Solving the Nurse Re-rostering Problem.- Automatic Algorithm Selection for the Quadratic Assignment Problem Using Fitness Landscape Analysis.- Balancing Bicycle Sharing Systems: A Variable Neighborhood Search Approach.- Combinatorial Neighborhood Topology Particle Swarm Optimization Algorithm for the Vehicle Routing Problem.- Dynamic Evolutionary Membrane Algorithm in Dynamic Environments.- From Sequential to Parallel Local Search for SAT.- Generalizing Hyper-heuristics via Apprenticeship Learning.- High-Order Sequence Entropies for Measuring Population Diversity in the Traveling Salesman Problem.- Investigating Monte-Carlo Methods on the Weak Schur Problem.- Multi-objective AI Planning: Comparing Aggregation and Pareto Approaches.- Predicting Genetic Algorithm Performance on the Vehicle Routing Problem Using Information Theoretic Landscape.- Single Line Train Scheduling with ACO.- Solving Clique Covering in Very Large Sparse Random Graphs by a Technique Based on k-Fixed Coloring Tabu Search.- Solving the Virtual Network Mapping Problem with Construction Heuristics, Local Search and Variable Neighborhood Descent.- The Generate-and-Solve Framework Revisited: Generating by Simulated Annealing.

Proceedings of the 15th annual conference companion on Genetic and evolutionary computation

Abstract: It is my pleasure to welcome you to Amsterdam for the 2013 Genetic and Evolutionary Computation Conference (GECCO-2013). This year GECCO is being held in Europe, and we very much hope you enjoy the city of Amsterdam, as well as the many historical and modern places directly reachable from it. We hope to offer you an appealing combination of research and culture worth experiencing. Organizing GECCO has been for me both a pleasure and an honor. A pleasure, because I have been involved in it since 1999: now a long trip, with this incredible community of skilled people and close friends. An honor, since I am having the possibility to give back to the community what I have got from GECCO, personally and in my own research. The high quality, the ideas, and the possibility to interact with GECCO's attendees had a profound impact in my students, my postdocs, and my actual research program. Christian Blum served as the editor-in-chief this year, and did a superb job in maintaining the well-known high quality of this conference. GECCO-2013 accepted 204 full papers for oral presentation out of a total of 570 submitted. This large number of submissions accounts for the world interest in this year's GECCO. But also, it represents an acceptance rate of less than 36%, what tells on the expected quality of the accepted works. I am very thankful to Christian Blum, Leonardo Vanneschi (this year's Proceedings Chair), and all the track chairs for their hard work managing the review, selection, and scheduling process for the scientific papers. Thanks also to Linklings and Sheridan Printing for their assistance with the publication of the proceedings. One of the highlights of every GECCO is the set of free tutorials and free workshops held during the first two days of the conference. I found these to be incredibly helpful when I was still learning about the field, and even now, to keep my knowledge fresh on specialized new trends. Thanks to Gabriela Ochoa for chairing the tutorials and Mike Preuss for chairing the workshops. Guys, you are great. In addition to the main program, there are many other parts that make GECCO a special and meaningful experience. Evert Haasdijk and Peter Bosman served as Local Chairs, and were very helpful with planning our visit to Amsterdam. Xavier Llora did an excellent job of publicity with the help of our webmaster and design consultant, Gerardo Valencia. Daniele Loiacono did a great job as the Competitions Chair and, as Student Chair, Emilia Tantar masterfully oversaw the process of awarding student travel grants. I would also like to thank Thomas Bartz-Beielstein and Joern Mehnen for their role as EC in Practice Chairs.

Application of Large Neighborhood Search to Strategic Supply Chain Management in the Chemical Industry

Abstract: Large neighborhood search is a popular hybrid metaheuristic which results from the use of a complete technique—such as dynamic programming, constraint programming or MIP solvers—for finding the best neighbor within a large neighborhood of the incumbent solution. In this work we present an application of large neighborhood search to a strategic supply chain management problem from the Chemical industry, namely the configuration of a three-echelon hydrogen network for vehicle use with the goal of minimizing the total cost. Traditionally, these large-scale combinatorial optimization problems have been solved by means of mathematical programming techniques. Our experimental results show that large neighborhood search has the potential to be a viable alternative, especially when the complexity of the problem grows.

ANTS 2012 special issue

Abstract: This special issue of the Swarm Intelligence journal is dedicated to the publication of extended versions of the best papers presented atANTS 2014, Ninth International Conference on Swarm Intelligence, which took place in Brussels on September 10–12, 2014. The ANTS series of conferences has taken place at the Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium, every other year since 1998. As in 2010 and in 2012 (for the seventh and eighth editions of the conference), the authors of the contributions accepted as full papers at the conferencewere invited to submit an extended version of their work for possible inclusion in this special issue.