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Overview

This competition is supported by the newly established IEEE CIS Task force on Multi-modal Optimization

This competition is organized in association with the 2017 IEEE CEC Special Session on Niching Methods for Multimodal Optimization. The aim of the competition is to provide a common platform that encourages fair and easy comparisons across different niching algorithms. The competition allows participants to run their own niching algorithms on 20 benchmark multimodal functions with different characteristics and levels of difficulty. Researchers are welcome to evaluate their niching algorithms using this benchmark suite, and report the results by submitting a paper to the associated niching special session (i.e., submitting via the online submission system of CEC'2017).

In case it is too late to submit the paper (i.e., passing the CEC'2017 submission deadline), author may submit their results in a report directly to the special session organizer Michael Epitropakis, in order to be counted in the competition. In addition, the authors are also expected to submit the solutions found in a separate report, in order for us to validate the results.

Test suite for the competition as well as the performance measures are implemented in Matlab, python, Java, and C/C++, and available for download here or from GitHub. Please refer to the following technical report for more information about these benchmark functions:

Reference: X. Li, A. Engelbrecht, and M.G. Epitropakis, ``Benchmark Functions for CEC'2013 Special Session and Competition on Niching Methods for Multimodal Function Optimization'', Technical Report, Evolutionary Computation and Machine Learning Group, RMIT University, Australia, 2013.

To those who may participate in the competition: Please inform Michael Epitropakis about your participation, so that we can update you about any correction of bugs or extension of the deadline.

Important Information

Submission instructions

Manuscripts should be prepared according to the standard format and page limit of regular papers specified in CEC'2017 and submitted through the CEC'2017 website: CEC 2017 submissions. Special session papers will be treated in the same way as regular papers and included in the conference proceedings.

In the Main research topics drop-down menu please select:
SS36: Niching Methods for Multimodal Optimization

Important Dates

  • Paper Submission: Final 30 January 2017
  • Notification of Acceptance: 6 March 2017
  • CEC 2017 Conference: June 5-8, 2017

If you miss the above deadline, please submit your results in a report directly to Xiaodong Li or Michael Epitropakis, no later than 22 May 2017.

Organizers

Michael G. Epitropakis

Dr. Michael G. Epitropakis

Data Science Institute,
Management Science, Lancaster University Management School,
Lancaster University,
Lancaster LA1 4YX, UK.
email: m.epitropakis@lancaster.ac.uk
Xiaodong Li

Professor Xiaodong Li

School of Computer Science and Information Technology,
RMIT University,
Melbourne, VIC 3001, Australia.
email: xiaodong.li@rmit.edu.au
Andries Engelbrecht

Professor Andries Engelbrecht

South African Research Chair in Artificial Intelligence,
Department of Computer Science,
School of Information Technology,
University of Pretoria,
Pretoria 0002, South Africa.
email: engel@cs.up.ac.za