Enhanced Ideal Objective Vector Estimation for Evolutionary Multi-Objective Optimization

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Zheng, Ruihao, Wang, Zhenkun, Wu, Yin, Gong, Maoguo
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Zheng, Ruihao
Wang, Zhenkun
Wu, Yin
Gong, Maoguo
author_facet Zheng, Ruihao
Wang, Zhenkun
Wu, Yin
Gong, Maoguo
contents The ideal objective vector, which comprises the optimal values of the $m$ objective functions in an $m$-objective optimization problem, is an important concept in evolutionary multi-objective optimization. Accurate estimation of this vector has consistently been a crucial task, as it is frequently used to guide the search process and normalize the objective space. Prevailing estimation methods all involve utilizing the best value concerning each objective function achieved by the individuals in the current or accumulated population. However, this paper reveals that the population-based estimation method can only work on simple problems but falls short on problems with substantial bias. The biases in multi-objective optimization problems can be divided into three categories, and an analysis is performed to illustrate how each category hinders the estimation of the ideal objective vector. Subsequently, a set of test instances is proposed to quantitatively evaluate the impact of various biases on the ideal objective vector estimation method. Beyond that, a plug-and-play component called enhanced ideal objective vector estimation (EIE) is introduced for multi-objective evolutionary algorithms (MOEAs). EIE features adaptive and fine-grained searches over $m$ subproblems defined by the extreme weighted sum method. EIE finally outputs $m$ solutions that can well approximate the ideal objective vector. In the experiments, EIE is integrated into three representative MOEAs. To demonstrate the wide applicability of EIE, algorithms are tested not only on the newly proposed test instances but also on existing ones. The results consistently show that EIE improves the ideal objective vector estimation and enhances the MOEA's performance.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2505_21903
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Enhanced Ideal Objective Vector Estimation for Evolutionary Multi-Objective Optimization
Zheng, Ruihao
Wang, Zhenkun
Wu, Yin
Gong, Maoguo
Neural and Evolutionary Computing
The ideal objective vector, which comprises the optimal values of the $m$ objective functions in an $m$-objective optimization problem, is an important concept in evolutionary multi-objective optimization. Accurate estimation of this vector has consistently been a crucial task, as it is frequently used to guide the search process and normalize the objective space. Prevailing estimation methods all involve utilizing the best value concerning each objective function achieved by the individuals in the current or accumulated population. However, this paper reveals that the population-based estimation method can only work on simple problems but falls short on problems with substantial bias. The biases in multi-objective optimization problems can be divided into three categories, and an analysis is performed to illustrate how each category hinders the estimation of the ideal objective vector. Subsequently, a set of test instances is proposed to quantitatively evaluate the impact of various biases on the ideal objective vector estimation method. Beyond that, a plug-and-play component called enhanced ideal objective vector estimation (EIE) is introduced for multi-objective evolutionary algorithms (MOEAs). EIE features adaptive and fine-grained searches over $m$ subproblems defined by the extreme weighted sum method. EIE finally outputs $m$ solutions that can well approximate the ideal objective vector. In the experiments, EIE is integrated into three representative MOEAs. To demonstrate the wide applicability of EIE, algorithms are tested not only on the newly proposed test instances but also on existing ones. The results consistently show that EIE improves the ideal objective vector estimation and enhances the MOEA's performance.
title Enhanced Ideal Objective Vector Estimation for Evolutionary Multi-Objective Optimization
topic Neural and Evolutionary Computing
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2505.21903