This thesis presents a new ant-optimized biclustering technique known as SNAP biclustering, which runs faster and produces results of superior quality to previous techniques. Biclustering techniques have been designed to compensate for the weaknesses of classical clustering algorithms by allowing cluster overlap, and allowing vectors to be grouped for a subset of their defined features. These techniques have performed well in many problem domains, particularly DNA microarray analysis and collaborative filtering. A motivation for this work has been the biclustering technique known as bicACO, which was the first to use ant colony optimization. As bicACO is time intensive, much emphasis was placed on decreasing SNAP's runtime. The superior speed and biclustering results of SNAP are due to its improved initialization and solution construction procedures. In experimental studies involving the Yeast Cell Cycle DNA microarray dataset and the MovieLens collaborative filtering dataset, SNAP has run at least 22 times faster than bicACO while generating superior results. Thus, SNAP is an effective choice of technique for microarray analysis and collaborative filtering applications. / Master of Science

This thesis focuses on applying one of the rapidly growing non-deterministic optimization algorithms, the ant colony algorithm, for simulating automatic hose/pipe routing with several conflicting objectives. Within the thesis, methods have been developed and applied to single objective hose routing, multi-objective hose routing and multi-hose routing. The use of simulation and optimization in engineering design has been widely applied in all fields of engineering as the computational capabilities of computers has increased and improved. As a result of this, the application of non-deterministic optimization techniques such as genetic algorithms, simulated annealing algorithms, ant colony algorithms, etc. has increased dramatically resulting in vast improvements in the design process. Initially, two versions of ant colony algorithms have been developed based on, respectively, a random network and a grid network for a single objective (minimizing the length of the hoses) and avoiding obstacles in the CAD model. While applying ant colony algorithms for the simulation of hose routing, two modifications have been proposed for reducing the size of the search space and avoiding the stagnation problem. Hose routing problems often consist of several conflicting or trade-off objectives. In classical approaches, in many cases, multiple objectives are aggregated into one single objective function and optimization is then treated as a single-objective optimization problem. In this thesis two versions of ant colony algorithms are presented for multihose routing with two conflicting objectives: minimizing the total length of the hoses and maximizing the total shared length (bundle length). In this case the two objectives are aggregated into a single objective. The current state-of-the-art approach for handling multi-objective design problems is to employ the concept of Pareto optimality. Within this thesis a new Pareto-based general purpose ant colony algorithm (PSACO) is proposed and applied to a multi-objective hose routing problem that consists of the following objectives: total length of the hoses between the start and the end locations, number of bends, and angles of bends. The proposed method is capable of handling any number of objectives and uses a single pheromone matrix for all the objectives. The domination concept is used for updating the pheromone matrix. Among the currently available multi-objective ant colony optimization (MOACO) algorithms, P-ACO generates very good solutions in the central part of the Pareto front and hence the proposed algorithm is compared with P-ACO. A new term is added to the random proportional rule of both of the algorithms (PSACO and P-ACO) to attract ants towards edges that make angles close to the pre-specified angles of bends. A refinement algorithm is also suggested for searching an acceptable solution after the completion of searching the entire search space. For all of the simulations, the STL format (tessellated format) for the obstacles is used in the algorithm instead of the original shapes of the obstacles. This STL format is passed to the C++ library RAPID for collision detection. As a result of using this format, the algorithms can handle freeform obstacles and the algorithms are not restricted to a particular software package.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T19:05:47Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 3340.pdf: 982188 bytes, checksum: 49ba39146aa7542a1670dd3d90507739 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-06-28 / Financiadora de Estudos e Projetos / In the context of automated manufacturing systems, combinatorial optimization problems, such as determining the production schedule, have been focused in many studies due to the high degree of complexity to their resolution. Several studies point to use of metaheuristics for the problem dealt, where different approaches perspectives have been proposed in order to find good solutions in a short time. In this paper, we propose an approach based on Ant Colony Optimization metaheuristic (ACO) for the reactive production scheduling problem in an FMS aiming the combination of problem characteristics with metaheuristic characteristics. For this, the problem is addressed from two perspectives, based on modeling and the search method. The problem representation is characterized by a description of the problem at the operations level, since the production schedule is included in this context. On the model is applied a constructive search method based on ACO that using the collaboration principle, establishing a relationship between operations so that it lead the search for promising regions of the solution space. The goal of this work is to obtain a reactive programming in acceptable response time in order to minimize the makespan values. Experimental results showed an improvement of the results obtained so far by other approaches. / No contexto de Sistemas Automatizados de Manufatura, problemas de otimização combinatória, como determinar a programação da produção, têm sido foco de estudo em muitas pesquisas devido ao alto grau de complexidade para sua resolução. Diversos trabalhos apontam para o uso de metaheurísticas para o tratamento do problema, onde diferentes perspectivas de abordagens têm sido propostas visando encontrar soluções de qualidade em um curto espaço de tempo. Neste trabalho, é proposta uma abordagem baseada na metaheurística Otimização por Colônia de Formigas (Ant Colony Optimization ACO) para o problema de programação reativa da produção em um FMS, com o objetivo de conciliar as características do problema com as características da metaheurística. Para isso, o problema é tratado em duas perspectivas, com base na modelagem e no método de busca. A modelagem do problema é caracterizada por uma descrição do problema em nível de operações, uma vez que a programação da produção está incluída neste contexto. Sobre o modelo é aplicado um método de busca construtiva baseado em ACO que usando o princípio de colaboração, estabelece uma relação entre as operações de forma que esta direcione a busca para regiões promissoras do espaço de soluções. O Objetivo deste trabalho é obter uma programação reativa em tempo de resposta aceitável, visando minimizar o valor de makespan. Resultados experimentais mostraram uma melhoria dos resultados até então obtidos por outras abordagens.

Roteamento por colônia de formigas é um método de roteamento em redes de comunicação, e diversos algoritmos foram propostos nos últimos anos baseado nessa estrutura. Todos esses algoritmos produzem excelentes resultados, provando a sua eficiência e eficácia. Este trabalho apresenta os resultados de desempenho dos principais algoritmos encontrados na literatura, e com base nesses resultados, propõe um novo algoritmo com desempenho equivalente e com uma complexidade computacional menor. O trabalho é focalizado em redes tipo datagrama com topologia irregular, descrevendo suas propriedades e características e realizando uma análise e comparação de seus desempenhos em um ambiente de simulação. / Ant Colony Routing is an adaptive method for routing in communication networks, and several algorithms have been proposed in the last years based on this framework. All these algorithms show excellent results, proving their efficiency and efficacy. This work presents the results of the performance of the main algorithms found in the literature, and based on these results, it proposes a novel algorithm that has a similar performance but with a lower computational complexity. The work is focused in datagram like networks with irregular topology, describing its characteristics and properties. The performances in an simulation environment are analysed and compared.

We present two Swarm Intelligence based approaches for data clustering. The first algorithm, Fuzzy Ants, presented in this thesis clusters data without the initial knowledge of the number of clusters. It is a two stage algorithm. In the first stage the ants cluster data to initially create raw clusters which are refined using the Fuzzy C Means algorithm. Initially, the ants move the individual objects to form heaps. The centroids of these heaps are redefined by the Fuzzy C Means algorithm. In the second stage the objects obtained from the Fuzzy C Means algorithm are hardened according to the maximum membership criteria to form new heaps. These new heaps are then moved by the ants. The final clusters formed are refined by using the Fuzzy C Means algorithm. Results from experiments with 13 datasets show that the partitions produced are competitive with those from FCM. The second algorithm, Fuzzy ant clustering with centroids, is also a two stage algorithm, it requires an initial knowledge of the number of clusters in the data. In the first stage of the algorithm ants move the cluster centers in feature space. The cluster centers found by the ants are evaluated using a reformulated Fuzzy C Means criterion. In the second stage the best cluster centers found are used as the initial cluster centers for the Fuzzy C Means algorithm. Results on 18 datasets show that the partitions found by FCM using the ant initialization are better than those from randomly initialized FCM. Hard C Means was also used in the second stage and the partitions from the ant algorithm are better than from randomly initialized Hard C Means. The Fuzzy Ants algorithm is a novel method to find the number of clusters in the data and also provides good initializations for the FCM and HCM algorithms. We performed sensitivity analysis on the controlling parameters and found the Fuzzy Ants algorithm to be very sensitive to the Tcreateforheap parameter. The FCM and HCM algorithms, with random initializations can get stuck in a bad extrema, the Fuzzy ant clustering with centroids algorithm successfully avoids these bad extremas.

Pouvoir lutter efficacement contre certains fléaux comme les incendies de forêt, les feux de brousse ou les catastrophes naturelles constitue un enjeu majeur dans plusieurs villes du monde.Avec l'avènement de la technologie de pointe représentée par les réseaux de capteurs, la détection de ces phénomènes devient plus aisée.En effet, des capteurs peuvent être déployés dans des zones difficiles d'accès et s'ils sont suffisamment nombreux pour couvrir la totalité de l'environnement à surveiller, une alerte peut être directement donnée par le capteur ayant détecté un certain type d'évènement (feu, secousse sismique...).Le centre de contrôle ayant reçu l'alerte peut ensuite décider d'intervenir sur la zone en cause.Nos travaux se situent dans ce cadre de la détection de phénomènes par un réseau de capteurs, en supposant que l'environnement est connu et que les capteurs sont mobiles, sans fil et en nombre insuffisant pour couvrir la totalité de l'environnement à surveiller.Parler de surveillance par un nombre faible d'entités mobiles nécessite de parcourir régulièrement certaines zones critiques de l'environnement, ce qui peut s'apparenter à une tâche de patrouille.Dans le cadre de cette thèse, nous nous sommes focalisés sur la détermination de stratégies de patrouille multi-capteurs appliquée à la détection d'évènements.Un problème similaire au nôtre est celui de la patrouille multi-agents dans un environnement connu.Ce problème consiste à faire visiter régulièrement les noeuds d'un graphe (représentant l'environnement) par des agents.Les capteurs peuvent être considérés comme des agents ayant des ressources limitées, en terme d'énergie en particulier.Le cadre de la patrouille multi-agents et les techniques proposées pour le résoudre ne peuvent pas être utilisés ici.Après avoir formulé mathématiquement le problème de la patrouille multi-capteurs appliquée à la détection d'évènements, nous proposons une technique de résolution approchée basée sur des colonies de fourmis.Des simulations ont été réalisées en considérant différents scenarii (topologies d'environnement, populations de capteurs, apparitions des événements) afin d'évaluer la pertinence de notre approche.Les résultats expérimentaux montrent que notre approche permet de déterminer des stratégies de patrouille satisfaisantes dans la majorité des scenarii. / To fight effectively against scourges like forest fires , brush fires or natural disasters is a major issue in many cities worldwide.With the advent of technology represented by sensor networks , detection of these phenomena becomes easier .Indeed , sensors can be deployed in remote areas and they are enough to cover the entire environment to monitor, an alert can be given directly by the sensor has detected a certain type of event (fire, earthquake ... ) .The control center has received the alert may then decide to intervene in the area in question .Our work takes place in the context of the detection of phenomena by a sensor network , assuming that the environment is known and that the sensors are mobile, wireless and insufficient to cover the entire environment to be monitored.Speaking of monitoring a small number of mobile entities requires regularly browse some critical environmental areas, which can be likened to a patrol task .In this thesis , we focused on identifying strategies patrol multi-sensor applied to the detection of events.A similar problem to ours is the multi-agent patrolling in a known environment .This problem is to regularly visit the nodes of a graph (representing the environment) by agents.The sensors can be considered as agents with limited resources , in terms of energy in particular.The framework of multi- agents and techniques proposed to solve patrol can not be used here .After mathematically formulated the problem of multi-sensor patrol applied to the detection of events, we propose an approximate solution technique based on ant colonies .Simulations were made ​​considering different scenarios ( environmental topologies populations sensors appearances events ) to assess the relevance of our approach.The experimental results show that our approach identifies strategies patrol satisfactory in the majority of scenarios.

Opposition-based learning (OBL) was recently proposed to extend di erent machine learning algorithms. The main idea of OBL is to consider opposite estimates, actions or states as an attempt to increase the coverage of the solution space and to reduce exploration time. OBL has already been applied to reinforcement learning, neural networks and genetic algorithms. This thesis explores the application of OBL to ant algorithms. Ant algorithms are based on the trail laying and following behaviour of ants. They have been successfully applied to many complex optimization problems. However, like any other technique, they can benefit from performance improvements. Thus, this work was motivated by the idea of developing more complex pheromone and path selection behaviour for the algorithm using the concept of opposition. This work proposes opposition-based extensions to the construction and update phases of the ant algorithm. The modifications that focus on the solution construction include three direct and two indirect methods. The three direct methods work by pairing the ants and synchronizing their path selection. The two other approaches modify the decisions of the ants by using opposite-pheromone content. The extension of the update phase lead to an approach that performs additional pheromone updates using opposite decisions. Experimental validation was done using two versions of the ant algorithm: the Ant System and the Ant Colony System. The di erent OBL extensions were applied to the Travelling Salesman Problem (TSP) and to the Grid World Problem (GWP). Results demonstrate that the concept of opposition is not easily applied to the ant algorithm. One pheromone-based method showed performance improvements that were statistically significant for the TSP. The quality of the solutions increased and more optimal solutions were found. The extension to the update phase showed some improvements for the TSP and led to accuracy improvements and a significant speed-up for the GWP. The other extensions showed no clear improvement. The proposed methods for applying opposition to the ant algorithm have potential, but more investigations are required before ant colony optimization can fully benefit from opposition. Most importantly, fundamental theoretical work with graphs, specifically, clearly defining opposite paths or opposite path components, is needed. Overall, the results indicate that OBL ideas can be beneficial for ant algorithms.

Opposition-based learning (OBL) was recently proposed to extend di erent machine learning algorithms. The main idea of OBL is to consider opposite estimates, actions or states as an attempt to increase the coverage of the solution space and to reduce exploration time. OBL has already been applied to reinforcement learning, neural networks and genetic algorithms. This thesis explores the application of OBL to ant algorithms. Ant algorithms are based on the trail laying and following behaviour of ants. They have been successfully applied to many complex optimization problems. However, like any other technique, they can benefit from performance improvements. Thus, this work was motivated by the idea of developing more complex pheromone and path selection behaviour for the algorithm using the concept of opposition. This work proposes opposition-based extensions to the construction and update phases of the ant algorithm. The modifications that focus on the solution construction include three direct and two indirect methods. The three direct methods work by pairing the ants and synchronizing their path selection. The two other approaches modify the decisions of the ants by using opposite-pheromone content. The extension of the update phase lead to an approach that performs additional pheromone updates using opposite decisions. Experimental validation was done using two versions of the ant algorithm: the Ant System and the Ant Colony System. The di erent OBL extensions were applied to the Travelling Salesman Problem (TSP) and to the Grid World Problem (GWP). Results demonstrate that the concept of opposition is not easily applied to the ant algorithm. One pheromone-based method showed performance improvements that were statistically significant for the TSP. The quality of the solutions increased and more optimal solutions were found. The extension to the update phase showed some improvements for the TSP and led to accuracy improvements and a significant speed-up for the GWP. The other extensions showed no clear improvement. The proposed methods for applying opposition to the ant algorithm have potential, but more investigations are required before ant colony optimization can fully benefit from opposition. Most importantly, fundamental theoretical work with graphs, specifically, clearly defining opposite paths or opposite path components, is needed. Overall, the results indicate that OBL ideas can be beneficial for ant algorithms.

This dissertation presents the development of a new concept and technology exploration methodology for aerospace architectures. The methodology is based on modeling the design space by a graph, and optimizing the graph using Ant Colony Optimization. The results show that the proposed design methodology can explore more efficiently the concept and technology space of a launch vehicle architecture than traditional optimization approaches such as Genetic Algorithm and Simulated Annealing. The purpose of the method is to introduce quantitative and simultaneous exploration of concept and technology alternatives during the early phases of conceptual design. To achieve this goal, technical challenges such as expanding the size of the design space, exploring more efficiently the design options, and simultaneously considering technologies and concepts are overcome. The total number of design alternatives grows factorially with the number of concepts in the design space. Under these circumstances, the design space is difficult to explore in its totality. Considering more alternatives has been the focus of several researchers, using Genetic Algorithms and Simulated Annealing. The large number of incompatibilities between alternatives, however, limits these optimization algorithms and reduces the number of concepts or technologies that can be considered. To address these problems, a concept and technology selection methodology is developed. The methodology proposes a way to automatically generate aerospace architectures, and to model concept and technology incompatibilities by means of a graph. In conjunction with this new modeling approach, a graph-based stochastic optimization algorithm is used to efficiently explore the design space. This design methodology is applied to the simultaneous concept and technology exploration of an expendable launch vehicle architecture. This study demonstrates that the consideration of more design alternatives can help design engineers to make more informed decisions during the concept and technology selection process. Moreover, the simultaneous exploration of concepts and technologies has the potential to identify a different set of solutions than the standard approach where the technologies are explored after the concepts have initially been selected.

In this dissertation, we consider the clustering problem in data sets with unknown number of clusters having arbitrary shapes, intracluster and intercluster density variations. We introduce a clustering methodology which is composed of three methods that ensures extraction of local density and connectivity properties, data set reduction, and clustering. The first method constructs a unique neighborhood for each data point using the connectivity and density relations among the points based upon the graph theoretical concepts, mainly Gabriel Graphs. Neighborhoods subsequently connected form subclusters (closures) which constitute the skeleton of the clusters. In the second method, the external shape concept in computational geometry is adapted for data set reduction and cluster visualization. This method extracts the external shape of a non-convex n-dimensional data set using Delaunay triangulation. In the third method, we inquire the applicability of Swarm Intelligence to clustering using Ant Colony Optimization (ACO). Ants explore the data set so that the clusters are detected using density break-offs, connectivity and distance information. The proposed ACO-based algorithm uses the outputs of the neighborhood construction (NC) and the external shape formation. In addition, we propose a three-phase clustering algorithm that consists of NC, outlier detection and merging phases. We test the strengths and the weaknesses of the proposed approaches by extensive experimentation with data sets borrowed from literature and generated in a controlled manner. NC is found to be effective for arbitrary shaped clusters, intracluster and intercluster density variations. The external shape formation algorithm achieves significant reductions for convex clusters. The ACO-based and the three-phase clustering algorithms have promising results for the data sets having well-separated clusters.