Hybrid Systems

Abstract

We know that no single algorithm can be the best approach to solve every problem. We have to incorporate knowledge about the problem at hand into our algorithm in some useful manner; otherwise, it may not be any better than a random search. One way to approach this issue is to hybridize an evolutionary algorithm with more standard procedures, such as hill-climbing or greedy methods. Individual solutions can be improved using local techniques and then placed back in competition with other members of the population. The initial population can be seeded with solutions that are found with classic methods. There are many ways to form hybrid approaches that marry evolutionary algorithms with other procedures.

‘The time has come,’ the Walrus said, ‘To talk of many things: Of shoes—and ships—and sealing wax—Of cabbages—and kings—And why the sea is boiling hot—And whether pigs have wings.’

Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking-Glass