Related papers: Swarm dynamics for global optimisation on finite s…
We introduce a scalable approach to Gaussian process inference that combines spatio-temporal filtering with natural gradient variational inference, resulting in a non-conjugate GP method for multivariate data that scales linearly with…
In this paper, a time-varying distributed convex optimization problem is studied for continuous-time multi-agent systems. Control algorithms are designed for the cases of single-integrator and double-integrator dynamics. Two discontinuous…
Solving non-convex minimization problems using multi-particle metaheuristic derivative-free optimization methods is still an active area of research. Popular methods are Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) methods, that iteratively update a…
Based on information theory, we present a method to determine an optimal Markov approximation for modelling and prediction from time series data. The method finds a balance between minimal modelling errors by taking as much as possible…
Natural policy gradient (NPG) methods are among the most widely used policy optimization algorithms in contemporary reinforcement learning. This class of methods is often applied in conjunction with entropy regularization -- an algorithmic…
Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) is susceptible to premature convergence when the swarm collapses around the global best, particularly on multimodal landscapes in higher dimensions. We propose Divergence-guided PSO (DPSO), which augments…
As one of Bayesian analysis tools, Hidden Markov Model (HMM) has been used to in extensive applications. Most HMMs are solved by Baum-Welch algorithm (BWHMM) to predict the model parameters, which is difficult to find global optimal…
In this paper, we present a flow-based method for global optimization of continuous Sobolev functions, called Stein Boltzmann Sampling (SBS). SBS initializes uniformly a number of particles representing candidate solutions, then uses the…
In this paper we propose new numerical algorithms in the setting of unconstrained optimization problems and we study the rate of convergence in the iterates of the objective function. Furthermore, our algorithms are based upon splitting and…
Nature-inspired swarm-based algorithms have been widely applied to tackle high-dimensional and complex optimization problems across many disciplines. They are general purpose optimization algorithms, easy to use and implement, flexible and…
Particle Swarm Optimization is a global optimizer in the sense that it has the ability to escape poor local optima. However, if the spread of information within the population is not adequately performed, premature convergence may occur.…
General purpose optimization routines such as nlminb, optim (R) or nlmixed (SAS) are frequently used to estimate model parameters in nonstandard distributions. This paper presents Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO), as an alternative to many…
Motivated by many application problems, we consider Markov decision processes (MDPs) with a general loss function and unknown parameters. To mitigate the epistemic uncertainty associated with unknown parameters, we take a Bayesian approach…
Markov Decision Processes are classically solved using Value Iteration and Policy Iteration algorithms. Recent interest in Reinforcement Learning has motivated the study of methods inspired by optimization, such as gradient ascent. Among…
Gomez proposes a formal and systematic approach for characterizing stochastic global optimization algorithms. Using it, Gomez formalizes algorithms with a fixed next-population stochastic method, i.e., algorithms defined as stationary…
This paper presents a distributed continuous-time optimization framework aimed at overcoming the challenges posed by time-varying cost functions and constraints in multi-agent systems, particularly those subject to disturbances. By…
Building upon our earlier work of a martingale approach to global optimization, a powerful stochastic search scheme for the global optimum of cost functions is proposed on the basis of change of measures on the states that evolve as…
In a Hilbert setting we aim to study a second order in time differential equation, combining viscous and Hessian-driven damping, containing a time scaling parameter function and a Tikhonov regularization term. The dynamical system is…
We introduce a new Swarm-Based Gradient Descent (SBGD) method for non-convex optimization. The swarm consists of agents, each is identified with a position, ${\mathbf x}$, and mass, $m$. The key to their dynamics is communication: masses…
We view the classical Lindeberg principle in a Markov process setting to establish a probability approximation framework by the associated It\^{o}'s formula and Markov operator. As applications, we study the error bounds of the following…