Meme as Building Block for Evolutionary Optimization of Problem Instances

TL;DR

This paper introduces a memetic computational paradigm inspired by human problem-solving, enabling evolutionary algorithms to transfer structured knowledge across problem instances to improve optimization efficiency.

Contribution

It presents a novel memetic framework with four culture-inspired operators for automated knowledge transfer in evolutionary optimization.

Findings

Effective transfer of structured knowledge improves optimization performance.

Significant enhancements in solving NP-hard routing problems.

Demonstrated success on capacitated vehicle and arc routing problems.

Abstract

A significantly under-explored area of evolutionary optimization in the literature is the study of optimization methodologies that can evolve along with the problems solved. Particularly, present evolutionary optimization approaches generally start their search from scratch or the ground-zero state of knowledge, independent of how similar the given new problem of interest is to those optimized previously. There has thus been the apparent lack of automated knowledge transfers and reuse across problems. Taking the cue, this paper introduces a novel Memetic Computational Paradigm for search, one that models after how human solves problems, and embarks on a study towards intelligent evolutionary optimization of problems through the transfers of structured knowledge in the form of memes learned from previous problem-solving experiences, to enhance future evolutionary searches. In particular, the proposed memetic search paradigm is composed of four culture-inspired operators, namely, Meme Learning, Meme Selection, Meme Variation and Meme Imitation. The learning operator mines for memes in the form of latent structures derived from past experiences of problem-solving. The selection operator identifies the fit memes that replicate and transmit across problems, while the variation operator introduces innovations into the memes. The imitation operator, on the other hand, defines how fit memes assimilate into the search process of newly encountered problems, thus gearing towards efficient and effective evolutionary optimization. Finally, comprehensive studies on two widely studied challenging well established NP-hard routing problem domains, particularly, the capacitated vehicle routing (CVR) and capacitated arc routing (CAR), confirm the high efficacy of the proposed memetic computational search paradigm for intelligent evolutionary optimization of problems.