Now showing 1 - 10 of 11
  • Publication
    Combining structural analysis and multi-objective criteria for evolutionary architectural design
    This study evolves and categorises a population of conceptual designs by their ability to handle physical constraints. The design process involves a trade-off between form and function. The aesthetic considerations of the designer are constrained by physical considerations and material cost. In previous work, we developed a design grammar capable of evolving aesthetically pleasing designs through the use of an interactive evolutionary algorithm. This work implements a fitness function capable of applying engineering objectives to automatically evaluate designs and, in turn, reduce the search space that is presented to the user.
    Scopus© Citations 27  1084
  • Publication
    Genotype representations in grammatical evolution
    Grammatical evolution (GE) is a form of grammar-based genetic programming. A particular feature of GE is that it adopts a distinction between the genotype and phenotype similar to that which exists in nature by using a grammar to map between the genotype and phenotype. Two variants of genotype representation are found in the literature, namely, binary and integer forms. For the first time we anal- yse and compare these two representations to determine if one has a performance advantage over the other. As such this study seeks to extend our understanding of GE by examining the impact of different genotypic representations in order to determine whether certain representations, and associated diversity-generation op- erators, improve GE’s efficiency and effectiveness. Four mutation operators using two different representations, binary and gray code representation respectively, are investigated. The differing combinations of representation and mutation operator are tested on three benchmark problems. The results provide support for the use of an integer-based genotypic representation as the alternative representations do not exhibit better performance, and the integer reprensentation provides a statistically significant advantage on one of the three benchmarks. In addition, a novel wrapping operator for the binary and gray code representations is examined, and it is found that across the three problems examined there is no general trend to recommend the adoption of an alternative wrapping operator. The results also back up earlier findings which support the adoption of wrapping.
    Scopus© Citations 33  710
  • Publication
    A non-destructive grammar modification approach to modularity in grammatical evolution
    Modularity has proven to be an important aspect of evolutionary computation. This work is concerned with discovering and using modules in one form of grammar-based genetic programming, grammatical evolution (GE). Previous work has shown that simply adding modules to GE’s grammar has the potential to disrupt fit individuals developed by evolution up to that point. This paper presents a solution to prevent the disturbance in fitness that can come with modifying GE’s grammar with previously discovered modules. The results show an increase in performance from a previously examined grammar modification approach and also an increase in performance when compared to standard GE.
      491Scopus© Citations 14
  • Publication
    Investigation of the performance of different mapping orders for GE on the max problem
    We present an analysis of how the genotype-phenotype map in Grammatical Evolution (GE) can effect performance on the Max Problem. Earlier studies have demonstrated a performance decrease for Position independent Grammatical Evolution (πGE ) in this problem domain. In πGE the genotype-phenotype map is changed so that the evolutionary algorithm controls not only what the next expansion will be but also the choice of what position in the derivation tree is expanded next. In this study we extend previous work and investigate whether the ability to change the order of expansion is responsible for the performance decrease or if the problem is simply that a certain order of expansion in the genotype-phenotype map is responsible. We conclude that the reduction of performance in the Max problem domain by πGE is rooted in the way the genotype-phenotype map and the genetic operators used with this mapping interact.
      417Scopus© Citations 4
  • Publication
    GEVA - Grammatical Evolution in Java (v1.0)
    (University College Dublin. School of Computer Science and Informatics, 2008-12-05) ; ; ; ; ;
    GEVA is an open source implementation of Grammatical Evolution in Java developed at UCD’s Natural Computing Research & Applications group. As well as providing the characteristic genotype-phenotype mapper of GE a search algorithm engine and a simple GUI are also provided. A number of sample problems and tutorials on how to use and adapt GEVA have been developed.
      97
  • Publication
    Evolutionary design using grammatical evolution and shape grammars : designing a shelter
    A new evolutionary design tool is presented, which uses shape grammars and a grammar-based form of evolutionary computation, grammatical evolution (GE). Shape grammars allow the user to specify possible forms, and GE allows forms to be iteratively selected, recombined and mutated: this is shown to be a powerful combination of techniques. The potential of GE and shape grammars for evolutionary design is examined by attempting to design a single-person shelter to be evaluated by collaborators from the University College Dublin School of Architecture, Landscape, and Engineering. The team was able to successfully generate conceptual shelter designs based on scrutiny from the collaborators. A number of avenues for future work are highlighted arising from the case study.
      1903
  • Publication
    GEVA : grammatical evolution in Java
    We are delighted to announce the release of GEVA an open source software implementation of Grammatical Evolution (GE) in Java. Grammatical Evolution in Java (GEVA) was developed at UCD’s Natural Computing Research & Applications group (http://ncra.ucd.ie).
      2350
  • Publication
    Dynamic ant : introducing a new benchmark for genetic programming in dynamic environments
    (University College Dublin. School of Computer Science and Informatics, 2011-04-14) ; ; ; ;
    In this paper we present a new variant of the ant problem in the dynamic problem domain. This approach presents a functional dynamism to the problem landscape, where by the behaviour of the ant is driven by its ability to explore the search space being constrained. This restriction is designed in such a way as to ensure that no generalised solution to the problem is possible, thus providing a functional change in behaviour.
      266
  • Publication
    Tracer spectrum : a visualisation method for distributed evolutionary computation
    We present a novel visualisation method for island-based evolutionary algorithms based on the concept of tracers as adopted in medicine and molecular biology to follow a biochemical process. For example, a radioisotope or dye can be used to replace a stable component of a biological compound, and the signal from the radioisotope can be monitored as it passes through the body to measure the compound’s distribution and elimination from the system. In a similar fashion we attach a tracer dye to individuals in each island, where each individual in any one island is marked with the same colour, and each island then has its own unique colour signal. We can then monitor how individuals undergoing migration events are distributed throughout the entire island ecosystem, thereby allowing the user to visually monitor takeover times and the resulting loss of diversity. This is achieved by visualising each island as a spectrum of the tracer dye associated with each individual. Experiments adopting different rates of migration and network connectivity confirm earlier research which predicts that island models are extremely sensitive to the size and frequency of migrations
      430Scopus© Citations 1
  • Publication
    Interactive operators for evolutionary architectural design
    (University College Dublin. School of Computer Science and Informatics, 2011-04-12) ; ;
    In this paper we explore different techniques that allow the user to direct interactive evolutionary search. Broadening interaction beyond simple evaluation increases the amount of feedback and bias a user can apply to the search. Increased feedback will have the effect of directing the algorithm to more fruitful areas of the search space. This paper examines whether additional feedback from the user can be a benefit to the problem of evolutionary design. We find that the interface between the user and the search space plays a vital role in this process.
      793