Engineering Commons^™

Many optimization problems are multi-modal. In certain cases, we are interested in finding multiple locally optimal solutions rather than just a single optimum as is computed by traditional genetic algorithms (GAs). Several niching techniques have been developed that seek to find multiple such local optima. These techniques, which include sharing and crowding, are clearly powerful and useful. But they do not explicitly let the user control the number of local optima being computed, which we believe to be an important capability.

In this paper, we develop a method that provides, as an input parameter to niching, the desired number of …

Mobile devices have evolved to become computing platforms more similar to desktops and workstations than the cell phones and handsets of yesteryear. Unfortunately, today’s mobile infrastructures are mirrors of the wired past. Devices, apps, and networks impact one another, but a systematic approach for allowing them to cooperate is currently missing. We propose an approach that seeks to open key interfaces and to apply feedback and autonomic computing to improve both user experience and mobile system dynamics.