A multilevel image thresholding using the honey bee mating optimization

Image thresholding is an important technique for image processing and pattern recognition. Many thresholding techniques have been proposed in the literature. Among them, the maximum entropy thresholding (MET) has been widely applied. In this paper, a new multilevel MET algorithm based on the technology of the honey bee mating optimization (HBMO) is proposed. This proposed method is called the maximum entropy based honey bee mating optimization thresholding (MEHBMOT) method. Three different methods such as the particle swarm optimization (PSO), the hybrid cooperative-comprehensive learning based PSO algorithm (HCOCLPSO) and the Fast Otsu’s method are also implemented for comparison with the results of the proposed method. The experimental results manifest that the proposed MEHBMOT algorithm can search for multiple thresholds which are very close to the optimal ones examined by the exhaustive search method. In comparison with the other three thresholding methods, the segmentation results using the MEHBMOT algorithm is the best and its computation time is relatively low. Furthermore, the convergence of the MEHBMOT algorithm can rapidly achieve and the results validate that the proposed MEHBMOT algorithm is efficient.     

Global Optimization by Multilevel Coordinate Search

Inspired by a method by Jones et al. (1993), we present a global optimization algorithm based on multilevel coordinate search. It is guaranteed to converge if the function is continuous in the neighborhood of a global minimizer. By starting a local search from certain good points, an improved convergence result is obtained. We discuss implementation details and give some numerical results.     

基于模矢搜索和遗传算法的混合约束优化算法

近年,免梯度方法又开始引起大家的注意，由于不需要计算函数的梯度．特别适合用来求解那些无法得到梯度信息或需要花很大计算量才能得到梯度信息的问题．本文构造了一个基于模矢搜索和遗传算法的混合优化算法．在模矢搜索方法的搜索步，用一个类似于遗传算法的方法产生一个有限点集．算法是全局收敛的.     

Solving the routing and wavelength assignment problem with a multilevel distributed memetic algorithm

The Routing and Wavelength Assignment problem is a graph optimization problem which deals with optical networks, where communication requests in a network have to be fulfilled. In this paper, we present a multilevel distributed memetic algorithm (ML-DMA) for the static RWA which finds provable optimal solutions for most benchmark instances with known lower bounds and is capable of handling large instances. Components of our ML-DMA include iterated local search, recombination, multilevel scaling, and a gossip-based distribution algorithm. Results demonstrated that our ML-DMA is among the most sophisticated heuristic RWA algorithms published so far.     

Approximate Toeplitz Matrix Problem Using Semidefinite Programming

Given a data matrix, we find its nearest symmetric positive-semidefinite Toeplitz matrix. In this paper, we formulate the problem as an optimization problem with a quadratic objective function and semidefinite constraints. In particular, instead of solving the so-called normal equations, our algorithm eliminates the linear feasibility equations from the start to maintain exact primal and dual feasibility during the course of the algorithm. Subsequently, the search direction is found using an inexact Gauss-Newton method rather than a Newton method on a symmetrized system and is computed using a diagonal preconditioned conjugate-gradient-type method. Computational results illustrate the robustness of the algorithm.     

Optimal control of bioprocess systems using hybrid numerical optimization algorithms

In the paper, we consider the bioprocess system optimal control problem. Generally speaking, it is very difficult to solve this problem analytically. To obtain the numerical solution, the problem is transformed into a parameter optimization problem with some variable bounds, which can be efficiently solved using any conventional optimization algorithms, e.g. the improved Broyden–Fletcher–Goldfarb–Shanno algorithm. However, in spite of the improved Broyden–Fletcher–Goldfarb–Shanno algorithm is very efficient for local search, the solution obtained is usually a local extremum for non-convex optimal control problems. In order to escape from the local extremum, we develop a novel stochastic search method. By performing a large amount of numerical experiments, we find that the novel stochastic search method is excellent in exploration, while bad in exploitation. In order to improve the exploitation, we propose a hybrid numerical optimization algorithm to solve the problem based on the novel stochastic search method and the improved Broyden–Fletcher–Goldfarb–Shanno algorithm. Convergence results indicate that any global optimal solution of the approximate problem is also a global optimal solution of the original problem. Finally, two bioprocess system optimal control problems illustrate that the hybrid numerical optimization algorithm proposed by us is low time-consuming and obtains a better cost function value than the existing approaches.     

A simulated annealing driven multi-start algorithm for bound constrained global optimization

A derivative-free simulated annealing driven multi-start algorithm for continuous global optimization is presented. We first propose a trial point generation scheme in continuous simulated annealing which eliminates the need for the gradient-based trial point generation. We then suitably embed the multi-start procedure within the simulated annealing algorithm. We modify the derivative-free pattern search method and use it as the local search in the multi-start procedure. We study the convergence properties of the algorithm and test its performance on a set of 50 problems. Numerical results are presented which show the robustness of the algorithm. Numerical comparisons with a gradient-based simulated annealing algorithm and three population-based global optimization algorithms show that the new algorithm could offer a reasonable alternative to many currently available global optimization algorithms, specially for problems requiring ‘direct search’ type algorithm.     

A hybrid simplex search and particle swarm optimization for unconstrained optimization

This paper proposes the hybrid NM-PSO algorithm based on the Nelder–Mead (NM) simplex search method and particle swarm optimization (PSO) for unconstrained optimization. NM-PSO is very easy to implement in practice since it does not require gradient computation. The modification of both the Nelder–Mead simplex search method and particle swarm optimization intends to produce faster and more accurate convergence. The main purpose of the paper is to demonstrate how the standard particle swarm optimizers can be improved by incorporating a hybridization strategy. In a suite of 20 test function problems taken from the literature, computational results via a comprehensive experimental study, preceded by the investigation of parameter selection, show that the hybrid NM-PSO approach outperforms other three relevant search techniques (i.e., the original NM simplex search method, the original PSO and the guaranteed convergence particle swarm optimization (GCPSO)) in terms of solution quality and convergence rate. In a later part of the comparative experiment, the NM-PSO algorithm is compared to various most up-to-date cooperative PSO (CPSO) procedures appearing in the literature. The comparison report still largely favors the NM-PSO algorithm in the performance of accuracy, robustness and function evaluation. As evidenced by the overall assessment based on two kinds of computational experience, the new algorithm has demonstrated to be extremely effective and efficient at locating best-practice optimal solutions for unconstrained optimization.     

A primal-dual interior-point algorithm for symmetric optimization based on a new method for finding search directions

We introduce an interior-point method for symmetric optimization based on a new method for determining search directions. In order to accomplish this, we use a new equivalent algebraic transformation on the centring equation of the system which characterizes the central path. In this way, we obtain a new class of directions. We analyse a special case of this class, which leads to the new interior-point algorithm mentioned before. Another way to find the search directions is using barriers derived from kernel functions. We show that in our case the corresponding direction cannot be deduced from a usual kernel function. In spite of this fact, we prove the polynomial complexity of the proposed algorithm.     

A hybrid trust region algorithm for unconstrained optimization

This paper presents a hybrid trust region algorithm for unconstrained optimization problems. It can be regarded as a combination of ODE-based methods, line search and trust region techniques. A feature of the proposed method is that at each iteration, a system of linear equations is solved only once to obtain a trial step. Further, when the trial step is not accepted, the method performs an inexact line search along it instead of resolving a new linear system. Under reasonable assumptions, the algorithm is proven to be globally and superlinearly convergent. Numerical results are also reported that show the efficiency of this proposed method.     

A quasi-discrete Newton algorithm with a nonmonotone stabilization technique

In this paper, we define an unconstrained optimization algorithm employing only first-order derivatives, in which a nonmonotone stabilization technique is used in conjunction with a quasidiscrete Newton method for the computation of the search direction. Global and superlinear convergence is proved, and numerical results are reported.     

A SUPERLINEARLY CONVERGENT TRUST REGION ALGORITHM FOR LC^1 CONSTRAINED OPTIMIZATION PROBLEMS

In this paper, a new trust region algorithm for nonlinear equality constrained LC^1 optimization problems is given. It obtains a search direction at each iteration not by solving a quadratic programming subproblem with a trust region bound, but by solving a system of linear equations. Since the computational complexity of a QP-Problem is in general much larger than that of a system of linear equations, this method proposed in this paper may reduce the computational complexity and hence improve computational efficiency. Furthermore, it is proved under appropriate assumptions that this algorithm is globally and super-linearly convergent to a solution of the original problem. Some numerical examples are reported, showing the proposed algorithm can be beneficial from a computational point of view.     

A Metropolis algorithm combined with Hooke-Jeeves local search method applied to global optimization

A hybridization of a recently introduced Metropolis algorithm named the Particle Collision Algorithm (PCA) and the Hooke-Jeeves local search method is applied to a testbed of global optimization functions and to real-world chemical equilibrium nonlinear systems. The results obtained by this method, called HJPCA, are compared against those achieved by two state-of-the-art global optimization methods, C-GRASP and GLOBAL. HJPCA performs better than both algorithms, thus demonstrating its potential for other applications.     

带非线性不等式约束优化问题的信赖域算法

借助于KKT条件和NCP函数,提出了求解带非线性不等式约束优化问题的信赖域算法.该算法在每一步迭代时,不必求解带信赖域界的二次规划子问题,仅需求一线性方程组系统.在适当的假设条件下,它还是整体收敛的和局部超线性收敛的.数值实验结果表明该方法是有效的.     

A Combined Evolutionary Search and Multilevel Optimisation Approach to Graph-Partitioning

The graph-partitioning problem is to divide a graph into several pieces so that the number of vertices in each piece is the same within some defined tolerance and the number of cut edges is minimised. Important applications of the problem arise, for example, in parallel processing where data sets need to be distributed across the memory of a parallel machine. Very effective heuristic algorithms have been developed for this problem which run in real-time, but it is not known how good the partitions are since the problem is, in general, NP-complete. This paper reports an evolutionary search algorithm for finding benchmark partitions. A distinctive feature is the use of a multilevel heuristic algorithm to provide an effective crossover. The technique is tested on several example graphs and it is demonstrated that our method can achieve extremely high quality partitions significantly better than those found by the state-of-the-art graph-partitioning packages.     

Adaptive Algorithm for Constrained Least-Squares Problems

This paper is concerned with the implementation and testing of an algorithm for solving constrained least-squares problems. The algorithm is an adaptation to the least-squares case of sequential quadratic programming (SQP) trust-region methods for solving general constrained optimization problems. At each iteration, our local quadratic subproblem includes the use of the Gauss–Newton approximation but also encompasses a structured secant approximation along with tests of when to use this approximation. This method has been tested on a selection of standard problems. The results indicate that, for least-squares problems, the approach taken here is a viable alternative to standard general optimization methods such as the Byrd–Omojokun trust-region method and the Powell damped BFGS line search method.     

Global optimization based on novel heuristics,low-discrepancy sequences and genetic algorithms

In this paper a new heuristic hybrid technique for bound-constrained global optimization is proposed. We developed iterative algorithm called GLP_τS that uses genetic algorithms, LP_τ low-discrepancy sequences of points and heuristic rules to find regions of attraction when searching a global minimum of an objective function. Subsequently Nelder–Mead Simplex local search technique is used to refine the solution. The combination of the three techniques (Genetic algorithms, LP_τO Low-discrepancy search and Simplex search) provides a powerful hybrid heuristic optimization method which is tested on a number of benchmark multimodal functions with 10–150 dimensions, and the method properties – applicability, convergence, consistency and stability are discussed in detail.     

圆形区域分散布局问题研究

针对圆形区域分散布局问题, 文中给出了一个带约束的非线性规划模型. 当布局点数量较少时, 通过将模型转化为无约束优化问题, 利用梯度方法进行求解; 对于布局点数量较多的情况, 提出了一个界为1/2的多项式时间的近似算法, 并进行了相应的算例分析, 进一步来验证算法解的合理性. 研究的结论及方法一定程度上丰富和完善了圆形区域的分散布局理论.     

Smoothed penalty algorithms for optimization of nonlinear models

We introduce an algorithm for solving nonlinear optimization problems with general equality and box constraints. The proposed algorithm is based on smoothing of the exact l ₁-penalty function and solving the resulting problem by any box-constraint optimization method. We introduce a general algorithm and present theoretical results for updating the penalty and smoothing parameter. We apply the algorithm to optimization problems for nonlinear traffic network models and report on numerical results for a variety of network problems and different solvers for the subproblems.     

A novel three-phase trajectory informed search methodology for global optimization

A new deterministic method for solving a global optimization problem is proposed. The proposed method consists of three phases. The first phase is a typical local search to compute a local minimum. The second phase employs a discrete sup-local search to locate a so-called sup-local minimum taking the lowest objective value among the neighboring local minima. The third phase is an attractor-based global search to locate a new point of next descent with a lower objective value. The simulation results through well-known global optimization problems are shown to demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed method.