An Online Prediction Approach Based on Incremental Support Vector Machine for Dynamic Multiobjective Optimization

Real-world multiobjective optimization problems usually involve conflicting objectives that change over time, which requires the optimization algorithms to quickly track the Pareto-optimal front (POF) when the environment changes. In recent years, evolutionary algorithms based on prediction models have been considered promising. However, most existing approaches only make predictions based on the linear correlation between a finite number of optimal solutions in two or three previous environments. These incomplete information extraction strategies may lead to low prediction accuracy in some instances. In this article, an incremental support vector machine (ISVM)-based dynamic multiobjective evolutionary algorithm, in short called ISVM-DMOEA, is proposed. We treat the solving of dynamic multiobjective optimization problems (DMOPs) as an online learning process, using the continuously obtained optimal solution to update an ISVM without discarding the solution information at earlier time. ISVM is then used to filter random solutions and generate an initial population for the next moment. To overcome the obstacle of insufficient training samples, a synthetic minority oversampling strategy is implemented before the training of ISVM. The advantage of this approach is that the nonlinear correlation between solutions can be explored online by ISVM, and the information contained in all historical optimal solutions can be exploited to a greater extent. The experimental results and comparison with the chosen state-of-the-art algorithms demonstrate that the proposed algorithm can effectively tackle DMOPs.