Background on genetic algorithms, LISP, and genetic programming hierarchical problem-solving introduction to automatically-defined functions - the two-boxes problem problems that straddle the breakeven point for computational effort Boolean parity functions determining the architecture of the program the lawnmower problem the bumblebee problem the increasing benefits of ADFs as problems are scaled up finding an impulse response function artificial ant on the San Mateo trail obstacle-avoiding robot the minesweeper problem automatic discovery of detectors for letter recognition flushes and four-of-a-kinds in a pinochle deck introduction to biochemistry and molecular biology prediction of transmembrane domains in proteins prediction of omega loops in proteins lookahead version of the transmembrane problem evolutionary selection of the architecture of the program evolution of primitives and sufficiency evolutionary selection of terminals evolution of closure simultaneous evolution of architecture, primitive functions, terminals, sufficiency, and closure the role of representation and the lens effect Appendices: list of special symbols list of special functions list of type fonts default parameters computer implementation annotated bibliography of genetic programming electronic mailing list and public repository

Genetic Programming: On the Programming of Computers by Means of Natural Selection

How do we design a self-organizing system? Is it possible to validate and control non-deterministic dynamics? What is the right balance between the emergent patterns that bring robustness, adaptability and scalability, and the traditional need for verification and validation of the outcomes? The last several decades have seen much progress from original ideas of emergent functionality and design for emergence, to sophisticated mathematical formalisms of guided self-organization. And yet the main challenge remains, attracting the best scientific and engineering expertise to this elusive problem. This book presents state-of-the-practice of successfully engineered self-organizing systems, and examines ways to balance design and self-organization in the context of applications. As demonstrated in this second edition of Advances in Applied Self-Organizing Systems, finding this balance helps to deal with practical challenges as diverse as navigation of microscopic robots within blood vessels, self-monitoring aerospace vehicles, collective and modular robotics adapted for autonomous reconnaissance and surveillance, self-managing grids and multiprocessor scheduling, data visualization and self-modifying digital and analog circuitry, intrusion detection in computer networks, reconstruction of hydro-physical fields, traffic management, immunocomputing and nature-inspired computation. Many algorithms proposed and discussed in this volume are biologically inspired, and the reader will also gain an insight into cellular automata, genetic algorithms, artificial immune systems, snake-like locomotion, ant foraging, birds flocking, neuromorphic circuits, amongst others. Demonstrating the practical relevance and applicability of self-organization, Advances in Applied Self-Organizing Systems will be an invaluable tool for advanced students and researchers in a wide range of fields.

Advances in Applied Self-organizing Systems

The world of finance is an exciting and challenging environment. Recent years have seen an explosion in the application of computational intelligence methodologies in finance. In this article we provide an overview of some of these applications concentrating on those employing an evolutionary computation approach.

An Introduction to Evolutionary Computation in Finance

The grammar in the grammar-based Genetic Programming (GP) approach of Grammatical Evolution (GE) is explored. The GE algorithm solves problems by using a grammar representation and an automated and parallel trial-and-error approach, Evolutionary Computation (EC). The search for solutions in EC is driven by evaluating each solution, selecting the fittest and replacing these into a population of solutions which are modified to further guide the search. Representations have a strong impact on the efficiency of search and by using a generative grammar domain knowledge is encoded into the population of solutions. The grammar in GE biases the search for solutions, and in combination with a linear representation this is what distinguishes GE from other GP-systems. After a review of grammars in EC and a description of GE, several different constructions of grammars and operators for manipulating the grammars and the evolutionary algorithm are studied. The thesis goes on to study a meta-grammar GE, which allows a larger grammar with different bias. By adopting a divide-and-conquer strategy the goal is to investigate how a modular GE approach solves problems of increasing size and in dynamically changing environments. The results show some benefit from using meta-grammars in GE, for the meta-grammar Genetic Algorithm (mGGA) and they re-emphasize the grammar’s impact on GE’s performance. In addition, GE and meta-grammars are more formally described. The bias, both declarative and search, arising from the use of a Context-Free Grammar representation and the constraints of GE and the mGGA are analyzed and their implications are examined. This is done by studying the effects of the mapping and operations on the input, single and multiple changes in input, as well as the preservation of output after a change. Furthermore, a matrix view of a grammar and different suggestions for measurements of grammars are investigated, in order to allow the practitioner to get an alternative view of the mapping process and of how operations work.

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An Exploration of Grammars in Grammatical Evolution

In this work we propose an approach for incorporating learning probabilistic context-sensitive grammar (LPCSG) in genetic programming (GP), employed for evolution and adaptation of locomotion gaits of a simulated snake-like robot (Snakebot). Our approach is derived from the original context-free grammar which usually expresses the syntax of genetic programs in canonical GP. Empirically obtained results verify that employing LPCSG contributes to the improvement of computational effort of both (i) the evolution of the fastest possible locomotion gaits for various fitness conditions and (ii) adaptation of these locomotion gaits to challenging environment and degraded mechanical abilities of the Snakebot.

Genetic programming incorporating biased mutation for evolution and adaptation of Snakebot

High-level syntactically-based representations pose problems for applying the GA because it is hard to construct crossover operators that always result in legal offspring. This paper proposes a reformulation of the genetic algorithm that makes it appropriate to any representation that can be cast in a formal grammar. This reformulation is consistent with recent reinterpretations of GA foundations in set-theoretic terms, and concentrates on the modifications required to make the space of legal structures closed under the crossover operator. The analysis places no restriction on the form of the grammars.

Hendrik James Antonisse

Papers

A Grammar-Based Genetic Algorithm