Maintaining diversity in agent-based evolutionary computation

Abstract

Niching techniques for evolutionary algorithms are aimed at maintaining the diversity through forming subpopulations (species) in multi-modal domains. Similar techniques may be applied to evolutionary multi-agent systems, which provide a decentralised model of evolution. In this paper a specific EMAS realisation is presented, in which the new species formation occurs as a result of co-evolutionary interactions between preexisting species. Experimental results aim at comparing the approach with a classical niching techniques and a basic EMAS implementation. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2006.