A diversity management operator for evolutionary many-objective optimisation

Abstract

The proximity of an approximation set to the Pareto-optimal front of a multiobjective optimisation problem and the diversity of the solutions within the approximation set are two essential requirements in evolutionary multiobjective optimisation. These two requirements may be found to be in conflict with each other in many-objective optimisation scenarios deploying Pareto-dominance selection alongside active diversity promotion mechanisms. This conflict is hindering the optimisation process of some of the most established MOEAs and introducing problems such as the problem of dominance resistance and speciation. In this study, a diversity management operator (DMO) for controlling and promoting the diversity requirement in many-objective optimisation scenarios is introduced and tested on a set of test functions with increasing numbers (6 to 12) of objectives. The results achieved by the proposed strategy outperform results achieved by a reputed and representative MOEA in terms of both criteria: convergence and diversity. © Springer-Verlag 2009.