Analyzing Emergent Complexity in Particle Swarm Optimization using a Rolling Technique for Updating Hyperparameter Coefficients
Amit Sethi, Devika Kataria · Procedia Computer Science · 2021
Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) provides a metaheuristic optimization technique for real-life functions with complex behavior. Inspired by the metaphor of social behavior as exhibited by swarms operating in natural surroundings, the algorithm captures the Emergent Complexity demonstrated by individual components of large groups which work together using simple rules and create complex, yet efficient, adaptive, and self-organizing systems. The paper seeks to rigorously analyze the hyperparameters of the algorithm to find the relative importance of cognitive(personal) vis-à-vis social (swarm) parameters of the algorithm so as to gain a perfect understanding of the importance of exploitation versus exploration parameters thus enabling us to enhance the application efficiency of the algorithm. The paper further suggests and applies a rolling coefficient updating technique to the algorithm parameters so as to use a formal statistical procedure in the initialization and subsequent iterations for updating coefficients rather than leaving it on trial and error or on a practitioner’s knowledge. Results suggest that the technique employed provides an enhancement in the efficiency of the algorithm by creating a dynamic Emergent Complexity environment.