Enhancing Dynamic Constrained Multi-Objective Optimization With Multi-Centers Based Prediction

Dynamic constrained multi-objective optimization problems (DCMOPs) involve complex changes in objective functions and constraints over time. These changes challenge most existing algorithms to quickly cross infeasible regions and accurately track the changing Pareto optimal set (POS) and Pareto optimal front (POF). To address this issue, this paper presents a multi-centers based prediction strategy, termed FCP, for solving DCMOPs more effectively. First, we introduce a penalty function to cluster the historical optimal solutions, thereby obtaining multi-centers of these solutions. These centers can roughly represent the distribution of different clusters in POS. Then, we predict cluster centers of the new environment’s POS by calculating the distance of centers from the preceding two environments. The prediction strategy can handle the change of POS caused by constraints thereby improving the accuracy of prediction. Finally, a proposed population generator calculates the distances between new centers and utilizes information from these centers to predict a well-distributed initial population. Comprehensive studies on widely used benchmark problems demonstrate that our proposed algorithm is very competitive in dealing with DCMOPs compared with seven state-of-the-art algorithms. Meanwhile, to validate the proposed prediction strategy, it is embedded into the static constraints handling techniques from other DCMOEAs to solving DCMOPs and the experimental results indicate that FCP is superior in generating initial population.