Many-objective Optimization Using Evolutionary Algorithms: A Survey


Abstract

Multi-objective Evolutionary Algorithms (MOEAs) have proven their effectiveness and efficiency in solving complex problems with two or three objec- tives. However, recent studies have shown that the performance of the classical MOEAs is deteriorated when tackling problems involving a larger number of con- flicting objectives. Since most individuals become non-dominated with respect to each others, the MOEAs’ behavior becomes similar to a random walk in the search space. Motivated by the fact that a wide range of real world applications involves the optimization of more than three objectives, several Many-objective Evolution- ary Algorithms (MaOEAs) have been proposed in the literature. In this chapter, we highlight in the introduction the difficulties encountered by MOEAs when handling Many-objective Optimization Problems (MaOPs). Moreover, a classification of the most prominent MaOEAs is provided in an attempt to review and describe the evo- lution of the field. In addition, a summary of the most commonly used test problems, statistical tests, and performance indicators is presented. Finally, we outline some possible future research directions in this research area.