Ant Colony Optimization Algorithms - Related Methods

Related Methods

• Genetic algorithms (GA) maintain a pool of solutions rather than just one. The process of finding superior solutions mimics that of evolution, with solutions being combined or mutated to alter the pool of solutions, with solutions of inferior quality being discarded.
• Simulated annealing (SA) is a related global optimization technique which traverses the search space by generating neighboring solutions of the current solution. A superior neighbor is always accepted. An inferior neighbor is accepted probabilistically based on the difference in quality and a temperature parameter. The temperature parameter is modified as the algorithm progresses to alter the nature of the search.
• Reactive search optimization focuses on combining machine learning with optimization, by adding an internal feedback loop to self-tune the free parameters of an algorithm to the characteristics of the problem, of the instance, and of the local situation around the current solution.
• Tabu search (TS) is similar to simulated annealing in that both traverse the solution space by testing mutations of an individual solution. While simulated annealing generates only one mutated solution, tabu search generates many mutated solutions and moves to the solution with the lowest fitness of those generated. To prevent cycling and encourage greater movement through the solution space, a tabu list is maintained of partial or complete solutions. It is forbidden to move to a solution that contains elements of the tabu list, which is updated as the solution traverses the solution space.
• Artificial immune system (AIS) algorithms are modeled on vertebrate immune systems.
• Particle swarm optimization (PSO), a Swarm intelligence method
• Intelligent Water Drops (IWD), a swarm-based optimization algorithm based on natural water drops flowing in rivers
• Gravitational Search Algorithm (GSA), a Swarm intelligence method
• Ant colony clustering method (ACCM), a method that make use of clustering approach,extending the ACO.
• Stochastic diffusion search (SDS), an agent-based probabilistic global search and optimization technique best suited to problems where the objective function can be decomposed into multiple independent partial-functions