In nature animal species often exist in groups. We talk of insect swarms, flocks of birds, packs of lions, herds of wildebeest etc. These are characterised by individuals interacting by following their own rules, privy only to local information. Robotic swarms or simulations can be used explore such interactions. Mathematical formulations can be constructed that encode similar ideas and allow us to explore the emergent group behaviours. Some behaviours show characteristics reminiscent of the phenomena of criticality. A bird flock may show near instantaneous collective shifts in direction: velocity changes that appear to correlated over distances much larger individual separations. Here we examine swarm systems inspired by flocks of birds and the role played by criticality. The first system, Particle Swarm Optimisation (PSO), is shown to behave optimally when operating close to criticality. The presence of a critical point in the algorithm’s operation is shown to derive from the swarm’s properties as a random dynamical system. Empirical results demonstrate that the optimality lies on or near this point. A modified PSO algorithm is presented which uses measures of the swarm’s diversity as a feedback signal to adjust the behaviour of the swarm. This achieves a statistically balanced mixture of exploration and exploitation behaviours in the resultant swarm. The problems of stagnation and parameter tuning often encountered in PSO are automatically avoided. The second system, Swarm Chemistry, consists of heterogeneous particles combined with kinetic update rules. It is known that, depending upon the parametric configuration, numerous structures visually reminiscent of biological forms are found in this system. The parameter set discovered here results in a cell-division-like behaviour (in the sense of prokaryotic fission). Extensions to the swarm system produces a swarm that shows repeated cell division. As such, this model demonstrates a behaviour of interest to theories regarding the origin of life.

Real-world optimisation problems are often very complex. Population-based metaheuristics, such as evolutionary algorithms and particle swarm optimisation (PSO) algorithms, have been successful in solving many of these problems, but it is well known that they sometimes fail. Over the last few decades the focus of research in the field has been largely on the algorithmic side with relatively little attention being paid to the study of the problems. Questions such as ‘Which algorithm will most accurately solve my problem?’ or ‘Which algorithm will most quickly produce a reasonable answer to my problem?’ remain unanswered. This thesis contributes to the understanding of optimisation problems and what makes them hard for algorithms, in particular PSO algorithms. Fitness landscape analysis techniques are developed to characterise continuous optimisation problems and it is shown that this characterisation can be used to predict PSO failure. An essential feature of this approach is that multiple problem characteristics are analysed together, moving away from the idea of a single measure of problem hardness. The resulting prediction models not only lead to a better understanding of the algorithms themselves, but also takes the field a step closer towards the goal of informed decision-making where the most appropriate algorithm is chosen to solve any new complex problem. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2014. / Computer Science / unrestricted

The recent advent of bioinformatics has given rise to the central and recurrent problem of optimally aligning biological sequences. Many techniques have been proposed in an attempt to solve this complex problem with varying degrees of success. This thesis investigates the application of a computational intelligence technique known as particle swarm optimization (PSO) to the multiple sequence alignment (MSA) problem. Firstly, the performance of the standard PSO (S-PSO) and its characteristics are fully analyzed. Secondly, a scalability study is conducted that aims at expanding the S-PSO’s application to complex MSAs, as well as studying the behaviour of three other kinds of PSOs on the same problems. Experimental results show that the PSO is efficient in solving the MSA problem and compares positively with well-known CLUSTAL X and T-COFFEE. / Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2009. / Computer Science / Unrestricted

Production scheduling is one of the most important issues in the planning and operation of manufacturing systems. Customers increasingly expect to receive the right product at the right price at the right time. Various problems experienced in manufacturing, for example low machine utilization and excessive work-in-process, can be attributed directly to inadequate scheduling. In this dissertation a production scheduling algorithm is developed for Optimatix, a South African-based company specializing in supply chain optimization. To address the complex requirements of the customer, the problem was modeled as a flexible job shop scheduling problem with sequence-dependent set-up times, auxiliary resources and production down time. The algorithm development process focused on investigating the application of both particle swarm optimization (PSO) and differential evolution (DE) to production scheduling environments characterized by multiple machines and multiple objectives. Alternative problem representations, algorithm variations and multi-objective optimization strategies were evaluated to obtain an algorithm which performs well against both existing rule-based algorithms and an existing complex flexible job shop scheduling solution strategy. Finally, the generality of the priority-based algorithm was evaluated by applying it to the scheduling of production and maintenance activities at Centurion Ice Cream and Sweets. The production environment was modeled as a multi-objective uniform parallel machine shop problem with sequence-dependent set-up times and unavailability intervals. A self-adaptive modified vector evaluated DE algorithm was developed and compared to classical PSO and DE vector evaluated algorithms. Promising results were obtained with respect to the suitability of the algorithms for solving a range of multi-objective multiple machine scheduling problems. Copyright / Dissertation (MEng)--University of Pretoria, 2009. / Industrial and Systems Engineering / unrestricted

Temporal data is common in real-world datasets. Analysis of such data, for example by means of clustering algorithms, can be difficult due to its dynamic behaviour. There are various types of changes that may occur to clusters in a dataset. Firstly, data patterns can migrate between clusters, shrinking or expanding the clusters. Additionally, entire clusters may move around the search space. Lastly, clusters can split and merge. Data clustering, which is the process of grouping similar objects, is one approach to determine relationships among data patterns, but data clustering approaches can face limitations when applied to temporal data, such as difficulty tracking the moving clusters. This research aims to analyse the ability of particle swarm optimisation (PSO) and differential evolution (DE) algorithms to cluster temporal data. These algorithms experience two weaknesses when applied to temporal data. The first weakness is the loss of diversity, which refers to the fact that the population of the algorithm converges, becoming less diverse and, therefore, limiting the algorithm’s exploration capabilities. The second weakness, outdated memory, is only experienced by the PSO and refers to the previous personal best solutions found by the particles becoming obsolete as the environment changes. A data clustering algorithm that addresses these two weaknesses is necessary to cluster temporal data. This research describes various adaptations of PSO and DE algorithms for the purpose of clustering temporal data. The algorithms proposed aim to address the loss of diversity and outdated memory problems experienced by PSO and DE algorithms. These problems are addressed by combining approaches previously used for the purpose of dealing with temporal or dynamic data, such as repulsion and anti-convergence, with PSO and DE approaches used to cluster data. Six PSO algorithms are introduced in this research, namely the data clustering particle swarm optimisation (DCPSO), reinitialising data clustering particle swarm optimisation (RDCPSO), cooperative data clustering particle swarm optimisation (CDCPSO), multi-swarm data clustering particle swarm optimisation (MDCPSO), cooperative multi-swarm data clustering particle swarm optimisation (CMDCPSO), and elitist cooperative multi-swarm data clustering particle swarm optimisation (eCMDCPSO). Additionally, four DE algorithms are introduced, namely the data clustering differential evolution (DCDE), re-initialising data clustering differential evolution (RDCDE), dynamic data clustering differential evolution (DCDynDE), and cooperative dynamic data clustering differential evolution (CDCDynDE). The PSO and DE algorithms introduced require prior knowledge of the total number of clusters in the dataset. The total number of clusters in a real-world dataset, however, is not always known. For this reason, the best performing PSO and best performing DE are compared. The CDCDynDE is selected as the winning algorithm, which is then adapted to determine the optimal number of clusters dynamically. The resulting algorithm is the k-independent cooperative data clustering differential evolution (KCDCDynDE) algorithm, which was compared against the local network neighbourhood artificial immune system (LNNAIS) algorithm, which is an artificial immune system (AIS) designed to cluster temporal data and determine the total number of clusters dynamically. It was determined that the KCDCDynDE performed the clustering task well for problems with frequently changing data, high-dimensions, and pattern and cluster data migration types. / Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2015. / Computer Science / Unrestricted

The aim of this thesis is to investigate PMSM models with internal faults. Two fault models are introduced. One of them is suitable for simulation of stator winding inter-turn short fault in case of one pole-pair motor and other one for simulation of inter-turn fault in case of multiple pole-pair motor. There are described some methods for model based fault detection of internal faults and sensor faults.

This thesis deals with design and implementation of an investment model, which applies methods of Post-modern portfolio theory. Particle swarm optimization (PSO) metaheuristic was used for portfolio optimization and the parameters were analyzed with several experiments. Johnsons SU distribution was used for estimation of future returns as it proved to be the best of analyzed distributions. The result is software application written in Python, which is tested for stability and performance of model in extreme situations.

This work deals with the PSO technique (Particle Swarm Optimization), which is capable to solve complex problems. This technique can be used for solving complex combinatorial problems (the traveling salesman problem, the tasks of knapsack), design of integrated circuits and antennas, in fields such as biomedicine, robotics, artificial intelligence or finance. Although the PSO algorithm is very efficient, the time required to seek out appropriate solutions for real problems often makes the task intractable. The goal of this work is to accelerate the execution time of this algorithm by the usage of Graphics processors (GPU), which offers higher computing potential while preserving the favorable price and size. The boolean satisfiability problem (SAT) was chosen to verify and benchmark the implementation. As the SAT problem belongs to the class of the NP-complete problems, any reduction of the solution time may broaden the class of tractable problems and bring us new interesting knowledge.

This thesis deals with a population based stochastic optimization technique PSO (Particle Swarm Optimization) and its acceleration. This simple, but very effective technique is designed for solving difficult multidimensional problems in a wide range of applications. The aim of this work is to develop a parallel implementation of this algorithm with an emphasis on acceleration of finding a solution. For this purpose, a graphics card (GPU) providing massive performance was chosen. To evaluate the benefits of the proposed implementation, a CPU and GPU implementation were created for solving a problem derived from the known NP-hard Knapsack problem. The GPU application shows 5 times average and almost 10 times the maximum speedup of computation compared to an optimized CPU application, which it is based on.

The phenomenon of overfitting, where a feed-forward neural network (FFNN) over trains on training data at the cost of generalisation accuracy is known to be speci c to the training algorithm used. This study investigates over tting within the context of particle swarm optimised (PSO) FFNNs. Two of the most widely used PSO algorithms are compared in terms of FFNN accuracy and a description of the over tting behaviour is established. Each of the PSO components are in turn investigated to determine their e ect on FFNN over tting. A study of the maximum velocity (Vmax) parameter is performed and it is found that smaller Vmax values are optimal for FFNN training. The analysis is extended to the inertia and acceleration coe cient parameters, where it is shown that speci c interactions among the parameters have a dominant e ect on the resultant FFNN accuracy and may be used to reduce over tting. Further, the signi cant e ect of the swarm size on network accuracy is also shown, with a critical range being identi ed for the swarm size for e ective training. The study is concluded with an investigation into the e ect of the di erent activation functions. Given strong empirical evidence, an hypothesis is made that stating the gradient of the activation function signi cantly a ects the convergence of the PSO. Lastly, the PSO is shown to be a very effective algorithm for the training of self-adaptive FFNNs, capable of learning from unscaled data. / Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2014. / tm2015 / Computer Science / MSc / Unrestricted