Abstract
NK landscapes (NKL) are stochastically generated pseudo-boolean functions with N bits (genes) and K interactions between genes. By means of the parameter K ruggedness as well as the epistasis can be controlled. NKL are particularly useful to understand the dynamics of evolutionary search. We extend NKL from the traditional binary case to a mixed variable case with continuous, nominal discrete, and integer variables. The resulting test function generator is a suitable test model for mixed-integer evolutionary algorithms (MI-EA) – i. e. instantiations of evolution algorithms that can deal with the aforementioned variable types. We provide a comprehensive introduction to mixed-integer NKL and characteristics of the model (global/local optima, computation, etc.). Finally, a first study of the performance of mixed-integer evolution strategies on this problem family is provided, the results of which underpin its applicability for optimization algorithm design.
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Li, R. et al. (2006). Mixed-Integer NK Landscapes. In: Runarsson, T.P., Beyer, HG., Burke, E., Merelo-Guervós, J.J., Whitley, L.D., Yao, X. (eds) Parallel Problem Solving from Nature - PPSN IX. PPSN 2006. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 4193. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/11844297_5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/11844297_5
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