Search

Novelty Search (NS) is a unique approach towards search and optimization, where an explicit objective function is replaced by a measure of solution novelty. However, NS has been mostly used in evolutionary robotics while its usefulness in classic machine learning problems has not been explored. This work presents a NS-based genetic programming (GP) algorithm for supervised classification. Results show that NS can solve real-world classification tasks, the algorithm is validated on real-world benchmarks for binary and multiclass problems. These results are made possible by using a domain-specific behavior descriptor. Moreover, two new versions of the NS algorithm are proposed, Probabilistic NS (PNS) and a variant of Minimal Criteria NS (MCNS). The former models the behavior of each solution as a random vector and eliminates all of the original NS parameters while reducing the computational overhead of the NS algorithm. The latter uses a standard objective function to constrain and bias the search towards high performance solutions. The paper also discusses the effects of NS on GP search dynamics and code growth. Results show that NS can be used as a realistic alternative for supervised classification, and specifically for binary problems the NS algorithm exhibits an implicit bloat control ability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A controller design methodology for linear continuous-time systems using a state observer is proposed. In particular, the objective is to smooth the discontinuity resulting from a piecewise linear control law previously proposed, which improves the convergence rate of systems under asymmetrically constrained control. The proposed method is based on the use of a non quadratic asymmetrical Lyapunov function. Both full-order observers and minimal order observers are considered to reconstruct the inaccessible state. The speed of convergence of the controlled system and the observer is improved, with smooth control vector components, that respect always the imposed asymmetric constraints. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]