Evolutionary Multitask Optimization in Real-World Applications: A Survey

Yue Wu; Hangqi Ding; Benhua Xiang; Jinlong Sheng; Wenping Ma; Kai Qin; Qiguang Miao; Maoguo Gong

doi:10.37965/jait.2023.0149

Evolutionary Multitask Optimization in Real-World Applications: A Survey

Authors

Yue Wu School of Computer Science and Technology, Xidian University, China https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3459-5079
Hangqi Ding School of Computer Science and Technology, Xidian University, China https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4526-6123
Benhua Xiang School of Computer Science and Technology, Xidian University, China https://orcid.org/0009-0000-5454-2014
Jinlong Sheng School of Computer Science and Technology, Xidian University, China
Wenping Ma School of Artificial Intelligence, Xidian University, China
Kai Qin Department of Computing Technologies, Swinburne University of Technology, Australia
Qiguang Miao School of Computer Science and Technology, Xidian University, China
Maoguo Gong School of Electronic Engineering, Xidian University, China

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.37965/jait.2023.0149

Keywords:

evolutionary multitasking, evolutionary algorithm, optimization

Abstract

Because of its strong ability to solve problems, evolutionary multitask optimization (EMTO) algorithms have been widely studied recently. Evolutionary algorithms have the advantage of fast searching for the optimal solution, but it is easy to fall into local optimum and diffificult to generalize. Combining evolutionary multitask algorithms with evolutionary optimization algorithms can be an effective method for solving these problems. Through the implicit parallelism of tasks themselves and the knowledge transfer between tasks, more promising individual algorithms can be generated in the evolution process, which can jump out of the local optimum. How to better combine the two has also been studied more and more. This paper explores the existing evolutionary multitasking theory and improvement scheme in detail. Then, it summarizes the application of EMTO in different scenarios. Finally, according to the existing research, the future research trends and potential exploration directions are revealed.