Multi-Level and Multi-Segment Learning Multitask Optimization via a Niching Method

Knowledge transfer (KT) has been regarded as an efficient method in evolutionary multitask optimization (EMTO) by utilizing the information of other tasks to promote the optimization of the current task. Most KT methods achieve information communication across index-aligned dimensions. However, the index-aligned dimensions are not always similar or related, which is not always suitable for communication and causes the low efficiency in KT. Moreover, when the KT occurs in the heterogeneous tasks with different dimensions, the task with lower dimensions often pads the extra dimensions to make their dimensions equal. However, the dimension-padding often involves the redundant or useless information, which may mislead the KT process. In this article, a novel multilevel and multisegment learning multitask optimization (MMLMTO) algorithm based on niching technique is proposed to achieve high-quality KT. First, a multilevel learning strategy is proposed to divide the population into three levels according to fitness values for better selecting the individuals for KT. Second, a multisegment learning strategy is proposed to split some top individuals in each level into several segments, and each segment will find its closest segment to form a niche, where the KT is executed. This ensures that KT occurs in the similar or related dimensions and avoids the dimension-padding to eliminate the influence of the redundant information. Experimental results on IEEE CEC2017 and IEEE CEC2022 multitask benchmarks fully demonstrate the effectiveness of MMLMTO, which can significantly outperform other state-of-the-art multitask algorithms. Finally, MMLMTO is applied to a real-world multitask rover navigation application problem to further demonstrate its applicability.