Lianbo Ma

Bio: Lianbo Ma is an academic researcher from Northeastern University (China). The author has contributed to research in topics: Computer science & Evolutionary algorithm. The author has an hindex of 17, co-authored 60 publications receiving 751 citations. Previous affiliations of Lianbo Ma include Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Enhancing Learning Efficiency of Brain Storm Optimization via Orthogonal Learning Design

Abstract: In brain storm optimization (BSO), the convergent operation utilizes a clustering strategy to group the population into multiple clusters, and the divergent operation uses this cluster information to generate new individuals. However, this mechanism is inefficient to regulate the exploration and exploitation search. This article first analyzes the main factors that influence the performance of BSO and then proposes an orthogonal learning framework to improve its learning mechanism. In this framework, two orthogonal design (OD) engines (i.e., exploration OD engine and exploitation OD engine) are introduced to discover and utilize useful search experiences for performance improvements. In addition, a pool of auxiliary transmission vectors with different features is maintained and their biases are also balanced by the OD decision mechanism. Finally, the proposed algorithm is verified on a set of benchmarks and is adopted to resolve the quantitative association rule mining problem considering the support, confidence, comprehensibility, and netconf. The experimental results show that the proposed approach is very powerful in optimizing complex functions. It not only outperforms previous versions of the BSO algorithm but also outperforms several famous OD-based algorithms.

An Adaptive Localized Decision Variable Analysis Approach to Large-Scale Multiobjective and Many-Objective Optimization.

Abstract: This article proposes an adaptive localized decision variable analysis approach under the decomposition-based framework to solve the large-scale multiobjective and many-objective optimization problems (MaOPs). Its main idea is to incorporate the guidance of reference vectors into the control variable analysis and optimize the decision variables using an adaptive strategy. Especially, in the control variable analysis, for each search direction, the convergence relevance degree of each decision variable is measured by a projection-based detection method. In the decision variable optimization, the grouped decision variables are optimized with an adaptive scalarization strategy, which is able to adaptively balance the convergence and diversity of the solutions in the objective space. The proposed algorithm is evaluated with a suite of test problems with 2-10 objectives and 200-1000 variables. Experimental results validate the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed algorithm on the large-scale multiobjective and MaOPs.

TCDA: Truthful Combinatorial Double Auctions for Mobile Edge Computing in Industrial Internet of Things

Abstract: Mobile edge computing (MEC) emerges as an appealing paradigm to provide time-sensitive computing services for industrial Internet of things (IIoT) applications. How to guarantee truthfulness and budget-balance under locality constraints is an important issue to the allocation and pricing design of the MEC system. In this paper, we propose a truthful combinatorial double auction mechanism, which integrates the padding concept and the efficient pricing strategy to guarantee desirable properties in constrained MEC environments. This mechanism takes into account the locality characteristics of the MEC systems, where mobile devices (MDs) only offload tasks to edge servers (ESs) in the proximity with various requirements, and ESs only serve their neighboring MDs with limited resources. To be specific, for allocation, a linear programming (LP)-based padding method is used to obtain the near-optimal solution in the polynomial time. For pricing, a critical-value-based pricing strategy and a VCG-based pricing strategy are designed for MDs and ESs to achieve truthfulness and budget-balance. Our theoretical analysis confirms that TCDA is able to hold a set of desirable economic properties, including truthfulness, individual rationality, and budget-balance. Furthermore, simulation results validate the theoretical analysis, and verify the effectiveness and efficiency of TCDA.

Two-Level Master–Slave RFID Networks Planning via Hybrid Multiobjective Artificial Bee Colony Optimizer

Abstract: Radio frequency identification (RFID) networks planning (RNP) is a challenging task on how to deploy RFID readers under certain constraints. Existing RNP models are usually derived from the flat and centralized-processing framework identified by vertical integration within a set of objectives which couple different types of control variables. This paper proposes a two-level RNP model based on the hierarchical decoupling principle to reduce computational complexity, in which the cost-efficient planning at the top levels is modeled with a set of discrete control variables (i.e., switch states of readers), and the quality of service objectives at the bottom level are modeled with a set of continuous control variables (i.e., physical coordinate and radiate power). The model of the objectives at the two levels is essentially a multiobjective problem. In order to optimize this model, this paper proposes a specific multiobjective artificial bee colony optimizer called H-MOABC, which is based on performance indicators with reinforcement learning and orthogonal Latin squares approach. The proposed algorithm proves to be competitive in dealing with two-objective and three-objective optimization problems in comparison with state-of-the-art algorithms. In the experiments, H-MOABC is employed to solve the two scalable real-world RNP instances in the hierarchical decoupling manner. Computational results shows that the proposed H-MOABC is very effective and efficient in RFID networks optimization.

Metaheuristic research: a comprehensive survey

Abstract: Because of successful implementations and high intensity, metaheuristic research has been extensively reported in literature, which covers algorithms, applications, comparisons, and analysis. Though, little has been evidenced on insightful analysis of metaheuristic performance issues, and it is still a “black box” that why certain metaheuristics perform better on specific optimization problems and not as good on others. The performance related analyses performed on algorithms are mostly quantitative via performance validation metrics like mean error, standard deviation, and co-relations have been used. Moreover, the performance tests are often performed on specific benchmark functions—few studies are those which involve real data from scientific or engineering optimization problems. In order to draw a comprehensive picture of metaheuristic research, this paper performs a survey of metaheuristic research in literature which consists of 1222 publications from year 1983 to 2016 (33 years). Based on the collected evidence, this paper addresses four dimensions of metaheuristic research: introduction of new algorithms, modifications and hybrids, comparisons and analysis, and research gaps and future directions. The objective is to highlight potential open questions and critical issues raised in literature. The work provides guidance for future research to be conducted more meaningfully that can serve for the good of this area of research.

A survey of swarm intelligence for dynamic optimization: Algorithms and applications

Abstract: Swarm intelligence (SI) algorithms, including ant colony optimization, particle swarm optimization, bee-inspired algorithms, bacterial foraging optimization, firefly algorithms, fish swarm optimization and many more, have been proven to be good methods to address difficult optimization problems under stationary environments. Most SI algorithms have been developed to address stationary optimization problems and hence, they can converge on the (near-) optimum solution efficiently. However, many real-world problems have a dynamic environment that changes over time. For such dynamic optimization problems (DOPs), it is difficult for a conventional SI algorithm to track the changing optimum once the algorithm has converged on a solution. In the last two decades, there has been a growing interest of addressing DOPs using SI algorithms due to their adaptation capabilities. This paper presents a broad review on SI dynamic optimization (SIDO) focused on several classes of problems, such as discrete, continuous, constrained, multi-objective and classification problems, and real-world applications. In addition, this paper focuses on the enhancement strategies integrated in SI algorithms to address dynamic changes, the performance measurements and benchmark generators used in SIDO. Finally, some considerations about future directions in the subject are given.

Coyote Optimization Algorithm: A New Metaheuristic for Global Optimization Problems

Abstract: The behavior of natural phenomena has become one of the most popular sources for researchers to design optimization algorithms for scientific, computing and engineering fields. As a result, a lot of nature-inspired algorithms have been proposed in the last decades. Due to the numerous issues of the global optimization process, new algorithms are always welcome in this research field. This paper introduces the Coyote Optimization Algorithm (COA), which is a population based metaheuristic for optimization inspired on the canis latrans species. It contributes with a new algorithmic structure and mechanisms for balancing exploration and exploitation. A set of boundary constrained real parameter optimization benchmarks is tested and a comparative study with other nature-inspired metaheuristics is provided to investigate the performance of the COA. Numerical results and non-parametric statistical significance tests indicate that the COA is capable of locating promising solutions and it outperforms other metaheuristics on most tested functions.

Quality Evaluation of Solution Sets in Multiobjective Optimisation: A Survey

Abstract: Complexity and variety of modern multiobjective optimisation problems result in the emergence of numerous search techniques, from traditional mathematical programming to various randomised heuristics. A key issue raised consequently is how to evaluate and compare solution sets generated by these multiobjective search techniques. In this article, we provide a comprehensive review of solution set quality evaluation. Starting with an introduction of basic principles and concepts of set quality evaluation, this article summarises and categorises 100 state-of-the-art quality indicators, with the focus on what quality aspects these indicators reflect. This is accompanied in each category by detailed descriptions of several representative indicators and in-depth analyses of their strengths and weaknesses. Furthermore, issues regarding attributes that indicators possess and properties that indicators are desirable to have are discussed, in the hope of motivating researchers to look into these important issues when designing quality indicators and of encouraging practitioners to bear these issues in mind when selecting/using quality indicators. Finally, future trends and potential research directions in the area are suggested, together with some guidelines on these directions.

Chaotic gravitational constants for the gravitational search algorithm

Abstract: Display Omitted Chaotic maps have been embedded into Gravitational Search Algorithms (GSA) for the first time.The problem of trapping in local minima in GSA has been improved by the chaotic maps.The convergence rate of GSA has been improved.The statistical test allowed us to judge about the significance of the results.An adaptive normalization is proposed to smoothly transit from the exploration phase to the exploitation phase. In a population-based meta-heuristic, the search process is divided into two main phases: exploration versus exploitation. In the exploration phase, a random behavior is fruitful to explore the search space as extensive as possible. In contrast, a fast exploitation toward the promising regions is the main objective of the latter phase. It is really challenging to find a proper balance between these two phases because of the stochastic nature of population-based meta-heuristic algorithms. The literature shows that chaotic maps are able to improve both phases. This work embeds ten chaotic maps into the gravitational constant (G) of the recently proposed population-based meta-heuristic algorithm called Gravitational Search Algorithm (GSA). Also, an adaptive normalization method is proposed to transit from the exploration phase to the exploitation phase smoothly. As case studies, twelve shifted and biased benchmark functions evaluate the performance of the proposed chaos-based GSA algorithms in terms of exploration and exploitation. A statistical test called Wilcoxon rank-sum is done to judge about the significance of the results as well. The results demonstrate that sinusoidal map is the best map for improving the performance of GSA significantly.