Online Cluster-Based Parameter Control for Metaheuristic

The concept of parameter setting is a crucial and significant process in metaheuristics since it can majorly impact their performance. It is a highly complex and challenging procedure since it requires a deep understanding of the optimization algorithm and the optimization problem at hand. In recent years, the upcoming rise of autonomous decision systems has attracted ongoing scientific interest in this direction, utilizing a considerable number of parameter-tuning methods. There are two types of methods: offline and online. Online methods usually excel in complex real-world problems, as they can offer dynamic parameter control throughout the execution of the algorithm. The present work proposes a general-purpose online parameter-tuning method called Cluster-Based Parameter Adaptation (CPA) for population-based metaheuristics. The main idea lies in the identification of promising areas within the parameter search space and in the generation of new parameters around these areas. The method's validity has been demonstrated using the differential evolution algorithm and verified in established test suites of low- and high-dimensional problems. The obtained results are statistically analyzed and compared with state-of-the-art algorithms, including advanced auto-tuning approaches. The analysis reveals the promising solid CPA's performance as well as its robustness under a variety of benchmark problems and dimensions.