Multiple Objective Vector-Based Genetic Programming Using Human-Derived Primitives


Abstract

Traditional genetic programming only supports the use of arithmetic and logical operators on scalar features. The GTMOEP (Georgia Tech Multiple Objective Evolutionary Programming) framework builds upon this by also handling feature vectors, allowing the use of signal processing and machine learning functions as primitives, in addition to the more conventional operators. GTMOEP is a novel method for automated, data-driven algorithm creation, capable of outperforming human derived solutions. As an example, GTMOEP was applied to the problem of predicting how long an emergency responder can remain in a hazmat suit before the effects of heat stress cause the user to become unsafe. An existing third-party physics model was leveraged for predicting core temperature from various situational parameters. However, a sustained high heart rate also means that a user is unsafe. To improve performance, GTMOEP was evaluated to predict an expected pull time, computed from both thresholds during human trials. GTMOEP produced dominant solutions in multiple objective space to the performance of predictions made by the physics model alone, resulting in a safer algorithm for emergency responders to determine operating times in harsh environments. The program generated by GTMOEP will be deployed to a mobile application for their use.