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This article discusses a new paper published in Development that explores the mechanisms behind the growth and shrinkage dynamics of planarians, a type of flatworm. The authors, Jason Ko and Daniel Lobo, investigate how planarians maintain appropriate body proportions as their size changes. They develop a mathematical model to understand the differences between growth and shrinkage and the underlying mechanisms. The study combines experimental data, image analysis, and computational methods to gain insights into the interactions between genetic signals and tissue growth in planarians. The research aims to pave the way for identifying the exact genes and signals that control shape regulation in planarians. [Extracted from the article]

Facial emotion detection systems have witnessed significant advancements, particularly with the utilization of convolutional neural networks (CNNs). This paper provides a thorough survey of such systems, beginning with an introduction to artificial intelligence and the evolutionary trajectory of neural networks, including artificial neural networks (ANNs), recurrent neural networks (RNNs), and CNNs. The paper elaborates on CNNs' architecture and functionality, elucidating key components such as convolutional layers, pooling layers, and fully connected layers, while also spotlighting prominent CNN architectures like AlexNet and ResNet. It delineates the broad scope and diverse applications of facial emotion detection systems across various domains, including marketing research, crowd testing, AI robots, banking, and entertainment. In the literature review section, recent research papers on CNN models for facial expression recognition are synthesized, highlighting variances in datasets, methodologies, and accuracy levels. The paper concludes that CNNs represent the current pinnacle of facial emotion classification techniques, surpassing previous methodologies such as eigenfaces. It underscores the efficacy of deep CNN architectures trained on extensive facial image datasets in proficiently identifying emotions from facial expressions. Moreover, the paper emphasizes the necessity for ongoing endeavors to enhance accuracy, particularly concerning complex emotions like disgust. In essence, CNNs exhibit substantial promise for the development of real-world facial emotion detection systems, heralding a new era of sophisticated emotion recognition technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increased application of Information and Communications Technology in automation and digitization is the driving concept towards the actualization of the Industrial Revolution 4.0. Many aspects of industrial design and operations including offshore engineering have been automated. However, the selection procedure of mooring design parameters including azimuth angle, pretension, diameter, fairlead slope, and mooring radius, which is a critical aspect of mooring system design has remained heavily based on a manual approach despite the availability of sophisticated hydrodynamic analysis software. Up to date, there is no proper review on optimisation techniques that have the potential of automating these procedures. In the past, some of the few available mooring optimisation procedures consider only the mooring lines for the prediction of optimal platform offset without due consideration to the integrity of the risers. Thus, the significance of adopting an integrated riser-mooring design methodology in the optimisation of mooring design variables is discussed in this paper where the integrity of the riser is adequately represented using a Safe Operation (SAFOP) zone polar diagram. We also review the developmental transition from the use of classical to Evolutionary Algorithms (EA) in the optimisation procedure. EA has been acknowledged as a practical alternative for solving mooring optimisation problems. Hence, some of the EA techniques are presented and their computational capabilities explored. In the last part, a concise review of the application of optimisation techniques for mooring optimisation of the different offshore floating platforms is presented based on their capabilities in minimizing platform offset and efficiency in terms of simulation time. So far, EA techniques like the Differential Evolution (DE), variants of Genetic Algorithms (GA) and Particle Swarm Optimisation (PSO) have been used to optimize mooring line design variables. Based on the discussions, the potentials of DE, RegPSO and other variants of PSO can be further explored for better efficiency. • Previous studies addressing differential evolution (DE), genetic algorithm (GE) and particle swarm optimisation (PSO) techniques used for optimisation of mooring parameters have been critically reviewed. • The integrated riser -mooring design methodology is effective in accounting for integrity of riser and mooring systems. • The application of evolutionary algorithms, particularly the variants and hybrids of DE ,PSO and GA, have proven to be efficient optimisation of mooring systems. • Some variants of PSO like the RegPSO have demonstrated improved capability in terms of escaping premature convergence , thereby resulting in better computational efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The flying foxes optimization (FFO) algorithm, as a newly introduced metaheuristic algorithm, is inspired by the survival tactics of flying foxes in heat wave environments. FFO preferentially selects the best-performing individuals. This tendency will cause the newly generated solution to remain closely tied to the candidate optimal in the search area. To address this issue, the paper introduces an opposition-based learning-based search mechanism for FFO algorithm (IFFO). Firstly, this paper introduces niching techniques to improve the survival list method, which not only focuses on the adaptability of individuals but also considers the population's crowding degree to enhance the global search capability. Secondly, an initialization strategy of opposition-based learning is used to perturb the initial population and elevate its quality. Finally, to verify the superiority of the improved search mechanism, IFFO, FFO and the cutting-edge metaheuristic algorithms are compared and analyzed using a set of test functions. The results prove that compared with other algorithms, IFFO is characterized by its rapid convergence, precise results and robust stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Processes or products are typically complex systems with numerous interrelated procedures and interdependent components. This results in complex relationships between responses and input factors, as well as complex nonlinear correlations among multiple responses. If the two types of complex correlations in the quality design cannot be properly dealt with, it will affect the prediction accuracy of the response surface model, as well as the accuracy and reliability of the recommended optimal solutions. In this paper, we combine kernel trick-based kernel principal component analysis, spline-based Bayesian semiparametric additive model, and normal boundary intersection-based evolutionary algorithm to address these two types of complex correlations. The effectiveness of the proposed method in modeling and optimisation is validated through a simulation study and a case study. The results show that the proposed Bayesian semiparametric additive model can better describe the process relationships compared to least squares regression, random forest regression, and support vector basis regression, and the proposed multi-objective optimisation method performs well on several indicators mentioned in the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Artificial intelligence is an enabling technology for autonomous surface vehicles, with methods such as evolutionary algorithms, artificial potential fields, fast marching methods, and many others becoming increasingly popular for solving problems such as path planning and collision avoidance. However, there currently is no unified way to evaluate the performance of different algorithms, for example with regard to safety or risk. This paper is a step in that direction and offers a comparative study of current state-of-the art path planning and collision avoidance algorithms for autonomous surface vehicles. Across 45 selected papers, we compare important performance properties of the proposed algorithms related to the vessel and the environment it is operating in. We also analyse how safety is incorporated, and what components constitute the objective function in these algorithms. Finally, we focus on comparing advantages and limitations of the 45 analysed papers. A key finding is the need for a unified platform for evaluating and comparing the performance of algorithms under a large set of possible real-world scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the power source of the engine, the Fuel Pump(FP) plays a vital role in the safe operation of the aircraft. Due to the complexity of the working mechanism of Aviation Fuel Pumps (AFP) and the strong correlation between the components, the assessment model cannot reflect the health state of the FPs better, while the initial parameters in the assessment model will affect the assessment effect of the model. Therefore, this paper proposes a health status assessment model that can fully integrate monitoring data. To improve the accuracy of the model parameters, the Random Forest algorithm is used to give the feature weights to make up for the limitation of relying on expert knowledge, and the model parameters are optimized by the Covariance Matrix Adaptive Evolutionary Strategy algorithm, which achieves an accurate assessment of the state. Finally, the AFP test bed was built and the AFP was tested. Compared with other methods, the accuracy of the proposed method in this question reaches 96%, which is greatly superior to other methods and verifies the effectiveness of the proposed method. It also provides an outlook on future research directions for health state assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Differential Evolution (DE) is widely recognized as a highly effective evolutionary algorithm for global optimization. It has proven its efficacy in tackling diverse problems across various fields and real-world applications. DE boasts several advantages, such as ease of implementation, reliability, speed, and adaptability. However, DE does have certain limitations, such as suboptimal solution exploitation and challenging parameter tuning. To address these challenges, this research paper introduces a novel algorithm called Enhanced Binary JADE (EBJADE), which combines differential evolution with multi-population and elites regeneration. The primary innovation of this paper lies in the introduction of strategy with enhanced exploitation capabilities. This strategy is based on utilizing the sorting of three vectors from the current generation to perturb the target vector. By introducing directional differences, guiding the search towards improved solutions. Additionally, this study adopts a multi-population method with a rewarding subpopulation to dynamically adjust the allocation of two different mutation strategies. Finally, the paper incorporates the sampling concept of elite individuals from the Estimation of Distribution Algorithm (EDA) to regenerate new solutions through the selection process in DE. Experimental results, using the CEC2014 benchmark tests, demonstrate the strong competitiveness and superior performance of the proposed algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evolutionary multi-objective clustering (EMOC) algorithms have gained popularity recently, as they can obtain a set of clustering solutions in a single run by optimizing multiple objectives. Particularly, in one type of EMOC algorithm, the number of clusters k is taken as one of the multiple objectives to obtain a set of clustering solutions with different k. However, the numbers of clusters k and other objectives are not always in conflict, so it is impossible to obtain the clustering solutions with all different k in a single run. Therefore, evolutionary multi-objective k-clustering (EMO-KC) has recently been proposed to ensure this conflict. However, EMO-KC could not obtain good clustering accuracy on high-dimensional datasets. Moreover, EMO-KC's validity is not ensured as one of its objectives (SSDexp, which is transformed from the sum of squared distances (SSD)) could not be effectively optimized and it could not avoid invalid solutions in its initialization. In this paper, an improved evolutionary multi-objective clustering algorithm based on autoencoder (AE-IEMOKC) is proposed to improve the accuracy and ensure the validity of EMO-KC. The proposed AE-IEMOKC is established by combining an autoencoder with an improved version of EMO-KC (IEMO-KC) for better accuracy, where IEMO-KC is improved based on EMO-KC by proposing a scaling factor to help effectively optimize the objective of SSDexp and introducing a valid initialization to avoid the invalid solutions. Experimental results on several datasets demonstrate the accuracy and validity of AE-IEMOKC. The results of this paper may provide some useful information for other EMOC algorithms to improve accuracy and convergence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides a systematic review of the Genetic Algorithm (GA)s proposed to solve planning and scheduling problems in Engineer-To-Order (ETO) contexts. Our review focuses on how the key characteristics of ETO projects affect both the problem studied and the GA algorithmic features. Typical ETO projects consist of one-of-a-kind products with complex structures and uncertain designs. A deep analysis of the papers published between 2000 and 2022 enables identifying 10 main characteristics of ETO projects, six activity types, 10 decision types, eight groups of constraints, and 10 optimisation objectives. Our study shows that none of the reported papers integrates all 10 ETO characteristics. The less studied ETO characteristics are incorporating design and engineering information in the problem definition and the design uncertainty. Our review also identifies 10 recurrent encoding formats and emphasises the most frequently used genetic operators. We observed that most planning and scheduling problems consider objectives and decisions related to product customisation or supply chain configuration yielding multi-objective problems. Most multi-objective GAs use a weighted sum or are based on NSGAII. Diversity maintenance methods, adaptive and parameter tunning mechanisms, or hybridisation with machine learning models are still not used in this context. A systematic review of genetic algorithms dedicated to industrial planning and scheduling Analysis on how the characteristics of ETO projects impact the design of genetic representation and operators Recommendation on approaches employed to reach high-quality solutions [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Artificial intelligence is changing and influencing our world. As one of the main algorithms in the field of artificial intelligence, convolutional neural networks (CNNs) have developed rapidly in recent years. Especially after the emergence of NASNet, CNNs have gradually pushed the idea of AutoML to the public's attention, and large numbers of new structures designed by automatic searches are appearing. These networks are usually based on reinforcement learning and evolutionary learning algorithms. However, sometimes, the blocks of these networks are complex, and there is no small model for simpler tasks. Therefore, this paper proposes POSS-CNN aiming at target recognition and detection, which employs a multi-branch CNN structure with PSNC and a method of automatic parallel selection for super parameters based on a multi-branch CNN structure. Moreover, POSS-CNN can be broken up. By choosing a single branch or the combination of two branches as the "benchmark", as well as the overall POSS-CNN, we can achieve seven models with different precision and operations. The test accuracy of POSS-CNN for a recognition task tested on a CIFAR10 dataset can reach 86.4%, which is equivalent to AlexNet and VggNet, but the operation and parameters of the whole model in this paper are 45.9% and 45.8% of AlexNet, and 29.5% and 29.4% of VggNet. The mAP of POSS-CNN for a detection task tested on the LSVH dataset is 45.8, inferior to the 62.3 of YOLOv3. However, compared with YOLOv3, the operation and parameters of the model in this paper are reduced by 57.4% and 15.6%, respectively. After being accelerated by WRA, POSS-CNN for a detection task tested on an LSVH dataset can achieve 27 fps, and the energy efficiency is 0.42 J/f, which is 5 times and 96.6 times better than GPU 2080Ti in performance and energy efficiency, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The video compression sensing method based onmulti hypothesis has attracted extensive attention in the research of video codec with limited resources. However, the formation of high-quality prediction blocks in the multi hypothesis prediction stage is a challenging task. To resolve this problem, this paper constructs a novel compressed sensing-based high-quality adaptive video reconstruction optimizationmethod. Itmainly includes the optimization of prediction blocks (OPBS), the selection of searchwindows and the use of neighborhood information. Specifically, the OPBS consists of two parts: the selection of blocks and the optimization of prediction blocks. We combine the high-quality optimization reconstruction of foreground block with the residual reconstruction of the background block to improve the overall reconstruction effect of the video sequence. In addition, most of the existing methods based on predictive residual reconstruction ignore the impact of search windows and reference frames on performance. Therefore, Block-level search window (BSW) is constructed to cover the position of the optimal hypothesis block as much as possible. To maximize the availability of reference frames, Nearby reference frame information (NRFI) is designed to reconstruct the current block. The proposed method effectively suppresses the influence of the fluctuation of the prediction block on reconstruction and improves the reconstruction performance. Experimental results showthat the proposed compressed sensing-based high-quality adaptive video reconstruction optimization method significantly improves the reconstruction performance in both objective and supervisor quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: For non-invasive brain-computer interface systems (BCIs) with multiple electroencephalogram (EEG) channels, the key factor limiting their convenient application in the real world is how to perform reasonable channel selection while ensuring task accuracy, which can be modeled as a multi-objective optimization problem. Therefore, this paper proposed a two-objective problem model for the channel selection problem and introduced a domain knowledge-assisted multi-objective optimization algorithm (DK-MOEA) to solve the aforementioned problem. Methods: The multi-objective optimization problem model was designed based on the channel connectivity matrix and comprises two objectives: one is the task accuracy and the other one can sensitively indicate the removal status of channels in BCIs. The proposed DK-MOEA adopted a two-space framework, consisting of the population space and the knowledge space. Furthermore, a knowledge-assisted update operator was introduced to enhance the search efficiency of the population space by leveraging the domain knowledge stored in the knowledge space. Results: The proposed two-objective problem model and DK-MOEA were tested on a fatigue detection task and four state-of-the-art multi-objective evolutionary algorithms were used for comparison. The experimental results indicated that the proposed algorithm achieved the best results among all the comparative algorithms for most cases by the Wilcoxon rank sum test at a significance level of 0.05. DK-MOEA was also compared with a version without the utilization of domain knowledge and the experimental results validated the effectiveness of the knowledge-assisted mutation operator. Moreover, the comparison between DK-MOEA and a traditional classification algorithm using all channels demonstrated that DK-MOEA can strike the balance between task accuracy and the number of selected channels. Conclusion: The formulated two-objective optimization model enabled the selection of a minimal number of channels without compromising classification accuracy. The utilization of domain knowledge improved the performance of DK-MOEA. By adopting the proposed two-objective problem model and DK-MOEA, a balance can be achieved between the number of the selected channels and the accuracy of the fatigue detection task. The methods proposed in this paper can reduce the complexity of subsequent data processing and enhance the convenience of practical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As potent approaches for addressing computationally expensive optimization problems, surrogate-assisted evolutionary algorithms (SAEAs) have garnered increasing attention. Prevailing endeavors in evolutionary computation predominantly concentrate on expensive continuous optimization problems, with a notable scarcity of investigations directed toward expensive combinatorial optimization problems (ECOPs). Nevertheless, numerous ECOPs persist in practical applications. The widespread prevalence of such problems starkly contrasts the limited development of relevant research. Motivated by this disparity, this paper conducts a comprehensive survey on SAEAs tailored to address ECOPs. This survey comprises two primary segments. The first segment synthesizes prevalent global, local, hybrid, and learning search strategies, elucidating their respective strengths and weaknesses. Subsequently, the second segment furnishes an overview of surrogate-based evaluation technologies, delving into three pivotal facets: model selection, construction, and management. The paper also discusses several potential future directions for SAEAs with a focus towards expensive combinatorial optimization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Manually designed convolutional neural networks have demonstrated excellent performance in various domains, but designing neural networks suitable for specific tasks poses significant challenges, and the emergence of Neural Structure Search (NAS) provides a new solution to this problem. However, existing algorithms either focus solely on network lightweight, resulting in subpar network performance, or excessively emphasize performance, leading to substantial network redundancy. With consideration for both network parameters and performance, this paper designs a hybrid search space based on residual modules and RepVGG modules using genetic algorithm, and stacks them together to form a more efficient network. To achieve this, we propose an efficient variable-length encoding strategy, utilizing units as the fundamental encoding space to encode variable-length individuals; we design evolutionary operations encompassing single-point crossover and three types of mutation operators to ensure population diversity; during training, a random forest-based performance predictor is employed to significantly shorten the network search time. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm, we introduce the concept of transfer learning, which involves decoding the globally optimal solution, fine-tuning it, and then transferring it to three categories of real-world application datasets. Through comparisons with various algorithms, our approach consistently achieved leading performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This review comprehensively examines the burgeoning field of intelligent techniques to enhance power systems' stability, control, and protection. As global energy demands increase and renewable energy sources become more integrated, maintaining the stability and reliability of both conventional power systems and smart grids is crucial. Traditional methods are increasingly insufficient for handling today's power grids' complex, dynamic nature. This paper discusses the adoption of advanced intelligence methods, including artificial intelligence (AI), deep learning (DL), machine learning (ML), metaheuristic optimization algorithms, and other AI techniques such as fuzzy logic, reinforcement learning, and model predictive control to address these challenges. It underscores the critical importance of power system stability and the new challenges of integrating diverse energy sources. The paper reviews various intelligent methods used in power system analysis, emphasizing their roles in predictive maintenance, fault detection, real-time control, and monitoring. It details extensive research on the capabilities of AI and ML algorithms to enhance the precision and efficiency of protection systems, showing their effectiveness in accurately identifying and resolving faults. Additionally, it explores the potential of fuzzy logic in decision-making under uncertainty, reinforcement learning for dynamic stability control, and the integration of IoT and big data analytics for real-time system monitoring and optimization. Case studies from the literature are presented, offering valuable insights into practical applications. The review concludes by identifying current limitations and suggesting areas for future research, highlighting the need for more robust, flexible, and scalable intelligent systems in the power sector. This paper is a valuable resource for researchers, engineers, and policymakers, providing a detailed understanding of the current and future potential of intelligent techniques in power system stability, control, and protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses the problem of accurate and interpretable prediction of energy consumption in residential buildings. The solution that we propose in this work employs the knowledge discovery machine learning approach combining fuzzy systems with evolutionary optimization. The contribution of this work is twofold, including both methodology and experimental investigations. As far as methodological contribution is concerned, in this paper, we present an original designing procedure of fuzzy rule-based prediction systems (FRBPSs) for accurate and transparent energy consumption prediction in residential buildings. The proposed FRBPSs are characterized by a genetically optimized accuracy–interpretability trade-off. The trade-off optimization is carried out by means of multi-objective evolutionary optimization algorithms—in particular, by our generalization of the well-known strength Pareto evolutionary algorithm 2 (SPEA2). The proposed FRBPSs' designing procedure is our original extension and generalization (for regression problems operating on continuous outputs) of an approach to designing fuzzy rule-based classifiers (FRBCs) we developed earlier and published in 2020 in this journal. FRBCs operate on discrete outputs, i.e., class labels. The experimental contribution of this work includes designing the collection of FRBPSs for residential building energy consumption prediction using the data set published in 2024 and available from Kaggle Database Repository. Moreover, the comparison with 20 available alternative approaches is carried out, demonstrating that our approach significantly outperforms alternative methods in terms of interpretability and transparency of the energy consumption predictions made while remaining comparable or slightly superior in terms of the accuracy of those predictions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of offshore oil fields confronts challenges associated with high water cut and low displacement efficiency. Reservoir injection-production optimization stands out as an effective means to reduce costs and enhance efficiency in offshore oilfield development. The process of optimizing injection and production in offshore oil reservoirs involves designing strategies for a large number of wells and optimization time steps, constituting a large-scale, complex, and costly optimization computation problem. In recent years, with the rapid advancements in big data and artificial intelligence technologies, sophisticated evolutionary computation methods have found widespread application in reservoir injection-production optimization problems. However, the abundance of intelligent optimization algorithms raises the question of how to choose a method suitable for the complex optimization background of offshore oilfield injection-production optimization. This paper provides a detailed overview of the application of an existing differential evolution algorithm (DE), conventional surrogate-assisted evolutionary algorithm (CSAEA), and global–local surrogate-assisted differential evolution (GLSADE) in the context of practical offshore oilfield injection-production optimization problems. A comprehensive comparison of their performance differences is presented. The study concludes that the global–local surrogate-assisted evolutionary algorithm is the most suitable method for addressing the current challenges in offshore oilfield injection-production optimization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Channel selection has become the pivotal issue a ecting the widespread application of non-invasive brain-computer interface systems in the real world. However, constructing suitable multi-objective problem models alongside e ective search strategies stands out as a critical factor that impacts the performance of multi-objective channel selection algorithms. This paper presents a two-stage sparse multi-objective evolutionary algorithm (TS-MOEA) to address channel selection problems in brain-computer interface systems. Methods: In TS-MOEA, a two-stage framework, which consists of the early and late stages, is adopted to prevent the algorithm from stagnating. Furthermore, The two stages concentrate on di erent multi-objective problem models, thereby balancing convergence and population diversity in TS-MOEA. Inspired by the sparsity of the correlation matrix of channels, a sparse initialization operator, which uses a domain-knowledge-based score assignment strategy for decision variables, is introduced to generate the initial population. Moreover, a Score-based mutation operator is utilized to enhance the search efficiency of TS-MOEA. Results: The performance of TS-MOEA and five other state-of-the-art multi-objective algorithms has been evaluated using a 62-channel EEG-based brain-computer interface system for fatigue detection tasks, and the results demonstrated the e ectiveness of TS-MOEA. Conclusion: The proposed two-stage framework can help TS-MOEA escape stagnation and facilitate a balance between diversity and convergence. Integrating the sparsity of the correlation matrix of channels and the problem-domain knowledge can e ectively reduce the computational complexity of TS-MOEA while enhancing its optimization efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Autonomous region protection is a significant research area in multi-agent systems, aiming to empower defenders in preventing intruders from accessing specific regions. This paper presents a Multi-agent Region Protection Environment (MRPE) featuring fewer defenders, defender damages, and intruder evasion strategies targeting defenders. MRPE poses challenges for traditional protection methods due to its high nonstationarity and limited interception time window. To surmount these hurdles, we modify evolutionary reinforcement learning, giving rise to the corresponding multi-agent region protection method (MRPM). MRPM amalgamates the merits of evolutionary algorithms and deep reinforcement learning, specifically leveraging Differential Evolution (DE) and Multi-Agent Deep Deterministic Policy Gradient (MADDPG). DE facilitates diverse sample exploration and overcomes sparse rewards, while MADDPG trains defenders and expedites the DE convergence process. Additionally, an elite selection strategy tailored for multi-agent systems is devised to enhance defender collaboration. The paper also presents ingenious designs for the fitness and reward functions to effectively drive policy optimizations. Finally, extensive numerical simulations are conducted to validate the effectiveness of MRPM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the field of expensive optimization, numerous papers have proposed surrogate-assisted evolutionary algorithms (SAEAs) for a few thousand or even hundreds of function evaluations. However, in reality, low-cost simulations suffice for a lot of real-world problems, in which the number of function evaluations is moderately restricted, e.g., to several thousands. In such moderately restricted scenario, SAEAs become unnecessarily time-consuming and tend to struggle with premature convergence. In addition, tuning the SAEA parameters becomes impractical under the restricted budgets of function evaluations—in some cases, inadequate configuration may degrade performance instead. In this context, this paper presents a fast and auto-tunable evolutionary algorithm for solving moderately restricted expensive optimization problems. The presented algorithm is a variant of adaptive differential evolution (DE) algorithms, and is called emulation-based adaptive DE or EBADE. The primary aim of EBADE is to emulate the principle of sample-efficient optimization, such as that in SAEAs, by adaptively tuning the DE parameter configurations. Specifically, similar to Expected Improvement-based sampling, EBADE identifies parameter configurations that may produce expected-to-improve solutions, without using function evaluations. Further, EBADE incepts a multi-population mechanism and assigns a parameter configuration to each subpopulation to estimate the effectiveness of parameter configurations with multiple samples carefully. This subpopulation-based adaptation can help improve the selection accuracy of promising parameter configurations, even when using an expected-to-improve indicator with high uncertainty, by validating with respect to multiple samples. The experimental results demonstrate that EBADE outperforms modern adaptive DEs and is highly competitive compared to SAEAs with a much shorter runtime. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, an ultra-thin absorber with a total thickness of 9.2 mm is designed and verified at the frequency band of 1–5.34 GHz. The absorber is composed of a layer of metasurface, multi-layered magnetic substrate, a layer of fragmented magnetic structure obtained by improved MOEA/D-GO (Multi-Objective Evolutionary Algorithm based on Decomposition combined with Enhanced Genetic Operators), and a copper back plate. The absorber is achieved by two steps. First, we designed and measured an ultra-thin absorber at 0.78–2.04 GHz by adding a layer metasurface onto the top of a basic multi-layer absorber composed of magnetic materials. The fractional bandwidth (FBW) of the absorber is 89.4%, and the electrical thickness is only 0.024 λ 0 at the lowest operating frequency. Second, to broaden the bandwidth, we use an improved MOEA/D-GO to optimize one magnetic layer of the absorber. The working frequency band of the optimized absorber is 1–5.34 GHz, covering L- (1–2 GHz), S- (2–4 GHz), and partial C-bands (4–8 GHz). Furthermore, we modified the structure of the metasurface to make the absorber polarization-independent. The FBW of the final absorber is 136.4%, and the electrical thickness is 0.031 λ 0 at the lowest operating frequency. The prototype of the absorber is measured, and the experimental results agree well with the simulated performance. The results show that the improved MOEA/D-GO can be used to design and optimize sophisticated electromagnetic (EM) structures with the predesigned properties, and the absorber with ultrathin thickness and light weight verified in this paper have great application potentials in EM compatibility, EM shielding, and radar cross section reduction at the low bands of the microwave spectrum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vehicular ad hoc networks (VANETs) are a type of mobile ad hoc network that forms a unified wireless communication network between vehicles and roadside nodes. Roadside units (RSUs), as the infrastructure and key component of VANETs, play a critical role in improving the performance of VANETs. Their deployment can effectively improve the communication performance of the network. The goal of the RSU deployment (RSUD) problem is to install as few RSUs as possible on both sides of roads or intersections so that they can cover most areas and achieve better communication performance. This paper proposes a multi-objective optimization model to solve the RSUD problem using the characteristics of RSUDs on urban roads. Our optimized target includes three performance indicators, which are the deployment cost of RSUs, their coverage area, and communications. Since these three indicators cannot achieve consensus, this paper proposes a multi-objective evolutionary algorithm, the NSGA-II Pareto optimal solution, to solve the RSUD problem. The simulation results show the effectiveness of the multi-objective model and method. Finally, we present an experiment featuring RSU deployment that is based on a real traffic environment and uses OpenStreetMap; this experiment proves that our proposed method is practical. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a personal account of the author's 35 years "adventure" with Evolutionary Computation—from the first encounter in 1988 and many years of academic research through to working full-time in business—successfully implementing evolutionary algorithms for some of the world's largest corporations. The paper concludes with some observations and insights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The advancement toward sustainable infrastructure presents complex multi-objective optimization (MOO) challenges. This paper expands the current understanding of design frameworks that balance cost, environmental impacts, social factors, and structural integrity. Integrating MOO with multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM), the study targets enhancements in life cycle sustainability for complex engineering projects using precast modular road frames. Three advanced evolutionary algorithms—NSGA-II, NSGA-III, and RVEA—are optimized and deployed to address sustainability objectives under performance constraints. The efficacy of these algorithms is gauged through a comparative analysis, and a robust MCDM approach is applied to nine non-dominated solutions, employing SAW, FUCA, TOPSIS, PROMETHEE, and VIKOR decision-making techniques. An entropy theory-based method ensures systematic, unbiased criteria weighting, augmenting the framework's capacity to pinpoint designs balancing life cycle sustainability. The results reveal that NSGA-III is the algorithm converging towards the most cost-effective solutions, surpassing NSGA-II and RVEA by 21.11% and 10.07%, respectively, while maintaining balanced environmental and social impacts. The RVEA achieves up to 15.94% greater environmental efficiency than its counterparts. The analysis of non-dominated solutions identifies the A 4 design, utilizing 35 MPa concrete and B500S steel, as the most sustainable alternative across 80% of decision-making algorithms. The ranking correlation coefficients above 0.94 demonstrate consistency among decision-making techniques, underscoring the robustness of the integrated MOO and MCDM framework. The results in this paper expand the understanding of the applicability of novel techniques for enhancing engineering practices and advocate for a comprehensive strategy that employs advanced MOO algorithms and MCDM to enhance sustainable infrastructure development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]