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In this era of intelligence, the learning methods of learners have substantially changed. Many learners choose to learn through online education platforms. Although learners may enjoy more high-quality educational resources, when they are faced with an abundance of resource information, they are prone to become lost in knowledge, among other problems. To solve this problem, a multi-algorithm collaborative, personalized, learning path recommendation model is proposed to provide learning guidance for learners of online learning platforms. First, the learner model is constructed from four perspectives: cognitive level, learning ability, learning style, and learning intensity. Second, the association rule algorithm is employed to generate a sequence of knowledge points and to plan the learning sequence of knowledge points for learners. Last, the swarm intelligence algorithm is utilized to ensure that each knowledge point is matched with personalized learning resources with a higher degree of adaptability so that learners can learn using a more targeted approach. The experimental results show that the research results of this paper can, to a certain extent, recommend ideal learning paths to target users, effectively improve the accuracy of recommended resources, and thus improve the learning quality and learning effect of users. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Artificial Bee Colony algorithm (ABC) is a swarm intelligence algorithm inspired by honey bee harvesting behavior. It boasts the benefits of minimal parameters and strong exploration capabilities. However, the ABC algorithm is still susceptible to local optima entrapment and lacks consideration of selection probability in the onlooker bee phase, leading to reduced convergence accuracy in later search stages. To address these issues, this paper introduces an enhanced ABC algorithm called Hierarchical Learning-based Artificial Bee Colony (HLABC). Initially, a hierarchical learning approach is devised, dividing the entire population into distinct layers based on solution quality. In this hierarchical approach, bees at lower layers can access much better advantageous information from higher layers. Secondly, the exploitation ability of onlooker bees is enhanced through novel strategies designed based on hierarchical learning. Thirdly, the exploration ability of scout bees is strengthened by implementing an opposition-based learning method. To evaluate the performance of the proposed algorithm, 69 benchmark functions from four benchmark suites (CEC2005, CEC2010, CEC2013 and CEC2022) are used to test the performance of HLABC, along with five variants of the ABC algorithm, The experimental statistical results show that the HLABC algorithm outperforms the ABC algorithm on all test problems with an average winning rate of 89%. Furthermore, to validate the performance of the HLABC algorithm in real-world optimization problems, this paper applies the HLABC algorithm to two practical applications: the deployment of wireless sensor networks (WSNs), the power scheduling problem in a smart home (PSPSH) and the multi-thresholding image segmentation (MIS). The experimental and statistical results demonstrate that HLABC is an efficient and stable optimizer. It shows better or comparable performance compared to other ABC variants when considering the quality of solutions for a suite of benchmark problems and real-world optimization problems. These findings affirm the effectiveness and versatility of the HLABC algorithm in addressing both theoretical and practical optimization challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Campus basketball culture is gradually affecting students' sports spirit and sports accomplishment. As for the evaluation of basketball teaching achievements, the method of specified items is generally used for testing, which is highly subjective. It's completely teacher-led, and teachers make relevant evaluations of students' basketball behavior. Teachers can't be absolutely fair and just in the evaluation, because teacher evaluation can be affected by many factors, such as teachers' mood on that day, teachers' affection for students, and so on, the traditional way of teacher basketball evaluation is easy to cause negative emotional impact on some students, so that students have negative emotions on basketball activities, and even affect their sports quality, and finally affect their health. Based on the evaluation method of basketball teaching, this paper introduced a reliability intelligent evaluation model based on swarm intelligence and edge computing and used this model to evaluate students' performance in basketball teaching classes. Moreover, this paper designed a related experiment, the experimental results showed that boys and girls in basketball level gap was more obvious. As far as dribbling skills were concerned, the highest score of boy A was 91 points, while the lowest score of girl C was 54 points. The gap was quite large. At the same time, the introduction results of the reliability intelligent evaluation model were studied by using the questionnaire survey method. As can be seen from the results of the questionnaire, the number of people who are very interested in basketball teaching activities is obviously high, and the number of people who are still not interested in the six activities is no more than 2. Through the change data of students' interests and attitudes, it was proved that the reliability intelligent evaluation model could improve the students' enthusiasm for learning basketball courses, thus improving their sports quality. This study provided a reference value for the application of swarm intelligence and edge computing in the intelligent evaluation model of basketball teaching reliability, and provided a direction for the future development of basketball teaching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goal of any well‐established deregulated power sector is to satisfy their customer by delivering the power with maintaining the best quality at a reasonable price. This paper presents the impression of the wind farm (WF) and compressed air energy storage (CAES) hybrid systems in the congested deregulated power system. The main motto of this work is to enhance social welfare by using a market‐clearing mechanism of the WFCAES hybrid system. To determine the effect of the hybrid system, initially the market‐clearing power (MCPO) problem is measured without considering the WF‐CAES hybrid system, and then the same work has been carried out with considering the WF‐CAES hybrid system. The bus sensitivity factor (BSF) decides the optimal position of the WF‐CAES hybrid system in the congested day‐ahead electrical system. The study is followed out through generator sensitivity factor (GSF) with the application of artificial bee colony algorithm (ABC) and slime mould algorithm (SMA) to calculate optimal market clearing price (MCP) and market clearing volume (MCV). The market‐clearing power problem has been solved in a modified IEEE‐30 bus test system. The SMA algorithm is been implemented in the market‐clearing mechanism for the first time which is the novelty of this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Software defects are problems in software that destroy normal operation ability and reflect the quality of the software. Software fault can be predicted by the software reliability model. In this paper, the hybrid algorithm is applied to parameter estimation in software defect prediction. As a biological heuristic algorithm, BAS (Beetle Antennae Search Algorithm) has fast convergence speed and is easy to implement. ABC (Artificial Bee Colony Algorithm) is better in optimization and has strong robustness. In this paper, the BAS-ABC hybrid algorithm is proposed by mixing the two algorithms and the goal of the proposed method is to improve the convergence and stability of the algorithm. Five datasets were used to carry out the experiments, and the data results showed that the hybrid algorithm was more accurate than the single algorithm, with stronger convergence and stability, so it was more suitable for parameter estimation of the software reliability model. Meanwhile, this paper implemented the comparison between hybrid BAS + ABC and hybrid PSO + SSA, and the result shows that BAS + ABC has better performance both in convergence and stability. The comparison result shows the strong ability in estimation and prediction of software defects hybrid BAS and ABC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In existing meta-heuristic algorithms, population initialization forms a huge part towards problem optimization. These calculations can impact variety and combination to locate a productive ideal arrangement. Especially, for perceiving the significance of variety and intermingling, different specialists have attempted to improve the presentation of meta-heuristic algorithms. Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithm is a populace-based, shrewd stochastic inquiry strategy that is motivated by the inherent honey bee swarm food search mechanism. Population initialization is an indispensable factor in the PSO algorithm. To improve the variety and combination factors, rather than applying the irregular circulation for the introduction of the populace, semi-arbitrary successions are more helpful. This examination presents a thorough overview of the different PSO initialization approaches which are dependent on semi-arbitrary successions systems. In this precise review, the best in class in the populace instatement is uncovered. The procedures are classified by utilizing a theoretical model that parts the cycle of populace introduction into two phases: that is, right now expressly or certainly utilized for reinstatement in every single present approach. The deliberate investigation unveils the potential examination zones of populace introduction and, furthermore, research holes, despite the fact that the fundamental center is to give the headings to future upgrade and advancement around there. This paper gives a deliberate study identified with this calculated model for the cutting edge of exploration, which is talked about in the predefined writing to date. The study is envisioned to be useful in examining the PSO algorithm in detail for the specialist. Likewise, the paper finds the proficiency of numerous quasi-random sequences (QRS) based on initialization approaches by looking at their exhibition analyzed for sixteen notable benchmark test problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The world's increasing dependence on computer‐assisted education systems has raised significant challenges about student assessment methods, such as automated test design. The exam questions should test the students' potential from various aspects, such as their intellectual and cognitive levels, which can be defined as attributes of the questions to assess student knowledge. Test design is challenging when various question attributes, such as category, learning outcomes, difficulty, and so forth, are considered with the exam constraints, such as exam difficulty and duration. In this paper, four contributions are provided to overcome test design challenges for the student assessment. First, a tool is developed to generate a synthetic question pool. Second, an objective function is designed based on the considered attributes. Third, the popular swarm and evolutionary optimization methods, namely particle swarm optimization, genetic algorithm, artificial bee colony, differential search algorithm are comparatively studied with novel methodologies applied to them. Finally, as the state of the art methods, artificial bee colony, and differential search algorithm are further modified to improve the solution of the test design. To perform the proposed algorithms, a dataset of 1000 questions is built with the proposed question attributes of the test design. Algorithms are evaluated in terms of their successes in both minimizing the objective function and running time. Additionally, Friedman's test and Wilcoxon rank‐sum statistical tests are applied to statistically compare the algorithms' performances. The results show that the improved artificial bee colony and the improved differential search provide better results than others in terms of optimization error and running time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the processing of panoramic video, projection mapping is a very critical step. The selection of the projection mapping format will affect the performance, transmission mode, and rendering mode of the panoramic video codec. Therefore, this article starts from the projection mapping format, analyzes the mapping process of the standard mapping format, and then proposes a method of rendering panoramic video in the projection mapping format. By analyzing the parallel design schemes of swarm intelligence algorithms under different granularities, this paper proposes a parallel swarm intelligence optimization algorithm design method and then designs and implements a parallel artificial bee colony algorithm. With the help of the ArcGIS Engine development platform, this paper defines the interface for data exchange. With the support of Multipatch format data in ArcGIS software, through secondary development, the three-dimensional pipeline automatic modeling module is established, and the pipeline model is automatically generated. The digital construction and visualization of the company play a driving role. Based on the understanding of the characteristics of the pipeline image itself, combined with the analysis of the shortcomings of the existing methods, this paper proposes a new deep learning-based high-definition rendering solution for the pipeline image. In this paper, the pipeline image is preprocessed, and then the processed pipeline image is converted into a style pipeline image through the pipeline image style transfer technology, and the obtained style pipeline image is postprocessed to enhance the effect. The preprocessing of pipeline images mainly includes pipeline image enhancement and pipeline image filtering operations. Its purpose is to change the distribution of pipeline images to improve the quality of pipeline images and make them more suitable for subsequent style conversion. In the part of pipeline image style conversion, this paper proposes a new deep learning-based pipeline image high-definition rendering network, which consists of three subnetworks: pipeline image feature modeling module, feature model alignment module, and pipeline image re-rendering module. This article has conducted sufficient experiments to fully compare the processing results of the method proposed in this article and other existing methods and at the same time shows the high-quality high-definition rendering results. The experimental results verify the excellent performance of the method proposed in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bat algorithm is an effective swarm intelligence optimization algorithm which is widely used to solve continuous optimization problems. But it still has some limitations in search process and can't solve discrete optimization problems directly. Therefore, this paper introduces an unordered pair and proposes an unordered pair bat algorithm (UPBA) to make it more suitable for solving symmetric discrete traveling salesman problems. To verify the effectiveness of this method, the algorithm has been tested on 23 symmetric benchmarks and compared its performance with other algorithms. The results have shown that the proposed UPBA outperforms all the other alternatives significantly in most cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The traffic flow forecasting proposed for a series of problems, such as urban road congestion and unreasonable road planning, aims to build a new smart city, improve urban infrastructure, and alleviate road congestion. The problems encountered in traffic flow forecasting are also relatively difficult; the reason is that traffic flow forecasting is uncertain, dynamic, and nonlinear. It is challenging to build a reliable and safe model. Aiming at this complex and nonlinear traffic flow forecasting problem, this paper proposes a solution of an ABC-ELM model optimized by an artificial bee colony algorithm to solve the above problem. It uses the characteristics of the artificial bee colony algorithm to optimize the model so that the model can better and faster find the optimal solution in space. Moreover, it also uses the characteristics of the limit learning machine to quickly deal with this nonlinear specific problem. Experimental results on the Amsterdam road traffic flow dataset show that the traffic flow prediction model proposed in this paper has higher prediction accuracy and is more sensitive to data changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Baghdad Science Journal is the property of Republic of Iraq Ministry of Higher Education & Scientific Research (MOHESR) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The firefly algorithm (FA) is a meta-heuristic swarm intelligence optimization algorithm. It simulates the social behavior of fireflies with their flash and attraction characteristics. Numerous researches showed that FA can successfully deal with some problems. However, too many attractions between the fireflies may result in high computational complexity, slow convergence, low solution accuracy and poor algorithm stability. To overcome these issues, this paper proposes an enhanced firefly algorithm with dual-population topology coevolution (DPTCFA). In DPTCFA, to maintain population diversity, a dual-population topology coevolution mechanism consisting of the scale-free and ring network topology is proposed. The scale-free network topology structure conforms to the distribution law between the optimal and potential individuals, and the ring network topology effectively reduces the attractions, and thereby has a low computational complexity. The Gauss map strategy is introduced in the scale-free network topology population to lower parameter sensitivity, and in the ring network topology population, a new distance strategy based on dimension difference is adopted to speed up the convergence. This paper improves a diversity neighborhood enhanced search strategy for firefly position update to increase the solution quality. In order to balance the exploration and exploitation, a staged balance mechanism is designed to enhance the algorithm stability. Finally, the performance of the proposed algorithm is verified via several well-known benchmark functions. Experiment results show that DPTCFA can efficiently improve the existing problems of FA to obtain better solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The artificial bee colony (ABC) algorithm is a biomimetic optimization algorithm based on the intelligent foraging behavior of a bee colony. It has obvious advantages in dealing with complex nonlinear optimization problems. However, the random neighborhood search leads to the ABC algorithm being good at exploration but neglected in exploitation. Therefore, a modified artificial bee colony algorithm (MABC) is proposed in this paper. The modified artificial bee colony algorithm is applied to the thinned optimization of large multiple concentric circular antenna arrays. The aim is to make the thinned array obtain the narrow beam pattern with the best peak sidelobe level (PSLL) in the vertical plane. The elements in the concentric circular antenna arrays are uniformly excited and isotropic. Two different cases have been considered in this study for thinning of concentric circular antenna arrays using MABC, one with fixed uniform interelement spacing and another with optimum uniform interelement spacing. In both the cases, the thinning percentage of the array is kept equal to or more than 50%. Simulation results of the proposed thinned arrays are compared with a fully populated array to illustrate the effectiveness of our proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The optimization process is applied to the machining operations in order to provide continual improvement in accuracy and quality of produced parts. The effects of machining parameters in milling operations, such as spindle speed, depth of cut and feed rate are investigated in order to minimize the surface roughness as well as the time of machining process. The effective machining parameters, such as depth of cut, feed rate and spindle speed in turning operations are investigated to minimize the surface roughness as well as the time of machining process. Also, machining parameters, such as peak current, gap voltage, duty cycle and pulse on time in Electro Discharge Machining (EDM) operations can be optimized in order to obtain the optimized material removal rate, tool wear, and surface roughness in part production process. To improve material removal rate, surface roughness, and spark gap in part production process using the wire EDM operations, machining parameters, such as spark on time, spark off time, input current are studied and optimized. To calculate optimized machining parameters, different optimization methods, such as Taguchi method, fuzzy logic algorithm, artificial intelligence, genetic algorithm, artificial neural networks, artificial bee colony algorithm, ant colony optimization and harmony search algorithm are used. As a result, time and cost of accurate production can be reduced to increase productivity in part production process using machining operations. In this paper, a review of machining parameter optimization is presented and future research works are also suggested. The main aim of the study is to review the challenges and limitations of the optimization techniques used in optimizing machining parameters. It has been observed that the research field can be moved forward by reviewing and analyzing recent achievements in the published papers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Featured Application: The algorithm proposed in this paper can be widely used in many fields, such as combinatorial optimization, parameter tuning, path planning, etc. The beetle antennae search (BAS) algorithm is an outstanding representative of swarm intelligence algorithms. However, the BAS algorithm still suffers from the deficiency of not being able to handle high-dimensional variables. A quantum-based beetle swarm optimization algorithm (QBSO) is proposed herein to address this deficiency. In order to maintain population diversity and improve the avoidance of falling into local optimal solutions, a novel quantum representation-based position updating strategy is designed. The current best solution is regarded as a linear superposition of two probabilistic states: positive and deceptive. An increase in or reset of the probability of the positive state is performed through a quantum rotation gate to maintain the local and global search ability. Finally, a variable search step strategy is adopted to speed up the ability of the convergence. The QBSO algorithm is verified against several swarm intelligence optimization algorithms, and the results show that the QBSO algorithm still has satisfactory performance at a very small population size. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A multi-swarm-evolutionary structure based on the parasitic relationship in the biosphere is proposed in this paper and, according to the conception, the Para-PSO-ABC algorithm (ParaPA), combined with merits of the modified particle swarm optimization (MPSO) and artificial bee colony algorithm (ABC), is conducted with the multimodal routing strategy to enhance the safety and the cost issue for the mobile robot path planning problem. The evolution is divided into three stages, where the first is the independent evolutionary stage, with the same evolution strategies for each swarm. The second is the fusion stage, in which individuals are evolved hierarchically in the parasitism structure. Finally, in the interaction stage, a multi-swarm-elite strategy is used to filter the information through a predefined cross function among swarms. Meanwhile, the segment obstacle-avoiding strategy is proposed to accelerate the searching speed with two fitness functions. The best path is selected according to the performance on the safety and consumption issues. The introduced algorithm is examined with different obstacle allocations and simulated in the real routing environment compared with some typical algorithms. The results verify the productiveness of the parasitism-relation-based structure and the stage-based evolution strategy in path planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper enlightens the use of artificial intelligence (AI) for distribution of fresh foods by searching more viable route to keep intact the food attributes. In recent years, very hard-hitting competition is for food industries because of the individuals living standards and their responsiveness for fresh food products demand within stipulated time period. Food industry deals with the extensive kind of activities such as food processing, food packaging and distribution, and instrumentation and control. To meet market demand, customer satisfaction, and maintaining its own brand and ranking on global scale, artificial intelligence can play a vibrant role in decision-making by providing analytical solutions with adjusting available resources. Therefore, by integrating innovative technologies for fresh food distribution, potential benefits have been increased, and simultaneously risk associated with the food quality is reduced. Time is a major factor upon which food quality depends; hence, time required to complete the task must be minimized, and it is achieved by reducing the distance travelled; so, path optimization is the key for the overall task. Swarm intelligence (SI) is a subfield of artificial intelligence and consists of many algorithms. SI is a branch of nature-inspired algorithm, having a capability of global search, and gives optimized solution for real-time problems adaptive in nature. An artificial bee colony (ABC) optimization and cuckoo search (CS) algorithm also come into the category of SI algorithm. Researchers have implemented ABC algorithm and CS algorithm to optimize the distribution route for fresh food delivery in time window along with considering other factors: fixed number of delivery vehicles and fixed cost and fuel by covering all service locations. Results show that this research provides an efficient approach, i.e., artificial bee colony algorithm for fresh food distribution in time window without penalty and food quality loss. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Meta-heuristic algorithms are one of the well-known methods to solve optimization problems, especially NP-hard problems. These algorithms are mainly developed based on the behavior of the organisms in nature or human behavior. One type of the meta-heuristic algorithm in solving optimization problems is swarm intelligence algorithms which are modeled based on swarm behaviors. In this paper, we focus on the behavior of a sort of bees, bombus-terrestris bee. These bees show several intelligent behaviors, such as finding food, encouraging other cloned bees to find food, learning from other bees to find food, and caring for the queen. Inspired by bombus-terrestris bee behaviors, we introduce an algorithm to solve different kinds of optimization problems, unimodal and multimodal. We mainly focus on solving the feature selection problem based on the binary version of the proposed algorithm. Experimental results show that our proposed method performs better than other meta-heuristic algorithms, such as gray wolf optimization algorithm, Grasshopper optimization algorithm, spotted hyena optimization algorithm, and Harris Hawks Optimizer (HHO), Black Widow Optimization Algorithm (BWO), Artificial bee colony (ABC) algorithm, and Water Strider Algorithm (WSA). We further apply the proposed algorithm on different problems to show the efficiency of the algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The gravitational search algorithm is a global optimization algorithm that has the advantages of a swarm intelligence algorithm. Compared with traditional algorithms, the performance in terms of global search and convergence is relatively good, but the solution is not always accurate, and the algorithm has difficulty jumping out of locally optimal solutions. In view of these shortcomings, an improved gravitational search algorithm based on an adaptive strategy is proposed. The algorithm uses the adaptive strategy to improve the updating methods for the distance between particles, gravitational constant, and position in the gravitational search model. This strengthens the information interaction between particles in the group and improves the exploration and exploitation capacity of the algorithm. In this paper, 13 classical single-peak and multi-peak test functions were selected for simulation performance tests, and the CEC2017 benchmark function was used for a comparison test. The test results show that the improved gravitational search algorithm can address the tendency of the original algorithm to fall into local extrema and significantly improve both the solution accuracy and the ability to find the globally optimal solution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Garden balsam optimization (GBO) is a new proposed evolutionary algorithm based on swarm intelligence. Convergence and time complexity analyses are very important in evolutionary computation, but the research on GBO is still blank. Same as other evolutionary algorithms, the optimization process of the GBO algorithm can be regarded as a Markov process. In this paper, a Markov stochastic model of the GBO algorithm is defined and used to prove the convergence of GBO algorithm. Finally, the approximation region of the estimated convergence time of GBO algorithm is calculated, which characterizes the evolution of the evolutionary process of the proposed algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Artificial bee colony (ABC) algorithm was proposed by mimicking the cooperative foraging behaviors of bees. As a member of swarm intelligence algorithms, ABC has some advantages in handling optimization problems. However, it has the exploration capacity over the exploitation capacity, which may lead to slow convergence speed and lower solution accuracy. Hence, to enhance the performance of the algorithm, a novel ABC based on Bayesian estimation (BEABC) is presented in this paper. First, instead of using the fitness ratio, the selection probability in ABC is replaced with a new probability calculated by Bayesian estimation. Second, to help the bees adopt more useful information during updating new food sources, a directional guidance mechanism is designed for onlooker bees and scout bees. Finally, the comprehensive performance of BEABC is evaluated by 24 single-objective test functions. The numerical experiment results indicate that BEABC dominates its peers over most test functions, and the significant statistics show that the significant excellence rate of BEABC is 76 % in the overall comparison. In addition, to further test the performance of BEABC, seven multi-objective problems and two real-word optimization problems are solved. The comparison results show that BEABC can achieve better results than other EA competitors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sparse arrays with low cost and engineering complexity are widely applied in many fields. However, the high peak sidelobe level (PSLL) of a sparse array causes the degradation of weak target detection performance. Particularly for the large size of underwater low-frequency sensors, the design problem requires a minimum spacing constraint, which further increases the difficulty of PSLL suppression. In this paper, a novel swarm-intelligence-based approach for sparse sensor array design is proposed to reduce PSLL under spacing constrains. First, a global enhancement whale optimization algorithm (GEWOA) is introduced to improve the global search capability for optimal arrays. A three-step enhanced strategy is used to enhance the ergodicity of element positions over the aperture. In order to solve the adaptation problem for discrete array design, a position decomposition method and a V-shaped transfer function are introduced into off-grid and on-grid arrays, respectively. The effectiveness and superiority of the proposed approach is validated using experiments for designing large-scale low-frequency arrays in the marine environment. The PSLL of the off-grid array obtained by GEWOA was nearly 3.8 dB lower than that of WOA. In addition, compared with other intelligent algorithms, the on-grid array designed using GEWOA had the lowest PSLL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Frontiers of Computer Science & Technology is the property of Beijing Journal of Computer Engineering & Applications Journal Co Ltd. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

A thermoelectric generation (TEG) system has the weakness of relatively low thermoelectric conversion efficiency caused by heterogeneous temperature distribution (HgTD). Dynamic reconfiguration is an effective technique to improve its overall energy efficiency under HgTD. Nevertheless, numerous combinations of electrical switches make dynamic reconfiguration a complex combinatorial optimization problem. This paper aims to design a novel adaptive coordinated seeker (ACS) based on an optimal configuration strategy for large-scale TEG systems with series–parallel connected modules under HgTDs. To properly balance global exploration and local exploitation, ACS is based on 'divide-and-conquer' parallel computing, which synthetically coordinates the local searching capability of tabu search (TS) and the global searching capability of a pelican optimization algorithm (POA) during iterations. In addition, an equivalent re-optimization strategy for a reconfiguration solution obtained by meta-heuristic algorithms (MhAs) is proposed to reduce redundant switching actions caused by the randomness of MhAs. Two case studies are carried out to assess the feasibility and superiority of ACS in comparison with the artificial bee colony algorithm, ant colony optimization, genetic algorithm, particle swarm optimization, simulated annealing algorithm, TS, and POA. Simulation results indicate that ACS can realize fast and stable dynamic reconfiguration of a TEG system under HgTDs. In addition, RTLAB platform-based hardware-in-the-loop experiments are carried out to further validate the hardware implementation feasibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays, the vehicle routing problem is one of the most important combinational optimization problems and it has received much attention because of its real application in industrial and service-related contexts. It is considered an important topic in the logistics industry and in the field of operations research. This paper focuses on the comparison between two metaheuristics namely the Genetic Algorithm (GA) and the Discrete Artificial Bee Colony (DABC) algorithm in order to solve the vehicle routing problem with a capacity constraint. In the first step, an initial population with good solutions is created, and in the second step, the routing problem is solved by employing the genetic algorithm which incorporates genetic operators and the discrete artificial bee colony algorithm which incorporates neighbourhood operators which are used for improving the obtained solutions. Experimental tests were performed on a set of 14 instances from the literature in the case of which the related number of customers ranges typically from 50 to 200, in order to assess the effectiveness of the two employed approaches. The computational results showed that the DABC algorithm obtained good solutions and a lower computational time in comparison with the GA algorithm. They also indicated that the DABC outperformed the state-of-the-art algorithms in the context of vehicle routing for certain instances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hybridized algorithms are commonly employed to improve the performance of any existing method. However, an optimal learning algorithm composed of evolutionary and swarm intelligence can radically improve the quality of the final neuron states and has not received creative attention yet. Considering this issue, this paper presents a novel metaheuristics algorithm combined with several objectives—introduced as the Hybrid Election Algorithm (HEA)—with great results in solving optimization and combinatorial problems over a binary search space. The core and underpinning ideas of this proposed HEA are inspired by socio-political phenomena, consisting of creative and powerful mechanisms to achieve the optimal result. A non-systematic logical structure can find a better phenomenon in the study of logic programming. In this regard, a non-systematic structure known as Random k Satisfiability (RANkSAT) with higher-order is hosted here to overcome the interpretability and dissimilarity compared to a systematic, logical structure in a Discrete Hopfield Neural Network (DHNN). The novelty of this study is to introduce a new multi-objective Hybrid Election Algorithm that achieves the highest fitness value and can boost the storage capacity of DHNN along with a diversified logical structure embedded with RANkSAT representation. To attain such goals, the proposed algorithm tested four different types of algorithms, such as evolutionary types (Genetic Algorithm (GA)), swarm intelligence types (Artificial Bee Colony algorithm), population-based (traditional Election Algorithm (EA)) and the Exhaustive Search (ES) model. To check the performance of the proposed HEA model, several performance metrics, such as training–testing, energy, similarity analysis and statistical analysis, such as the Friedman test with convergence analysis, have been examined and analyzed. Based on the experimental and statistical results, the proposed HEA model outperformed all the mentioned four models in this research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Bacterial Foraging Algorithm (BFOA) is a well-known swarm collective intelligence algorithm used to solve a variety of constraint optimization problems with wide success. Despite its universality, implementing the BFOA may be complex due to the calibration of multiple parameters. Moreover, the Two-Swim Modified Bacterial Foraging Optimization Algorithm (TS-MBFOA) is a state-of-the-art modification of the BFOA which may lead to solutions close to the optimal but with more parameters than the original BFOA. That is why in this paper we present the design using the Unified Modeling Language (UML) and the implementation in the MATLAB platform of a front-end for the TS-MBFOA algorithm to calibrate the algorithm parameters faster and with no need for editing lines of code. To test our proposal, we solve a numerical optimization problem with constraints known as tension/compression spring, where 30 independent executions were conducted using the TS-MBFOA and then compared with an earlier version called MBFOA. The runtime configuration and the parameter tuning were fluent using our front-end, and the TS-MBFOA obtained the better results. To date, there is no other user-friendly implementation of this specific algorithm in an open-source code, and the front-end is flexible enough to include other numerical optimization problems with minimal effort. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Feature selection is an essential step of preprocessing in Machine Learning (ML) algorithms that can significantly impact the performance of ML models. It is considered one of the most crucial phases of automated ML (AutoML). Feature selection aims to find the optimal subset of features and remove the noninformative features from the dataset. Feature selection also reduces the computational time and makes the data more understandable to the learning model. There are various heuristic search strategies to address combinatorial optimization challenges. This paper develops an Automated Artificial Bee Colony-based algorithm for Feature Selection (A2BCF) to solve a classification problem. The application domain evaluating our proposed algorithm is education science, which solves a binary classification problem, namely, undergraduate student success. The modifications made to the original Artificial Bee Colony algorithm make the algorithm a well-performed approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Dung beetle optimization algorithm is a kind of group intelligence optimization algorithm proposed by Jiankai Xue in 2022, which has the characteristics of strong optimization-seeking ability and fast convergence but suffers from the defect of easily falling into local optimum at the late stage of optimization-seeking as other group intelligence optimization algorithms. To address this problem, this paper proposes a dung beetle search algorithm (QHDBO) based on quantum computing and a multi-strategy hybrid. The good point set strategy is used to initialize the initial population of dung beetles. That makes the initial population more evenly distributed, and reduces the likelihood of the algorithm falling into a local optimum solution. The convergence factor and dynamic balance between the number of Spawning and foraging dung beetles is proposed. That allows the algorithm to focus on the global search in the early stages and local exploration in the later stages. The quantum computing based t-distribution variation strategy is used to variate the optimal global solution, that prevents the algorithm from falling into a local optimum. To verify the performance of the QHDBO algorithm, this paper compares QHDBO with six other swarm intelligence algorithms through 37 test functions and practical engineering application problems. The experimental results show that the improved dung beetle optimization algorithm significantly improves convergence speed and optimization accuracy and has good robustness. • Good point set strategy for initializing populations. • Multi-strategy fusion balancing pre-global exploration and post-local search. • Quantum computing interferes with t-distribution variation strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The artificial bee colony (ABC) intelligence algorithm is widely applied to solve multi-variable function optimization problems. In order to accurately identify the parameters of the surface-mounted permanent magnet synchronous motor (SPMSM), this paper proposes an improved ABC optimization method based on vector control to solve the multi-parameter identification problem of the PMSM. Because of the shortcomings of the existing parameter identification algorithms, such as high computational complexity and data saturation, the ABC algorithm is applied for the multi-parameter identification of the PMSM for the first time. In order to further improve the search speed of the ABC algorithm and avoid falling into the local optimum, Euclidean distance is introduced into the ABC algorithm to search more efficiently in the feasible region. Applying the improved algorithm to multi-parameter identification of the PMSM, this method only needs to sample the stator current and voltage signals of the motor. Combined with the fitness function, the online identification of the PMSM can be achieved. The simulation and experimental results show that the ABC algorithm can quickly identify the motor stator resistance, inductance and flux linkage. In addition, the ABC algorithm improved by Euclidean distance has faster convergence speed and smaller steady-state error for the identification results of stator resistance, inductance and flux linkage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The most crucial function in drilling wells is the rate of penetration, which is modeled by many researchers, and the best one is Young-Bourgyen model, which is used in this study. Eight factors affecting rate of penetration have been studied and approved in developing a mathematical equation that shows the combined effects of these variables on rate of penetration optimization. This paper presents an efficient way to find the optimum values for parameters of the Young-Bourgyen model using metaheuristic algorithms. An actual drilling data was used from Khangiran field to calculate the difference between the actual penetration rate and the predicted one by different optimization algorithms. Particle swarm optimization, dynamic differential annealing optimization, artificial bee colony, gray wolf optimization, Harris hawk's optimization, flower pollination algorithm, firefly algorithm, whale optimization algorithm, and sine cosine algorithm are used to find best possible solution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To reduce the effect of non-linearity in air gap control in active magnetic bearings (AMB). The PID controller for the AMB is proposed in this study, which is optimized with a reformative artificial bee colony (RABC) algorithm. The RABC algorithm balances the exploitation and exploration capabilities of the ABC algorithm by introducing globally optimal solutions and improved food source probabilities. Simulation with six benchmark functions validates the proposed algorithm, and the results reveal that the RABC algorithm has higher search accuracy and faster search speed than previous ABC algorithm versions. The experimental results show that RABC-PID outperforms the other four approaches and has greater robustness when compared to traditional PID, PSO-PID, DE-PID, and GA-PID. Meanwhile, the RABC-PID controller makes the AMB system more stable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nearest neighbor (NN) is a simple machine learning algorithm, which is often used in classification problems. In this paper, a concept of modified nearest neighbor (MNN) is proposed to strengthen the optimization capability of artificial bee colony (ABC) algorithm. The new approach is called ABC based on modified nearest neighbor sequence (NNSABC). Firstly, MNN is used to construct solution sequences. Unlike the original roulette selection, NNSABC randomly chooses a solution from the corresponding nearest neighbor sequence to generate offspring. Then, two novel search strategies based on the modified nearest neighbor sequence are employed to build a strategy pool. In the optimization process, different search strategies are dynamically chosen from the strategy pool according to the current search status. In order to study the optimization capability of NNSABC, two benchmark sets including 22 classical problems and 28 CEC 2013 complex problems are tested. Experimental results show NNSABC obtains competitive performance when compared with twenty-three other ABCs and evolutionary algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The artificial bee colony optimization (ABC) algorithm operates efficiently and converges well but still suffers from the problem of easily falling into local optimum, and there is room for improving the convergence speed. For this reason, this paper proposes a dynamic mechanism-assisted ABC algorithm (EABC), which contains a dynamic approximation strategy for the optimal solution and a periodic variable food source number strategy. The dynamic approximation of the optimal solution strategy improves the swarm position update formulation and increases the pre-convergence speed of the ABC algorithm. Utilizing a periodic variable food source number scheme allows for more rapid algorithm convergence while simultaneously producing higher variability and diminishing the chances of the algorithm becoming trapped in local optima. In addition, this paper proposes a multi-threshold image segmentation (MTIS) model for COVID-19 X-ray chest images based on EABC. In this paper, the optimization performance of EABC is verified on the benchmark function of IEEE CEC 2017. The effectiveness of the EABC-based MTIS model is also validated on COVID-19 X-ray chest images. • Propose a dynamic mechanical-assisted ABC, EABC, based on two new strategies. • An EABC-based NLM 2D histogram multi-threshold image segmentation method is proposed. • The EABC improves the convergence speed and accuracy of the standard algorithm. • The segmentation effect is verified by analyzing the quality evaluation index results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Clustering is a fundamental data analysis task that presents challenges. Choosing proper initialization centroid techniques is critical to the success of clustering algorithms, such as k-means. The current work investigates six established methods (random, Forgy, k-means++, PCA, hierarchical clustering, and naive sharding) and three innovative swarm intelligence-based approaches--Spider Monkey Optimization (SMO), Whale Optimization Algorithm (WOA) and Grey Wolf Optimizer (GWO)--for k-means clustering (SMOKM, WOAKM, and GWOKM). The results on ten well-known datasets strongly favor swarm intelligence-based techniques, with SMOKM consistently outperforming WOAKM and GWOKM. This finding provides critical insights into selecting and evaluating centroid techniques in k-means clustering. The current work is valuable because it provides guidance for those seeking optimal solutions for clustering diverse datasets. Swarm intelligence, especially SMOKM, effectively generates distinct and well-separated clusters, which is valuable in resource-constrained settings. The research also sheds light on the performance of traditional methods such as hierarchical clustering, PCA, and k-means++, which, while promising for specific datasets, consistently underperform swarm intelligence-based alternatives. In conclusion, the current work contributes essential insights into selecting and evaluating initialization centroid techniques for k-means clustering. It highlights the superiority of swarm intelligence, particularly SMOKM, and provides actionable guidance for addressing various clustering challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A fuzzy cloud resource scheduling model with time-cost constraints is built using fuzzy triangular numbers to represent uncertain task execution time. Task scheduling reduces total time and cost spent on a project. It connects virtual machines and functions. Particle swarm optimization (HPO) is used to plan cloud resources (HSOA). The approach uses orthogonal particle swarm initialization to increase the quality of the initial particle exploration, rerandomization to regulate the particle search range, and real-time updating of inertia weights to control particle speed. The suggested problem model and optimization approach are evaluated using random simulation data provided by the CloudSim simulation platform. Less overall execution time and a lower cost are shown to have fast convergence and solution capabilities in experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effectiveness of software test data relates to the number of found faults by the test data. Software mutation test is used to evaluate the effectiveness of the software test methods and is one of the challenging fields of software engineering. In order to evaluate the capability of test data in finding the program faults, some syntactical changes are made in the program source code to cause faulty program; then, the generated mutants (faulty programs) and original program are executing with the corresponding test data. One of the main drawbacks of mutation testing is its computational cost. Indeed, high execution time of mutation testing is a challenging research problem. Reducing the time and cost of mutation test is the main objective of this paper. In the traditional mutation methods and tools the mutants are injected randomly in each instructions of a program. Meanwhile, in the real-world program, the probability of fault occurrences in the simple locations (instructions and data) of a program is negligible. With respect to the 80–20 rule, 80% of the faults are found in 20% of the fault-prone code of a program. In the first stage of the proposed method, Artificial Bee Colony optimization algorithm is used to identifying the most fault prone paths of a program; in the next stage, the mutation operators (faults) are injected only on the identified fault-prone instructions and data. Regarding the results of conducted experiments on the standard benchmark programs, Compared to existing methods, the proposed method reduces 28.10% of the generated mutants. Reducing the number of generated mutants will reduce the cost of mutation testing. The traditional mutation testing tools (Mujava, Muclipse, Jester, Jumble) can perform the mutation testing with a lower cost using the method presented in this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Edge detection techniques are the one of the best popular and significant implementation areas of the image processing. Moreover, image processing is very widely used in so many fields. Therefore, lots of methods are used in the development and the developed studies provide a variety of solutions to problems of computer vision systems. In many studies, metaheuristic algorithms have been used for obtaining better results. In this paper, aerial images are used for edge information extraction by using Artificial Bee Colony (ABC) Optimization Algorithm. Procedures were performed on gray scale aerial images which are taken from RADIUS/DARPA-IU Fort Hood database. Initially bee colony size was specified according to sizes of images. Then a threshold value was set for each image, which related with images' standard deviation of gray scale values. After the bees were distributed, fitness values and probability values were computed according to gray scale value. While appropriate pixels were specified, the other ones were being abandoned and labeled as banned pixels therefore bees never located on these pixels again. So the edges were found without the need to examine all pixels in the image. Our improved method's results are compared with other results found in the literature according to detection error and similarity calculations'. All the experimental results show that ABC can be used for obtaining edge information from images. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dragonfly algorithm is a swarm intelligence optimization algorithm based on simulating the swarming behavior of dragonfly individuals. An efficient algorithm must have a symmetry of information between the participating entities. An improved dragonfly algorithm is proposed in this paper to further improve the global searching ability and the convergence speed of DA. The improved DA is named GGBDA, which adds Gaussian mutation and Gaussian barebone on the basis of DA. Gaussian mutation can randomly update the individual positions to avoid the algorithm falling into a local optimal solution. Gaussian barebone can quicken the convergent speed and strengthen local exploitation capacities. Enhancing algorithm efficiency relative to the symmetric concept is a critical challenge in the field of engineering design. To verify the superiorities of GGBDA, this paper sets 30 benchmark functions, which are taken from CEC2014 and 4 engineering design problems to compare GGBDA with other algorithms. The experimental result show that the Gaussian mutation and Gaussian barebone can effectively improve the performance of DA. The proposed GGBDA, similar to the DA, presents improvements in global optimization competence, search accuracy, and convergence performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At present, artificial bee colony algorithm (ABC) is one of the hot issues in swarm intelligence algorithm. Since it was proposed, people have done a lot of improvement work for ABC algorithm. To address the shortcomings of ABC, an improved ABC guided by experience (named as EABC) is proposed in this paper. In EABC, it collects the experience of individual improvement caused by dimension change in the iterative process, and selects the dimensions to change according to a ratio when a new position needs to be generated. In this way, the individual can choose a good direction to improve its quality. Numerical experiments show that EABC has a better performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Artificial bee colony (ABC) algorithm has shown good performance on many optimization problems. However, these problems mainly focus on single-objective and ordinary multi-objective optimization problems (MOPs). For many-objective optimization problems (MaOPs), ABC encounters some difficulties. The selection pressure based on Pareto-dominance degrades severely. It is hard to balance convergence and population diversity. To help ABC solve MaOPs, this paper proposes an improved two-archive many-objective ABC (called MaOABC-TA) algorithm. Inspired by the improved two-archive (Two_Arch2) method, MaOABC-TA uses two archives namely convergence archive (CA) and diversity archive (DA) to promote convergence and diversity. Based on CA and DA, three different search strategies are designed to strengthen convergence or diversity in different search stages. In addition, a new probability selection strategy is proposed to choose solutions with good diversity. To verify the performance of MaOABC-TA, it is compared with 10 many-objective evolutionary algorithms (MaOEAs) and 3 many-objective ABCs on DTLZ and MaF benchmark sets with 3, 5, 8, and 15 objectives. Two performance indicators including inverted generational distance (IGD) and hypervolume (HV) and utilized. Experimental results show that MaOABC-TA is more competitive than the compared algorithms in term of the IGD and HV values. • Two archives namely convergence archive (CA) and diversity archive (DA) are introduced into ABC. • Based on CA and DA, different search strategies are designed to enhance convergence or diversity. • A new probability selection strategy is proposed to choose solutions with good diversity. • Our approach is compared with 10 popular MaOEAs and 3 many-objective ABCs on two benchmarks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Path planning is crucial for unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) to navigate and avoid obstacles efficiently. This study evaluates and contrasts various USV path-planning algorithms, focusing on their effectiveness in dynamic obstacle avoidance, resistance to water currents, and path smoothness. Meanwhile, this research introduces a novel collective intelligence algorithm tailored for two-dimensional environments, integrating dynamic obstacle avoidance and smooth path optimization. The approach tackles the global-path-planning challenge, specifically accounting for moving obstacles and current influences. The algorithm adeptly combines strategies for dynamic obstacle circumvention with an eight-directional current resistance approach, ensuring locally optimal paths that minimize the impact of currents on navigation. Additionally, advanced artificial bee colony algorithms were used during the research process to enhance the method and improve the smoothness of the generated path. Simulation results have verified the superiority of the algorithm in improving the quality of USV path planning. Compared with traditional bee colony algorithms, the improved algorithm increased the length of the optimization path by 8%, shortened the optimization time by 50%, and achieved almost 100% avoidance of dynamic obstacles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The problems of constructing routes in complex networks by many sales agents are considered. Formalization leads to pseudo-Boolean discrete optimization problems with constraints that take into account the specifics of route construction. The sparsity of the constraint matrix permits one to apply decomposition approaches and network clustering. The development of approximate algorithms for selecting routes in complex networks involves taking into account the properties of the network structure, its complexity, the presence of restrictions, regulations, reachability conditions, and the number of sales agents. It is shown that the solution of routing problems can be based on the application of a multiagent approach in combination with clustering (decomposition) of the original problem and metaheuristics. Multiagent systems with swarm intelligence are used to solve complex discrete optimization problems that cannot efficiently be solved by classical algorithms. The agent model for a complex network of a problem of the many traveling salesmen type becomes an intelligent system that defines heuristic algorithms for finding the optimal solution by reactive agents (that follow the rules laid down in them). We use and describe in detail the composition of the algorithms, which have proven themselves well in computational experiments; those are a modification of the genetic algorithm, ant colony optimization, artificial bee colony algorithm, and simulated annealing. A generalized algorithm is proposed and implemented in which a simpler network (a flyover network) is matched to the source network. Here a numerical experiment was carried out for the problem of routing on a GIS map for urban infrastructure. Clustering algorithms are implemented in which the initially traversed routes are refined using 2-opt algorithms, simulated annealing, and other metaheuristics. A comparison of the algorithms used and an illustration of their operation are given. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Artificial Bee Colony (ABC) algorithm is a meta-heuristic algorithm, is inspired by the bee's food search behaviour based on swarm intelligence. Successful applications were performed on many optimization problems using this algorithm rising in popularity over the past few years. The update mechanism of the ABC algorithm, despite the fact that its exploration is good, faces the problem of convergence performance. For solving convergence problem of ABC Algorithm An Artificial Bee Colony Algorithm Based Fitness Weighted Search (ABCFWS) algorithm proposed in this paper. In this approach, an intelligent search space is proposed instead of the random search space of the ABC algorithm. In this method, the fitness values of the food source and the selected neighbour food source are taken as weights and a more balanced search space was found in the direction of the food source with better fitness value. The proposed method has been applied to 28 unconstrained numerical optimization test problems with different characteristics and the results were compared with the ABC algorithm variations. The results show that the proposed method is successful and competitive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Online education has gained increasing importance in recent years due to its flexibility and ability to cater to a diverse range of learners. The COVID-19 pandemic has further emphasized the significance of online education as a means to ensure continuous learning during crisis situations. With the disruption of traditional in-person exams, online examinations have become the new norm for universities worldwide. Among the popular formats for online tests are multiple-choice questions, which are drawn from a large question bank. However, creating online tests often involves meeting specific requirements, such as minimizing the overlap between exams, grouping related questions, and determining the desired difficulty level. The manual selection of questions from a sizable question bank while adhering to numerous constraints can be a laborious task. Additionally, traditional search methods that evaluate all possible solutions are impractical and time-consuming for such a complex problem. Consequently, approximate methods like metaheuristics are commonly employed to achieve satisfactory solutions within a reasonable timeframe. This research proposes the application of the Bees Algorithm (BA), a popular metaheuristic algorithm, to address the problem of generating online exams. The proposed solution entails creating multiple exam forms that align with the desired difficulty level specified by the educator, while considering other identified constraints. Through extensive testing and comparison with four rival methods, the BA demonstrates superior performance in achieving the primary objective of matching the desired difficulty level in most test cases, as required by the educator. Furthermore, the algorithm exhibits robustness, indicated by minimal standard deviation across all experiments, which suggests its ability to generalize, adapt, and be practically applicable in real-world scenarios. However, the algorithm does have limitations related to the number of successful solutions and the achieved overlap percentage. These limitations have also been thoroughly discussed and highlighted in this research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neural networks have been widely used as compensational models for aircraft control designs and as surrogate models for other optimizations. In the case of tiltrotor aircraft, the total number of aircraft states and controls is much greater than that of both traditional fixed-wings and helicopters. This requires, in general, a huge amount of training data for the network to reach a satisfactory approximation precision and makes the network size rise considerably. To solve the practical problem of reducing the size of the approximating network, efforts have to be made in the efficient utilization of the limited amount of training data. This work presents the methodology of optimizing the sample pattern of the training data set by adopting the metaheuristic algorithm of the particle swarm optimizer improved by the fourth-order Runge–Kutta algorithm. A 6-degree-of-freedom nonlinear flight dynamics model of the tiltrotor aircraft is derived, along with its approximation radial basis function neural network. An example case of approximating a highly nonlinear function is studied to illustrate the principle and main parameters of the optimizer, and the approximation performance of the time-domain response of the unstable nonlinear system is revealed by the study of a Van der Pol oscillator. Then, the presented method is applied to the modeled tiltrotor aircraft for its early and late conversion modes. The optimization scheme shows great improvement in both cases, as the function approximation error is reduced significantly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The artificial bee colony algorithm (ABC) struggles in handling complex optimization problems with high dimensions in light of its search operators' strong exploration and weak exploitation properties. To tackle this situation, in this study, we propose a bi-preference linkage-driven ABC algorithm with multi-operator fusion, named BPLABC. BPLABC couples a preference-free stochastic search operator with a global best-guided search operator in the employed bee phase to maintain the population diversity while enhancing the population quality. During the onlooker bee phase, a tailored bi-type elite-guided exploitation mechanism is employed to regulate the exploitation intensity of the promising elite nectar sources selected via a new roulette selection probability calculation paradigm. To discourage the onlooker bees from slipping into local traps, after the scout bee phase, an auxiliary adversarial search operator is assembled to tug certain promising elite solutions away from the present pseudo-global best solution. To illustrate the effectiveness and efficiency of BPLABC, two sets of test suits consisting of 23 benchmark problems, 30 complex CEC2014 functions, and two real-world problems are picked for testing. Experimental results showed that BPLABC can achieve superior or equivalent performance to several representative ABC variants on the majority of the tested problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper introduces a new approach to enhance optimization algorithms when solving the piecewise linearization problem of a given function. Eight swarm intelligence algorithms were selected to be experimentally compared. The problem is represented by the calculation of the distance between the original function and the estimation from the piecewise linear function. Here, the piecewise linearization of 2D functions is studied. Each of the employed swarm intelligence algorithms is enhanced by a newly proposed automatic detection of the number of piecewise linear parts that determine the discretization points to calculate the distance between the original and piecewise linear function. The original algorithms and their enhanced variants are compared on several examples of piecewise linearization problems. The results show that the enhanced approach performs sufficiently better when it creates a very promising approximation of functions. Moreover, the degree of precision is slightly decreased by the focus on the speed of the optimization process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Optimization is an important and fundamental challenge to solve optimization problems in different scientific disciplines. In this paper, a new stochastic nature-inspired optimization algorithm called Pelican Optimization Algorithm (POA) is introduced. The main idea in designing the proposed POA is simulation of the natural behavior of pelicans during hunting. In POA, search agents are pelicans that search for food sources. The mathematical model of the POA is presented for use in solving optimization issues. The performance of POA is evaluated on twenty-three objective functions of different unimodal and multimodal types. The optimization results of unimodal functions show the high exploitation ability of POA to approach the optimal solution while the optimization results of multimodal functions indicate the high ability of POA exploration to find the main optimal area of the search space. Moreover, four engineering design issues are employed for estimating the efficacy of the POA in optimizing real-world applications. The findings of POA are compared with eight well-known metaheuristic algorithms to assess its competence in optimization. The simulation results and their analysis show that POA has a better and more competitive performance via striking a proportional balance between exploration and exploitation compared to eight competitor algorithms in providing optimal solutions for optimization problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In many flexible job shop scheduling problems, transportation scheduling problems are involved, increasing the difficulty in problem-solving. Here, a novel artificial Physarum polycephalum colony algorithm is proposed to help us address this problem. First, the flexible job shop scheduling problem with transportation constraints is modeled as a state transition diagram and a multi-objective function, where there are ten states in total for state transition, and the multi-objective function considers the makespan, average processing waiting time, and average transportation waiting time. Second, a novel artificial Physarum polycephalum colony algorithm is designed herein with two main operations: expansion and contraction. In the expansion operation, each mycelium can cross with any other mycelia and generate more offspring mycelia, of which each includes multiple pieces of parental information, so the population expands to more than twice its original size. In the contraction operation, a fast grouping section algorithm is designed to randomly group all mycelia according to the original population size, where each group selects the best fitness one to survive, but the other mycelia are absorbed to disappear, so the population size recovers to the original size. After multiple iterations, the proposed algorithm can find the optimal solution to the flexible job shop scheduling problem. Third, a series of computational experiments are conducted on several benchmark instances, and a selection of mainstream algorithms is employed for comparison. These experiments revealed that the proposed method outperformed many state-of-the-art algorithms and is very promising in helping us to solve these complex problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]