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Nature-inspired algorithms allow us to solve many problems related to the search for optimal solutions. One such issue is the problem of searching for optimal routes. In this paper, ant colony optimization is used to search for optimal tram routes. Ant colony optimization is a method inspired by the behavior of ants in nature, which as a group are able to successfully find optimal routes from the nest to food. The aim of this paper is to present a practical application of the algorithm as a tool for public transport network planning. In urban public transport, travel time is crucial. It is a major factor in passengers' choice of transport mode. Therefore, in this paper, the objective function determining the operation of the algorithm is driving time. Scheduled time, real time and theoretical time are analyzed and compared. The routes are then compared with each other in order to select the optimal solution. A case study involving one of the largest tramway networks in Poland demonstrates the effectiveness of the nature-inspired algorithm. The obtained results allow route optimization by selecting the route with the shortest travel time. Thus, the development of the entire network is also possible. In addition, due to its versatility, the method can be applied to various modes of transport. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) is a powerful metaheuristic algorithm widely used to solve complex optimization problems in production and logistics. This paper presents a methodology for enhancing the ACO performance when applied to Traveling Salesman Problems (TSP). By reducing the number of ants in the colony, the algorithm's computational speed improves but solution quality is sacrificed. An optimal number of ants to produce the best results in the shortest time is specific to the problem at hand and can't be defined generally. This paper investigates the effect of ant population reduction relative to the problem size by measuring its impact on solution quality and execution time. Results show that for certain problem sizes ant population and execution time can be halved with practically no reduction in solution quality, or they can be reduced 5 times at the price of slightly worse solution quality. Reduction of ant population is much more impactful on reduction of execution time than it is on solution quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The autonomous operation of a device or a system is one of the many vital tasks that need to be achieved in many areas of industry. This is also true for maritime transport. This paper introduces an approach developed in order to achieve the autonomous operation of a ship in a port. A safe trajectory was calculated with the use of the Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) algorithm. The ship motion control was based on two controllers: the master overriding trajectory controller (OTC) and the slave low speed controller based on the Linear Matrix Inequalities (LMI) method. The control object was the model of a Very Large Crude Carrier Blue Lady. The results of our simulation tests, which show the safe trajectories calculated by the ACO algorithm and executed by the ship using the designed controllers (OTC and LMI), are presented in this paper. The results present maneuvers executed by the Blue Lady ship when at port. The area where the tests were conducted is located in the Ship Handling, Research and Training Center of the Foundation for Shipping Safety and Environmental Protection on the Lake Silm in Kamionka, Poland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Succinic acid, also known as dicarboxylic acid, is one of the biochemical products chemically produced from Escherichia coli (E. coli) metabolism. However, by using conventional methods succinic acid cannot be produced sufficiently and it is costly. Hence, there is a lot of ongoing research on E. coli by using in silico methods. Researchers build computational models of E. coli to analyze and modify their metabolic network. This paper proposes a hybrid of ant colony optimization–genetic algorithm–flux balance analysis (ACOGAFBA) in enhancing the succinic acid production of E. coli by identifying genes to be knocked out. Ant colony optimization (ACO) is a swarm intelligent optimization that is inspired based on the natural foraging behavior of ant colony. Local search technique like genetic algorithm (GA) is applied to solve optimization and search problem by approximation. Flux balance analysis (FBA) is used for fitness calculation after gene knockout. FBA identifies a point (fitness) in flux space by using quadratic programming, which is closest to the wild type point. ACOGAFBA produced three sets of gene knockout lists. The dataset i JR904 is used in this paper. The results show that ACOGAFBA can identify the set of knockout genes to improve succinic acid production in E. coli. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the application of machine learning to develop a response model to cardiovascular problems and the use of AdaBoost which incorporates an application of Outlier Detection methodologies namely; Z-Score incorporated with Grey Wolf Optimization (GWO) as well as Interquartile Range (IQR) coupled with Ant Colony Optimization (ACO). Using a performance index, it is shown that when compared with the Z-Score and GWO with AdaBoost, the IQR and ACO, with AdaBoost are not very accurate (89.0% vs. 86.0%) and less discriminative (Area Under the Curve (AUC) score of 93.0% vs. 91.0%). The Z-Score and GWO methods also outperformed the others in terms of precision, scoring 89.0%; and the recall was also found to be satisfactory, scoring 90.0%. Thus, the paper helps to reveal various specific benefits and drawbacks associated with different outlier detection and feature selection techniques, which can be important to consider in further improving various aspects of diagnostics in cardiovascular health. Collectively, these findings can enhance the knowledge of heart disease prediction and patient treatment using enhanced and innovative machine learning (ML) techniques. These findings when combined improve patient therapy knowledge and cardiac disease prediction through the use of cutting-edge and improved machine learning approaches. This work lays the groundwork for more precise diagnosis models by highlighting the benefits of combining multiple optimization methodologies. Future studies should focus on maximizing patient outcomes and model efficacy through research on these combinations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aiming at the shortcomings of single ant colony optimization such as many redundant nodes, slow convergence and low efficiency, based on the idea of "selection-crossover" of genetic algorithm, an improved fusion algorithm of ant colony optimization and genetic algorithm is proposed. In this paper, the fusion algorithm includes "optimal strategy" and "genetic region strategy". The optimal strategy is that high-quality parents are selected by roulette in the first M 1 paths of each generation; genetic region strategy is that according to the path information of the parents, the grid map is divided into genetic area and nongenetic area. Genetic area refers to the area where the offspring ants can pass, and nongenetic area refers to the area where the offspring ants can't pass; finally, the offspring ant searches the path in the genetic region to reduce the search range of the offspring ant and improve the convergence speed. Simulation results show that the fusion algorithm has faster searching speed and more stable convergence than the basic ant colony optimization and other improved ant colony optimization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The basic genetic algorithm usually has the following problems when solving robot path planning problems. First, the chromosome (path) of the first generation is randomly generated, so its fitness is often too high, resulting in too slow convergence speed and even unable to obtain the global optimal solution. Second, in the crossover operator, the selection of crossover points is often random, which cannot ensure that the fitness of cross generated offspring is better than that of their parents. Finally, in the mutation stage, because the traditional mutation strategy is to replace the selected mutation node in the individual chromosome with a random node, the offspring path generated by the mutation operator is likely to be discontinuous, so it cannot reflect the effectiveness of the mutation operator. Based on the mentioned contents, some improved strategies are proposed for the discussed three shortcomings of the basic genetic algorithm. First, a new generation mechanism of the first generation is constructed by simulating the path finding rules of ants in ant colony optimization, which greatly improves the quality of the first generation. Second, during crossover operator, the chromosomes of the two parents are disconnected at the same node, and the optimal chromosome fragments in each segment are combined based on greed, so as to gather all the excellent gene fragments of the parents in an individual as much as possible, improve the quality of the offspring after crossover operator, and speed up the convergence speed. Finally, a new mutation strategy is proposed to eliminate redundant sections and the number of corners, so that the individuals always can be mutated in a good direction. A large number of simulation results show that the improved genetic algorithm is effective in solving the robot path planning problem, and the overall performance is better than the basic genetic algorithm and some other improved genetic algorithms. Finally, by modeling and simulating the real enterprise factory environment based on the ROS platform, the experimental results also verify the effectiveness and feasibility of the improved genetic algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The CloudAnalyst simulation tool offers various load balancing techniques that can be utilized for efficiently distributing tasks. This research paper explores various load balancing techniques by utilizing the CloudAnalyst simulation tool. The research paper intends to evaluate and contrast the effectiveness of conventional load balancing techniques. While gathering information, the technique entails the simulation of diverse cases with varying parameters, including server capacity, workload, and network latency. The results are compared and contrasted to demonstrate that each technique for load balancing has strengths and weaknesses, and that the most suitable technique should be chosen based on the specific scenario. The Round Robin algorithm is easy to implement but may not be suitable for all scenarios. The Least Connection algorithm is suitable for scenarios where server capacity is not uniform. The IP Hash algorithm is useful for stateful applications, while the Weighted Round Robin algorithm is suitable for scenarios where servers have different capacities. The Least time algorithm is useful for scenarios where processing time is critical. The proposed framework for this research paper is based on nature-inspired load balancing using the CloudAnalyst simulation tool. The framework aims to develop a load balancing algorithm that can adapt to changing workload patterns in real-time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) play a vital role in various fields, but ensuring optimal coverage poses a significant challenge due to the limited energy resources that constrain sensor nodes. To address this issue, this paper presents a novel approach that combines the binary ant colony algorithm (BACA), a variant of ant colony optimization (ACO), with other search optimization algorithms, such as hill climbing (HC) and simulated annealing (SA). The BACA is employed to generate an initial solution by emulating the foraging behavior of ants and the pheromone trails they leave behind in their search for food. However, we acknowledge that the BACA alone may not guarantee the most optimal solution. Subsequently, HC and SA are optimization search algorithms that refine the initial solution obtained by the BACA to find a more enhanced solution. Through extensive simulations and experiments, we demonstrate that our proposed approach results in enhanced coverage and energy-efficient coverage in a two-dimensional (2D) field. Interestingly, our findings reveal that HC consistently outperforms SA, particularly in less complex search spaces, leveraging its robust exploitation approach. Our research contributes valuable insights into optimizing WSN coverage, highlighting the superiority of HC in this context. Finally, we outline promising future research directions that can advance the optimization of WSN coverage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Segmentation of skin lesions remains essential in histological diagnosis and skin cancer surveillance. Recent advances in deep learning have paved the way for greater improvements in medical imaging. The Hybrid Residual Networks (ResUNet) model, supplemented with Ant Colony Optimization (ACO), represents the synergy of these improvements aimed at improving the efficiency and effectiveness of skin lesion diagnosis. Objective: This paper seeks to evaluate the effectiveness of the Hybrid ResUNet model for skin lesion classification and assess its impact on optimizing ACO performance to bridge the gap between computational efficiency and clinical utility. Methods: The study used a deep learning design on a complex dataset that included a variety of skin lesions. The method includes training a Hybrid ResUNet model with standard parameters and fine-tuning using ACO for hyperparameter optimization. Performance was evaluated using traditional metrics such as accuracy, dice coefficient, and Jaccard index compared with existing models such as residual network (ResNet) and U-Net. Results: The proposed hybrid ResUNet model exhibited excellent classification accuracy, reflected in the noticeable improvement in all evaluated metrics. His ability to describe complex lesions was particularly outstanding, improving diagnostic accuracy. Our experimental results demonstrate that the proposed Hybrid ResUNet model outperforms existing state-of-the-art methods, achieving an accuracy of 95.8%, a Dice coefficient of 93.1%, and a Jaccard index of 87.5. Conclusion: The addition of ResUNet to ACO in the proposed Hybrid ResUNet model significantly improves the classification of skin lesions. This integration goes beyond traditional paradigms and demonstrates a viable strategy for deploying AI-powered tools in clinical settings. Future work: Future investigations will focus on increasing the version's abilities by using multi-modal imaging information, experimenting with alternative optimization algorithms, and comparing real-world medical applicability. There is also a promising scope for enhancing computational performance and exploring the model's interpretability for more clinical adoption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the principles of biomimicry, evolutionary algorithms (EAs) have been widely applied across diverse domains to tackle practical challenges. However, the inherent limitations of these algorithms call for further refinement to strike a delicate balance between global exploration and local exploitation. Thus, this paper introduces a novel multi-strategy enhanced hybrid algorithm called MHWACO, which integrates a Whale Optimization Algorithm (WOA) and Ant Colony Optimization (ACO). Initially, MHWACO employs Gaussian perturbation optimization for individual initialization. Subsequently, individuals selectively undertake either localized exploration based on the refined WOA or global prospecting anchored in the Golden Sine Algorithm (Golden-SA), determined by transition probabilities. Inspired by the collaborative behavior of ant colonies, a Flight Ant (FA) strategy is proposed to guide unoptimized individuals toward potential global optimal solutions. Finally, the Gaussian scatter search (GSS) strategy is activated during low population activity, striking a balance between global exploration and local exploitation capabilities. Moreover, the efficacy of Support Vector Regression (SVR) and random forest (RF) as regression models heavily depends on parameter selection. In response, we have devised the MHWACO-SVM and MHWACO-RF models to refine the selection of parameters, applying them to various real-world problems such as stock prediction, housing estimation, disease forecasting, fire prediction, and air quality monitoring. Experimental comparisons against 9 newly proposed intelligent optimization algorithms and 9 enhanced algorithms across 34 benchmark test functions and the CEC2022 benchmark suite, highlight the notable superiority and efficacy of MSWOA in addressing global optimization problems. Finally, the proposed MHWACO-SVM and MHWACO-RF models outperform other regression models across key metrics such as the Mean Bias Error (MBE), Coefficient of Determination ( R 2 ), Mean Absolute Error (MAE), Explained Variance Score (EVS), and Median Absolute Error (MEAE). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a novel approach to predicting specific monitoring timeframes for Permanent Pacemaker Implantation (PPMI) requirements following a Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR). The method combines Quantum Ant Colony Optimization (QACO) with the Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS) and incorporates expert knowledge. Although this forecast is more precise, it requires a larger number of predictors to achieve this level of accuracy. Our model deploys expert-derived insights to guarantee the clinical relevance and interpretability of the predicted outcomes. Additionally, we employ quantum computing techniques to address this complex and high-dimensional problem. Through extensive assessments, we show that our quantum-enhanced model outperforms traditional methods with notable improvement in evaluation metrics, such as accuracy, precision, recall, and F1 score. Furthermore, with the integration of eXplainable AI (XAI) methods, our solution enhances the transparency and reliability of medical predictive models, hence promoting improved clinical practice decision-making. The findings highlight how quantum computing has the potential to completely transform predictive analytics in the medical field, especially when it comes to improving patient care after TAVR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a systematic approach to perform spatial analysis with detailed indoor building models for emergency service decision supports. To achieve a more realistic spatial application, this research integrates three-dimensional (3D) indoor building models and their attributes to simulate an emergency evacuation scenario. Indoor building models of a complicated train station with different levels of detail are generated from two-dimensional (2D) floor plans and Building Information Model (BIM) datasets. In addition to the 3D building models, spatial and non-spatial attributes are also associated with the created building models and the objects within them. The ant colony optimization (ACO) algorithm is modified to analyze the indoor building models for emergency service decision support applications. The detailed indoor models and the proposed spatial analysis algorithms are tested in simulated emergency evacuation scenarios to select the best routes during emergency services. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed system is helpful for selecting the optimal route with the least cost at varying time stamps. Together with the developed spatial analysis framework, they have a great potential for effective decision support during emergency situations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the realm of urban logistics, optimizing vehicle routes for varied cargo types—including refrigerated, fragile, and standard cargo—poses significant challenges amid complex urban infrastructures and heterogeneous vehicle capacities. This research paper introduces a novel model for the multi-type capacitated vehicle routing problem (MT-CVRP) that harnesses an advanced ant colony optimization algorithm, dubbed Lévy-EGACO. This algorithm integrates Lévy flights and elitist guiding principles, enhancing search efficacy and pheromone update processes. The primary objective of this study is to minimize overall transportation costs while optimizing the efficiency of intricate route planning for vehicles with diverse load capacities. Through rigorous simulation experiments, we corroborated the validity of the proposed model and the effectiveness of the Lévy-EGACO algorithm in optimizing urban cargo transportation routes. Lévy-EGACO demonstrated a consistent reduction in transportation costs, ranging from 1.8% to 2.5% compared to other algorithms, across different test scenarios following base data modifications. These findings reveal that Lévy-EGACO substantially improves route optimization, presenting a robust solution to the challenges of MT-CVRP within urban logistics frameworks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As unmanned ground vehicles (UGV) continue to be adapted to new applications, an emerging area lacks proper guidance for global route optimization methodology. This area is surveillance. In autonomous surveillance applications, a UGV is equipped with a sensor that receives data within a specific range from the vehicle while it traverses the environment. In this paper, the ant colony optimization (ACO) algorithm was adapted to the UGV surveillance problem to solve for optimal paths within sub-areas. To do so, the problem was modeled as the covering salesman problem (CSP). This is one of the first applications using ACO to solve the CSP. Then, a genetic algorithm (GA) was used to schedule a fleet of UGVs to scan several sub-areas such that the total distance is minimized. Initially, these paths are infeasible because of the sharp turning angles. Thus, they are improved using two methods of path refinement (namely, the corner-cutting and Reeds–Shepp methods) such that the kinematic constraints of the vehicles are met. Several test case scenarios were developed for Goheung, South Korea, to validate the proposed methodology. The promising results presented in this article highlight the effectiveness of the proposed methodology for UGV surveillance applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study developed a risk assessment tool for contract capacity optimization problems using the ant colony optimization and auto-regression model. Based on the historical data of demand consumption, the Least Square algorithm, the Recursive Levinson–Durbin algorithm, and the Burg algorithm were used to derive the auto-regression model. Then, ant colony optimization was used to search for the auto-regression model's best p-order parameters. To avoid the risk of setting the contract capacity, this paper designed the risk tolerance parameter β to correct the predicted value of the auto-regression model. Ant colony optimization was also used to search for the optimal contract capacity with risk assessment under the two-stage time-of-use and three-stage time-of-use. This study employed an industrial consumer with high voltage power in Taiwan as the research object, used the AR model to estimate the contract capacity under the risk assessment, and cut back electricity usage to reduce the operation cost. The results can be used as a basis to develop an efficient tool for industrial customers to select contract capacities with risks to obtain the best economic benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cable cranes serve as critical lifting equipment in large-scale construction projects such as dam construction, bridge building, and mining. Particularly in concrete dam construction, cable cranes are the preferred equipment for transporting concrete due to their flexible spatial moving capacity and large-span coverage. However, because of the narrow dam construction site, the intensive and concurrent transportation activities of the cable crane group are proven to cause space conflicts, resulting in low operation efficiency. Effective planning of cable crane operations is conducive to accelerating construction progress, improving the productivity of cable cranes, and ensuring a safe construction scenario. The planning of cable crane operations involves task allocation in collaborative construction (among several cable cranes) and parallel scheduling under complex spatial constraints. This paper develops an automatic planning system for cable crane operations in concrete dam construction that can directly output the optimal transportation plan of cable cranes, requiring only the input of relevant construction parameters. First, a two-sided matching model is proposed to address the task allocation problem among cable cranes. Second, a simulation model for the concrete transportation process of the cable crane group is established to solve the parallel scheduling problem and avoid collisions. Third, an improved ant colony algorithm is proposed that constructs initial solutions based on the two-sided matching model, calculates key construction indicators using the simulation model, and applies a multiobjective decision making method to find the optimal solution. Finally, an actual dam construction case validates the superiority and reliability of this proposed method. Compared with the conventional engineering approaches, the planning results of this proposed method demonstrate a 12% reduction in pouring duration and a 25% enhancement in the utilization balance of cable cranes, effectively increasing productivity and accelerating construction progress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vehicle Ad hoc Networks (VANETs) have high mobility and a randomized connection structure, resulting in extremely dynamic behavior. Several challenges, such as frequent connection failures, sustainability, multi-hop data transfer, and data loss, affect the effectiveness of Transmission Control Protocols (TCP) on such wireless ad hoc networks. To avoid the problem, in this paper, mobility-aware zone-based routing in VANET is proposed. To achieve this concept, in this paper hybrid optimization algorithm is presented. The hybrid algorithm is a combination of Ant colony optimization (ACO) and artificial bee colony optimization (ABC). The proposed hybrid algorithm is designed for the routing process which is transmitting the information from one place to another. The optimal routing process is used to avoid traffic and link failure. The fitness function is designed based on Link stability and Residual energy. The validation of the proposed algorithm takes solution encoding, fitness calculation, and updating functions. To perform simulation experiments, NS2 simulator software is used. The performance of the proposed approach is analyzed based on different metrics namely, delivery ratio, delay time, throughput, and overhead. The effectiveness of the proposed method compared with different algorithms. Compared to other existing VANET algorithms, the hybrid algorithm has proven to be very efficient in terms of packet delivery ratio and delay. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multi-label learning is a machine learning subclass that aims to assign more than one label simultaneously for each instance. Many real-world tasks include high-dimensional data which reduces the performance of machine learning methods. To solve this issue, a filter and multi-label feature selection is proposed in this paper. The main idea of the proposed method is to choose highly relevant and non-redundant features with the lowest information loss. The proposed method first uses a novel graph-based density peaks clustering to group similar features to reach this goal. It then uses the ant colony optimization search process to rank features based on their relevancy to a set of labels and also their redundancy with the other features. A graph first represents the feature space, and then a novel density peaks clustering is used to group similar features. Then, the ants are searched through the graph to select a set of non-similar features by remaining in the clusters with a low probability and jumping among the clusters with a high probability. Moreover, in this paper, to evaluate the solutions found by the ants, a novel criterion based onmutual informationwas used to assign a high pheromone value to highly relevant and non-redundant features. Finally, the final features are chosen based on their pheromone values. The results of experiments on a set of real-world datasets show the superiority of the proposed method over a set of baseline and state-of-the-art methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The path planning problem is an important issue in maritime search and rescue. This paper models the path planning problem as a dynamic vehicle routing problem. It first designs a dynamic generator that transforms the existing benchmark sets for the static vehicle routing problem into dynamic scenarios. Subsequently, it proposes an effective Dynamic Ant Colony Optimization (DACO) algorithm, whose novelty lies in that it dynamically adjusts the pheromone matrix to efficiently handle customers' changes. Moreover, DACO incorporates simulated annealing to increase population diversity and employs a local search operator that is dedicated to route modification for continuous performance maximization of the route. The experimental results demonstrated that the proposed DACO outperformed existing approaches in generating better routes across various benchmark sets. Specifically, DACO achieved significant improvements in the route cost, serviced customer quantity, and adherence to time window requirements. These results highlight the superiority of DACO in the dynamic vehicle routing problem, providing an effective solution for similar problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid advancement of deepfake technology presents significant challenges in detecting highly convincing fake videos, posing risks such as misinformation, identity theft, and privacy violations. In response, this paper proposes an innovative approach to deepfake video detection by integrating features derived from ant colony optimization–particle swarm optimization (ACO-PSO) and deep learning techniques. The proposed methodology leverages ACO-PSO features and deep learning models to enhance detection accuracy and robustness. Features from ACO-PSO are extracted from the spatial and temporal characteristics of video frames, capturing subtle patterns indicative of deepfake manipulation. These features are then used to train a deep learning classifier to automatically distinguish between authentic and deepfake videos. Extensive experiments using comparative datasets demonstrate the superiority of the proposed method in terms of detection accuracy, robustness to manipulation techniques, and generalization to unseen data. The computational efficiency of the approach is also analyzed, highlighting its practical feasibility for real-time applications. The findings revealed that the proposed method achieved an accuracy of 98.91% and an F1 score of 99.12%, indicating remarkable success in deepfake detection. The integration of ACO-PSO features and deep learning enables comprehensive analysis, bolstering precision and resilience in detecting deepfake content. This approach addresses the challenges involved in facial forgery detection and contributes to safeguarding digital media integrity amid misinformation and manipulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In cloud networks, especially those with distributed computing setups and data centers, one of the biggest obstacles is allocating resources. This is the key area, and this must be balanced between optimizing system performance on one side and affordability, stability (reliance) of operation, and energy efficiency. The importance of improving resource allocation methodologies in these complex cloud computing systems is recognized, and therefore this paper comes with an appropriate title-"Enhanced Feature-Driven Multi-Objective Learning for Optimal Cloud Resource Allocation" (OCRA), which integrates together both the latest machine learning techniques as well as traditional concepts from research into cloud computing. OCRA capably analyzes historical files on CPU, memory, disk and network usage. In addition to neatly assimilating large data sets such as that was the compliance rate with past SLAs or workload frequencies over certain time periods and resource allocations; even their patterns of service requests are an important piece of information for many busy people's lives today the adaptive mechanism is one of the defining traits of the model. It can accurately anticipate changes in resource demand and immediately adjust supply, fully able to respond rapidly when fluctuations arise suddenly or unexpectedly. Multi-Objective Random Forests are at the very core of OCRA. Each tree for decision making is specially designed to meet a particular performance objective in mind. Combining these trees into a Random Forest ensemble increases not only the model's predictive accuracy but also its stability. Pareto optimization is wisely used to maintain a balance among performance indicators, without an excessive focus on one effect alone. OCRA is proven empirically through experimental studies where key performance indicators such as Resource Utilization Rate and Quality of Service (QoS) Adherence Rate are taken into account. OCRA is both energy-efficient, an important attribute in today's environmentally conscious world, and does not sacrifice performance. As far as speed, flexibility and overall efficiency are concerned, OCRA has always been superior to the other cloud resources allocation programs of its own day. While it's still not quite ready for users who don't have a firm background in computer science or programming skills (ocra is plotted on 0-x), with sufficient memory and dominant minutes turn into mechanical equipment without configuration services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wireless mesh network (WMNs) can replace the physical existence of wired network; nevertheless, to solve the problem of traffic and congestion, they must carefully arrange radio resource assignment. In this paper, we focus on the major issues while transferring the data over the network and optimization of resources. WMN mainly suffers from congestion problem when numbers of channel transfer data at a same time which indirectly leads to overlapping channels and sometime data cannot be mitigated to destination. To overcome this problem and provide optimal solution we proposed hybrid channel assignment technique which offers four phase solution technique, in this technique firstly by mitigating the traffic than assigning the optimal path based on greedy and BFS. The purpose of this congestion control hybrid ant based greedy-BFS-load balancing (CCHAGBL) technique is to diminish the number of used slots, which is directly related to the overall resource assignment. We also provide optimal solution using Ant colony optimization technique with hybrid algorithm to achieve the network efficiency and resource utilization with randomly generated traffic. With the help of hybrid ant based greedy-BFS-load balancing (GBL) channel assignment algorithm throughput and packet delivery ratio is upgraded and delay is reduced to minimum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses the problem of multi-robot task scheduling in Antarctic environments. There are various algorithms for multi-robot task scheduling, but there is a risk in robot operation when applied in Antarctic environments. This paper proposes a practical multi-robot scheduling method using ant colony optimization in Antarctic environments. The proposed method was tested in both simulated and real Antarctic environments, and it was analyzed and compared with other existing algorithms. The improved performance of the proposed method was verified by finding more efficiently scheduled multiple paths with lower costs than the other algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of geographic location selection is to make the best use of space. Geographic location selection contains a large amount of spatiotemporal data and constraints, resulting in too many solutions. Therefore, this paper adopts the ant colony algorithm in the meta-heuristic search method combined with the incomplete quadtree to improve the searchability of the space. This paper proposes an improved ant colony algorithm in nonuniform space to solve the P-center facility location problem. The geographic space is divided by the incomplete quadtree, and the ant colony path is constructed on the level of the quadtree division. Ant colonies can leave pheromones on multiple search paths, and optimized quadtree encoding in nonuniform space stores pheromone matrices and distance matrices. The algorithm proposed in this paper improves the pheromone diffusion algorithm and the optimization objective at the same time to update the pheromone in the nonuniform space and obtain the ideal solution. The results show that the algorithm has excellent performance in solving the location problem with good convergence accuracy and calculation time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reverse logistics (RL) network can be adequately planned and implemented to gain additional benefits such as maximizing customer satisfaction and a positive image of the business organization, even though most distribution networks are not equipped with reverse channels to deal with the return of merchandise. Therefore, the main objective of this paper is to develop a new mixed-integer nonlinear programming (MINLP) mathematical model with a single-objective, single-product, multi-stage closed-loop supply chain network design (CLSC ND), considering the fixed transportation charge in the distribution network that has been neglected in the recently published papers in the field of CLSC ND. Since such network design challenges belong to the class of NP-hard problems, an algorithm based on ant colony optimization (ACO) is proposed to design a multi-stage RL network with fixed transportation cost and variable cost for the routes. Four network characteristics of different sizes were designed, and 30 instances were randomly generated for each network characteristic to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm. The computational analysis of the results shows the high-quality effectiveness of the proposed ACO algorithm compared with the exact results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to improve the accuracy and speed of solving the inverse problem of source-seeking heat conduction, the paper proposes a correlation-based ant colony optimization algorithm for the inverse problem of source-seeking heat conduction based on the characteristics of the influence of the heat source position on the boundary temperature distribution in the heat conduction problem. This method is used to construct the corresponding heuristic information value for each co-ordinate of the heat source location, which can reflect the degree of similarity between the temperature curve of the calculated measuring point and the temperature curve of the real measuring point, namely the correlation degree. The ant colony optimization algorithm the medium path selection mechanism and the structure of the objective function have been improved. The paper replaces the actual experiment with numerical calculation obtain the temperature of the measuring point, and performs computer programming experiment on the inverse problem. The calculation results show that the calibration method of this heuristic information value and the objective function the construction method can distinguish the quality of the path well, thereby increasing the speed of the ant colony converging to the best path. The computational efficiency is improved by 18-60% compared with the ant colony algorithm that does not consider the correlation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) comprise interconnected wireless nodes that receive and transmit data across applications and platforms. This paper addressed the problem of link failures in WSNs that potentially could lead to the loss of data packets while still in transit. This was achieved through the use of network coding which is known to address capacity bottleneck problems in WSNs. In particular, a technique called Ant Agent-Assisted Network Coding (AAANC) is proposed that employs the ant colony optimization technique in addition to network coding operations. The main aim of AAANC is to facilitate the successful delivery and decoding of coded data packets in the presence of link failures. AAANC employs a packet route selection technique that is inspired by the social behavior of natural ants. For natural ants, a strong pheromone trail along a path indicates a promising route to a food source, and this is analogous to a reliable communication link for routing data packets in this paper. Through simulations, AAANC was compared to diagonal pseudorandom network coding (DNC) and triangular pseudorandom network coding (TNC), and it proved to have a superior performance in terms of packet delivery ratio and number of decoded packets. Significant performance gain can be achieved if AAANC algorithm is made to dynamically adapt the ant colony and network coding parameters in response to traffic changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Car-like mobile robots (CLMRs) are extensively utilized in various intricate scenarios owing to their exceptional maneuverability, stability, and adaptability, in which path planning is an important technical basis for their autonomous navigation. However, path planning methods are prone to inefficiently generate unsmooth paths in narrow and large-size scenes, especially considering the chassis model complexity of CLMRs with suspension. To this end, instead of traditional path planning based on an integer order model, this paper proposes fractional-order enhanced path planning using an improved Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) for CLMRs with suspension, which can obtain smooth and efficient paths in narrow and large-size scenes. On one hand, to improve the accuracy of the kinematic model construction of CLMRs with suspension, an accurate fractional-order-based kinematic modelling method is proposed, which considers the dynamic adjustment of the angle constraints. On the other hand, an improved ACO-based path planning method using fractional-order models is introduced by adopting a global multifactorial heuristic function with dynamic angle constraints, adaptive pheromone adjustment, and fractional-order state-transfer models, which avoids easily falling into a local optimum and unsmooth problem in a narrow space while increasing the search speed and success rate in large-scale scenes. Finally, the proposed method's effectiveness is validated in both large-scale and narrow scenes, confirming its capability to handle various challenging scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper introduces an agent-based model grounded in the ACO algorithm to investigate the impact of partitioning ant colonies on algorithmic performance. The exploration focuses on understanding the roles of group size and number within a multi-objective optimization context. The model consists of a colony of memory-enhanced ants (ME-ANTS) which, starting from a given position, must collaboratively discover the optimal path to the exit point within a grid network. The colony can be divided into groups of different sizes and its objectives are maximizing the number of ants that exit the grid while minimizing path costs. Three distinct analyses were conducted: an overall analysis assessing colony performance across different-sized groups, a group analysis examining the performance of each partitioned group, and a pheromone distribution analysis discerning correlations between temporal pheromone distribution and ant navigation. From the results, a dynamic correlation emerged between the degree of colony partitioning and solution quality within the ACO algorithm framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Path planning is an important area of mobile robot research, and the ant colony optimization algorithm is essential for analyzing path planning. However, the current ant colony optimization algorithm applied to the path planning of mobile robots still has some limitations, including early blind search, slow convergence speed, and more turns. To overcome these problems, an improved ant colony optimization algorithm is proposed in this paper. In the improved algorithm, we introduce the idea of triangle inequality and a pseudo-random state transfer strategy to enhance the guidance of target points and improve the search efficiency and quality of the algorithm. In addition, we propose a pheromone update strategy based on the partition method with upper and lower limits on the pheromone concentration. This can not only improve the global search capability and convergence speed of the algorithm but also avoid the premature and stagnation phenomenon of the algorithm during the search. To prevent the ants from getting into a deadlock state, we introduce a backtracking mechanism to enable the ants to explore the solution space better. Finally, to verify the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm, the algorithm is compared with 11 existing methods for solving the robot path planning problem, including several ACO variants and two commonly used algorithms (A* algorithm and Dijkstra algorithm), and the experimental results show that the improved ACO algorithm can plan paths with faster convergence, shorter path lengths, and higher smoothness. Specifically, the algorithm produces the shortest path length with a standard deviation of zero while ensuring the most rapid convergence and the highest smoothness in the case of the shortest path in four different grid environments. These experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm in path planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy cost for keeping fresh seafood in cold condition is a main feature of a fresh seafood delivery routing problem. In the delivery routing problem, energy cost varies during the transportation process and the service process. In addition, there are many fresh seafood product factories whose seafood products should be delivered to a set of customers. Therefore, this paper models the fresh seafood delivery problem as a multi-depot vehicle routing problem, which aims to find the routes with the least cost. Due to the complexity of the problem, a method is used to reduce the complexity by changing the multi-depot vehicle routing problem into a vehicle routing problem with a dummy depot in this paper. Then, ant colony optimization (ACO) is used to solve this problem. Scanning strategy and crossover operation are also adopted to improve the performance of ACO. At last, the computational results of the benchmark problems of the multi-depot vehicle routing problem indicate the effectiveness of the algorithm. Furthermore, the real-life fresh seafood delivery routing problem from Dalian city suggests the proposed model is feasible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Capacitated Vehicle Routing Problem (CVRP) is a classical combinatorial optimization problem, which objective is to minimize the vehicle travel distance. In this paper a hybrid ant colony optimization based on Fireworks Algorithm (FWA) is proposed to solve the CVRP. The main work of hybrid algorithm is reflected in three aspects: firstly, FWA is introduced on the basis of Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) algorithm to increase the diversity of algorithms and avoid falling into local optimum too early in the search process; secondly, the elite ant strategy is added to increase the attractiveness of the local optimal path to the ants; thirdly, the Max-Min Ant System (MMAS) is added to limit the pheromone value within a range to prevent the pheromone from increasing too fast on the path. In this paper, the proposed hybrid algorithm is tested in 71 instances and compared with other intelligent algorithms. Experimental results show that the proposed hybrid algorithm finds new best solutions and is competitive with other algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the advancement of technology and time, people have always sought to solve problems in the most efficient and quickest way possible. Since the introduction of the cloud computing environment along with many different sub-substructures such as task schedulers, resource allocators, resource monitors, and others, various algorithms have been proposed to improve the performance of the individual unit or structure used in the cloud environment. The cloud is a vast virtual environment with the capability to solve any task provided by the user. Therefore, new algorithms are introduced with the aim to improve the process and consume less time to evaluate the process. One of the most important sections of cloud computing is that of the task scheduler, which is responsible for scheduling tasks to each of the virtual machines in such a way that the time taken to execute the process is less and the efficiency of the execution is high. Thus, this paper plans to propose an ideal and optimal task scheduling algorithm that is tested and compared with other existing algorithms in terms of efficiency, makespan, and cost parameters, that is, this paper tries to explain and solves the scheduling problem using an improved meta-heuristic algorithm called the Hybrid Weighted Ant Colony Optimization (HWACO) algorithm, which is an advanced form of the already present Ant Colony Optimization Algorithm. The outcomes found by using the proposed HWACO has more benefits, that is, the objective for reaching the convergence in a short period of time was accomplished; thus, the projected model outdid the other orthodox algorithms such as Ant Colony Optimization (ACO), Quantum-Based Avian Navigation Optimizer Algorithm (QANA), Modified-Transfer-Function-Based Binary Particle Swarm Optimization (MTF-BPSO), MIN-MIN Algorithm (MM), and First-Come-First-Serve (FCFS), making the proposed algorithm an optimal task scheduling algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The integration of discrete simulations, artificial intelligence methods, and the theory of probability in order to obtain a high flexibility of the production system is crucial. In this paper, the concept of a smart factory operation is proposed along with the idea of data exchange architecture, simulation creation, performance optimization, and predictive analysis of the production process conditions. A Digital Twin for a hybrid flow shop from the automotive industry is presented as a case study. In the paper, the Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) algorithm is developed for multi-criteria scheduling problems in order to obtain a production plan without delays and maximum resource utilization. The ACO is compared to the immune algorithm and genetic algorithm. The best schedules are achieved with low computation time for the Digital Twin. By predicting the reliability parameters of the limited resources of the Digital Twin, stable deadlines for the implementation of production tasks are achieved. Mean Time To Failure and Mean Time of Repair are predicted for a real case study of an electric steering gear production line. The presented integration and data exchange between the elements of the smart factory: a Digital Twin, a computing module including an optimization, prediction, and simulation methods fills the gap between theory and practice for Industry 4.0. The paper presents measurable benefits of integration of discrete simulation tools, historical data analysis, and optimization methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Personalization in recommendation system has been emerging as the most predominant area in service computing. Collaborative filtering and content based approaches are two major techniques applied for recommendation. However, to improve the accuracy and enhance user satisfaction, optimization techniques such as Ant Colony and Particle Swarm Optimization were analyzed in this paper. For theoretical analysis, this paper investigates web page recommender system. For experimentation, Diabetic patient’s health records were investigated and recommendation algorithms are applied to suggest appropriate nutrition for improving their health. Experiment result shows that Particle Swarm Optimization outperforms other traditional methods with improved performance and accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fixed fleet heterogeneous open vehicle routing problem (HFFOVRP) is one of the most practical versions of the vehicle routing problem (VRP) defined because the use of rental vehicles reduces the cost of purchasing and routing for shipping companies nowadays. Also, applying a heterogeneous fleet is recommended due to the physical limitations of the streets and efforts to reduce the running costs of these companies. In this paper, a mixed-integer linear programming is proposed for HFFOVRP. Because this problem, like VRP, is related to NP-hard issues, it is not possible to use exact methods to solve real-world problems. Therefore, in this paper, a hybrid algorithm based on the ant colony algorithm called MACO is presented. This algorithm uses only global updating pheromones for a more efficient search of feasible space and considers a minimum value for pheromones on the edges. Also, pheromones of some best solutions obtained so far are updated, based on the quality of the solutions at each iteration, and three local search algorithms are used for the intensification mechanism. This method was tested on several standard instances, and the results were compared with other algorithms. The computational results show that the proposed algorithm performs better than these methods in cost and CPU time. Besides, not only has the algorithm been able to improve the quality of the best-known solutions in nine cases but also the high-quality solutions are obtained for other instances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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This paper presents the use of an artificial intelligence (AI) tool based on ant colony behavior to design an operational amplifier circuit. The ant colony optimization (ACO) is implemented in a hybrid evolutionary sizing method to automate analog circuit design. This new meta-heuristic approach that combines the artificial intelligence of an ant colony and the 3D matrix method is developed to determine the optimal dimensions and the main influencing performances of fundamental analog circuits and, including operational amplifiers (op-amps). The proposed methodology uses ACO and Cadence Spectre as dimensioning techniques and implementation platform, respectively. The Three Dimensions (3D) ACO algorithm is successfully used for analog circuit sizing, and the obtained results demonstrate its effectiveness in sizing basic and more complicated analog circuits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Charging infrastructure planning (CIPL) is key to popularizing electric vehicles and reducing carbon emissions. CIPL consists of two subproblems: charging station siting and charging pile allocation. The existing methods independently solve the two subproblems and ignore their interaction, which restricts the rationality of CIPL. To address this issue, this paper proposes a dual ant colony optimization for CIPL (DACO-CIPL). In each iteration, under the guidance of heuristic information and pheromones, the upper and lower ant colonies construct solutions for charging station siting and charging pile allocation in turn, respectively. Then, a global pheromone update strategy is performed to update the pheromones of each ant colony according to the historical best solutions, which realizes information transmission from the lower ant colony to the upper ant colony. In addition, whenever the upper ant colony finishes constructing solutions, a pheromone enhancement strategy is used to strengthen the pheromones of the lower ant colony according to the solutions of the upper ant colony, which realizes information transmission from the upper ant colony to the lower ant colony. DACO-CIPL is compared with several algorithms on multiple test instances. The experimental results show that DACO-CIPL has superior performance and more reasonable options for CIPL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates a single-machine scheduling problem of a software test with shared common setup operations. Each job has a corresponding set of setup operations, and the job cannot be executed unless its setups are completed. If two jobs have the same supporting setups, the common setups are performed only once. No preemption of any processing is allowed. This problem is known to be computationally intractable. In this study, we propose sequence-based and position-based integer programming models and a branch-and-bound algorithm for finding optimal solutions. We also propose an ant colony optimization algorithm for finding approximate solutions, which will be used as the initial upper bound of the branch-and-bound algorithm. The computational experiments are designed and conducted to numerically appraise all of the proposed methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As traffic pressure increases, urban rail transit has attracted attention because of its high speed and growing capacity in recent years. However, the traditional vehicle–ground communication systems of urban rail transit have been unable to meet the increasing requirements for communication. In this paper, we introduce an ad hoc network for urban rail transit to improve communication reliability, reduce end-to-end latency, and improve throughput of vehicle–ground communication. A novel clustering algorithm based on improved ant colony optimization is presented, which integrates various variables to elect cluster heads and adopts a low-latency queuing strategy. In addition, the algorithm can also replace the cluster heads adaptively to optimize the communication quality. Through the simulation results, the proposed algorithm can reduce the packet loss rate by about 60%, reduce the delay by about 50%, and improve the throughput by about 40% compared with the classical clustering routing protocol. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The vehicle routing problem (VRP) has many applications in goods distribution and goods transportation. Today, many companies have requirements for VRP with multiple pickup and multiple delivery within due time. This problem is called multiple pickup and multiple delivery vehicle routing problem with time window (PDPTW). PDPTW has many constraints and ant colony optimization (ACO) has been used to solve it although ACO creates too many infeasible routes. Moreover, it often gets trapped in local optimum. To solve these problems, this paper proposed an improved ACO by using the route elimination technique and the pheromone reset technique. The ACO with route elimination technique, it has proven to solve the PDPTW problem with increased performance. The proposed technique was tested on datasets from the Li & Lim's PDPTW benchmark problems and provided more satisfactory results compared to other ACO techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, an Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) based Energy Efficient Shortest Path Routing (AESR) algorithm is developed for Mobile Ad hoc Network (MANET). The Mobile Ad hoc Network consists of a group of mobile nodes that can communicate with each other without any predefined infrastructure. The routing process is critical for this type of network due to its dynamic topology, limited resources and wireless channel. The technique incorporated in this paper for optimizing the routing in a Mobile ad hoc network is Ant Colony Optimization. The ACO algorithm is used to solve network problems related to routing, security, etc. in wired and wireless networks. This proposed work is used for selecting the energy efficient shortest route between the source and the destination of the network. This routing technique uses important parameters such as residual energy of the nodes, minimum residual energy of the path, the distance between the nodes, trip time and hop count to select the optimal route for communication to extend the lifetime of the network by reducing the energy consumption. The proposed routing protocol is compared with other conventional routing protocols. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed AESR routing protocol outperforms the existing protocols in terms of performance metrics such as Packet Delivery Ratio, Average Path Length, Network Lifetime, Number of Dead nodes and Average Energy Consumption in high mobility networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unmanned Surface Vehicles (USVs) are nowadays used in various applications for security, inspection and delivery among others. To operate in dynamic and complex environments efficiently demands an optimal path planning where multiple factors should be taken into account. In this paper, the multi-objective path planning problem of USV is formulated aiming to minimize the traveled distance maximizing in parallel the trajectory smoothness and energy efficiency. To address this multi-objective path planning problem with contradicting terms, the popular Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) algorithm is employed enhanced with the proposed Fuzzy Pareto framework. In particular, ACO is used to solve the problem by finding the Pareto solutions optimizing each single objective. Then these solutions are evaluated via the Mamdani fuzzy inference system to identify the optimal one. The ranking of the solutions is based on the defuzzification values. A case study is performed in a simulation area based on Saronic Gulf topology. The results showed that depending the needs of an operation and the conditions of the area of operations (number of obstacles, currents, and distance from the initial to the target point), each objective can impact the path quality differently. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aquaculture fish diseases pose a serious threat to the security of food supplies. Fish species vary widely, and because they resemble one another so much, it is challenging to distinguish between them based solely on appearance. To stop the spread of disease, it is important to identify sick fish as soon as possible. Due to a lack of necessary infrastructure, it is still difficult to identify infected fish in aquaculture at an early stage. It is essential to promptly identify sick fish to stop the spread of disease. The purpose of this work is to suggest a machine learning technique based on the DCNN method for identifying and categorizing fish diseases. To solve problems involving global optimization, this paper suggests a brand-new hybrid algorithm called the Whale Optimization Algorithm with Genetic Algorithm (WOA-GA) and Ant Colony Optimization. In this work, for classification, the hybrid Random Forest algorithm is used. To facilitate the increased quality, distinctions between both the proposed WOA-GA-based DCNN architecture and the presently used methods for machine learning have been made. The effectiveness of the proposed detection technique is done with MATLAB. Performance metrics like sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, precision, recall, F-measure, NPV, FPR, FNR, and MCC are compared to the performance of the proposed technique. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is essential to design an appropriate submarine cable route to reduce costs and improve reliability. A methodology that can be used for multi-objective optimization in submarine cable route planning is proposed and numerically studied in this paper. The costs and risks are numerically assessed and mapped to the geographical map. The pheromone and heuristic functions of the ant colony optimization (ACO) algorithm are associated with the geographical map of costs and risks, which enables it to search for a submarine cable route with multi-objective optimization. The results show that the submarine cable route designed by the methodology can effectively avoid high-cost and high-risk regions, which means that the designed submarine cable route is cost-effective and highly reliability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]