Multi-objective optimisation with a sequence-based selection hyper-heuristic

Abstract

Hyper-heuristics have been used widely to solve optimisation problems, often single-objective and discrete in nature. Herein, we extend a recently-proposed selection hyper-heuristic to the multiobjective domain and with it optimise continuous problems. The MOSSHH algorithm operates as a hidden Markov model, using transition probabilities to determine which low-level heuristic or sequence of heuristics should be applied next. By incorporating dominance into the transition probability update rule, and an elite archive of solutions, MOSSHH generates solutions to multi-objective problems that are competitive with bespoke multi-objective algorithms. When applied to test problems, it is able to find good approximations to the true Pareto front, and yields information about the type of low-level heuristics that it uses to solve the problem.