ParetoTracker: Understanding Population Dynamics in Multi-objective Evolutionary Algorithms through Visual Analytics

Fuente: arXiv
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Hauptverfasser: Zhang, Zherui, Yang, Fan, Cheng, Ran, Ma, Yuxin
Format: Preprint
Veröffentlicht: 2024
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author Zhang, Zherui
Yang, Fan
Cheng, Ran
Ma, Yuxin
author_facet Zhang, Zherui
Yang, Fan
Cheng, Ran
Ma, Yuxin
contents Multi-objective evolutionary algorithms (MOEAs) have emerged as powerful tools for solving complex optimization problems characterized by multiple, often conflicting, objectives. While advancements have been made in computational efficiency as well as diversity and convergence of solutions, a critical challenge persists: the internal evolutionary mechanisms are opaque to human users. Drawing upon the successes of explainable AI in explaining complex algorithms and models, we argue that the need to understand the underlying evolutionary operators and population dynamics within MOEAs aligns well with a visual analytics paradigm. This paper introduces ParetoTracker, a visual analytics framework designed to support the comprehension and inspection of population dynamics in the evolutionary processes of MOEAs. Informed by preliminary literature review and expert interviews, the framework establishes a multi-level analysis scheme, which caters to user engagement and exploration ranging from examining overall trends in performance metrics to conducting fine-grained inspections of evolutionary operations. In contrast to conventional practices that require manual plotting of solutions for each generation, ParetoTracker facilitates the examination of temporal trends and dynamics across consecutive generations in an integrated visual interface. The effectiveness of the framework is demonstrated through case studies and expert interviews focused on widely adopted benchmark optimization problems.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2408_04539
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle ParetoTracker: Understanding Population Dynamics in Multi-objective Evolutionary Algorithms through Visual Analytics
Zhang, Zherui
Yang, Fan
Cheng, Ran
Ma, Yuxin
Neural and Evolutionary Computing
Human-Computer Interaction
Multi-objective evolutionary algorithms (MOEAs) have emerged as powerful tools for solving complex optimization problems characterized by multiple, often conflicting, objectives. While advancements have been made in computational efficiency as well as diversity and convergence of solutions, a critical challenge persists: the internal evolutionary mechanisms are opaque to human users. Drawing upon the successes of explainable AI in explaining complex algorithms and models, we argue that the need to understand the underlying evolutionary operators and population dynamics within MOEAs aligns well with a visual analytics paradigm. This paper introduces ParetoTracker, a visual analytics framework designed to support the comprehension and inspection of population dynamics in the evolutionary processes of MOEAs. Informed by preliminary literature review and expert interviews, the framework establishes a multi-level analysis scheme, which caters to user engagement and exploration ranging from examining overall trends in performance metrics to conducting fine-grained inspections of evolutionary operations. In contrast to conventional practices that require manual plotting of solutions for each generation, ParetoTracker facilitates the examination of temporal trends and dynamics across consecutive generations in an integrated visual interface. The effectiveness of the framework is demonstrated through case studies and expert interviews focused on widely adopted benchmark optimization problems.
title ParetoTracker: Understanding Population Dynamics in Multi-objective Evolutionary Algorithms through Visual Analytics
topic Neural and Evolutionary Computing
Human-Computer Interaction
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2408.04539