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07 Local Search Algorithms

This document discusses local search algorithms for solving optimization problems. It introduces hill-climbing search, which iteratively moves to neighboring states with improved values. Local beam search tracks multiple states simultaneously. Genetic algorithms generate new states by combining characteristics of existing states. Examples are given for applying these methods to the 8-queens problem. The document also notes advantages and limitations of local search approaches.

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Quynh Nhu Tran Thi
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125 views

07 Local Search Algorithms

This document discusses local search algorithms for solving optimization problems. It introduces hill-climbing search, which iteratively moves to neighboring states with improved values. Local beam search tracks multiple states simultaneously. Genetic algorithms generate new states by combining characteristics of existing states. Examples are given for applying these methods to the 8-queens problem. The document also notes advantages and limitations of local search approaches.

Uploaded by

Quynh Nhu Tran Thi
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Introduction to

Artificial Intelligence
Chapter 2: Solving Problems
by Searching (5)
Local Search Algorithms &
Optimization Problems
Nguyễn Hải Minh, Ph.D
[email protected]
Outline
1. Optimization Problems
2. Hill-climbing search
3. Local beam search
4. Genetic algorithm
5. Issues with local search

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Local search and optimization
❑Global search: systematic exploration of search
space.
o Can solve n-queen problems for n = 200

❑Different algorithms can be used


o Local search
o Can solve n-queen for n = 1,000,000

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Local search and optimization
❑Local search
o Keep track of single current state
o Move only to neighboring states
o Ignore paths

❑Advantages:
o Use very little memory
o Can often find reasonable solutions in large or infinite
(continuous) state spaces.

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Local search and optimization
❑“Pure optimization” problems
o All states have an objective function
o Goal is to find state with max (or min)
objective value
o Local search can do quite well on these
problems.

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Examples of optimization problems
❑N-queens
❑Machine Allocation
❑Office Assignment
❑Travelling Saleperson Problem
❑Boolean Satisfiability
❑…

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QUIZ
Give an example of a real life optimization
problem that you know. Explain clearly
what should be optimized in your problem.

*Do not use the ones that have been discussed on the slide
**Go to Moodles from 20:00 to 22:00 today (Jun 5th) to submit
your answer (bonus credit)

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“Landscape” of search for max value

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Hill-climbing search

This version of HILL-CLIMBING found local maximum.

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Hill-climbing search
❑“a loop that continuously moves in the direction of
increasing value”
o terminates when a peak is reached
o Aka greedy local search
❑Value can be either
o Objective function value
o Heuristic function value (minimized)
❑Hill climbing does not look ahead of the immediate
neighbors of the current state.
❑Can randomly choose among the set of best successors, if
multiple have the best value
❑Characterized as “trying to find the top of Mount Everest
while in a thick fog”
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Hill climbing and local maxima
❑When local maxima exist, hill climbing is suboptimal
❑Simple (often effective) solution
o Multiple random restarts

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Hill-climbing example
❑8-queens problem, complete-state formulation
o All 8 queens on the board in some configuration
❑Successor function:
o move a single queen to another square in the same
column.
❑Example of a heuristic function h(n):
o the number of pairs of queens that are attacking
each other (directly or indirectly)
o (so we want to minimize this)

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Hill-climbing example
❑(c1 c2 c3 c4 c5 c6 c7 c8) = (5 6 7 4 5 6 7 6)
The best moves

❑An 8-queens state with heuristic cost estimate h=17, showing the
value of h for each possible successor obtained by moving a queen
within its column.
Hill-climbing example
❑(c1 c2 c3 c4 c5 c6 c7 c8) = (8 3 7 4 2 5 1 6)

❑A local minimum in the 8-queens state space; the state has h=1 but
every successor has a higher cost.
Hill-climbing drawbacks
❑Ridge = sequence of local maxima difficult for greedy
algorithms to navigate
❑Plateau = an area of the state space where the evaluation
function is flat.
Performance of hill-climbing on 8-queens
❑Randomly generated 8-queens starting states
o 14% the time it solves the problem
o 86% of the time it get stuck at a local minimum

❑However…
o Takes only 4 steps on average when it succeeds
o And 3 on average when it gets stuck
o (for a state space with ~17 million states)

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Possible solution: sideways moves
❑If no downhill (uphill) moves, allow sideways
moves in hope that algorithm can escape
o Need to place a limit on the possible number of
sideways moves to avoid infinite loops
❑For 8-queens
o Now allow sideways moves with a limit of 100
o Raises percentage of problem instances solved
from 14 to 94%
o However….
• 21 steps for every successful solution
• 64 for each failure

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Hill-climbing variations
❑Stochastic hill-climbing
o Random selection among the uphill moves.
o The selection probability can vary with the steepness
of the uphill move.
❑First-choice hill-climbing
o stochastic hill climbing by generating successors
randomly until a better one is found
o Useful when there are a very large number of
successors
❑Random-restart hill-climbing
o Tries to avoid getting stuck in local maxima.

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Hill-climbing with random restarts
❑Different variations
o For each restart: run until termination vs run for a
fixed time
o Run a fixed number of restarts or run indefinitely
❑Analysis
o Say each search has probability p of success
• E.g., for 8-queens, p = 0.14 with no sideways moves
o Expected number of restarts?
o Expected number of steps taken?
Local beam search
❑Keep track of k states instead of one
o Initially: k randomly selected states
o Next: determine all successors of k states
o If any of successors is goal → finished
o Else select k best from successors and repeat.

❑Major difference with random-restart search


o Information is shared among k search threads.

❑Can suffer from lack of diversity.


o Stochastic beam search
• choose k successors proportional to state quality.

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Genetic algorithms
❑Different approach to other search algorithms
o A successor state is generated by combining two
parent states

❑A state is represented as a string over a finite


alphabet (e.g. binary)
o 8-queens
• State = position of 8 queens each in a column
=> 8 x log(8) bits = 24 bits (for binary
representation)

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Genetic algorithms
❑Start with k randomly generated states
(population)
❑Evaluation function (fitness function).
o Higher values for better states.
o Opposite to heuristic function, e.g., # non-attacking
pairs in 8-queens
❑Produce the next generation of states by
“simulated evolution”
o Random selection
o Crossover
o Random mutation

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Genetic algorithms
Initial Fitness Yes
STOP? End
Population calculation

No

Start Cross-over
Selection

New population

Mutation
Next generation building
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Genetic algorithms
❑Genetic representation:
o Use integers
o Use bit string
❑Fitness function: number of non-attacking pairs
of queens (min = 0, max = 8×7/2 = 28)
o 24/(24+23+20+11) = 31%
o 23/(24+23+20+11) = 29% etc

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Genetic algorithms

4 states for 2 pairs of 2 states New states Random


8-queens randomly selected based after crossover mutation
problem on fitness. Random applied
crossover points selected

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Genetic algorithms

Has the effect of “jumping” to a completely different new


part of the search space (quite non-local)

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Genetic algorithm pseudocode

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Genetic algorithm pseudocode

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Comments on genetic algorithms
❑Positive points
o Random exploration can find solutions that
local search can’t
• (via crossover primarily)
• Can solve “hard” problem
o Rely on very little domain knowledge
o Appealing connection to human evolution
• E.g., see related area of genetic programming

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Comments on genetic algorithms
❑Positive points

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Comments on genetic algorithms
❑Negative points
o Large number of “tunable” parameters
• Difficult to replicate performance from one problem to another
o Lack of good empirical studies comparing to simpler
methods
o Useful on some (small?) set of problems but no
convincing evidence that GAs are better than hill-
climbing w/random restarts in general

❑Application: Genetic Programming!

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Next class
❑Individual Assignment 2
❑Chapter 2: Solving Problems by
Searching (cont.)
o Adversarial Search (Games)

7/12/2020 Nguyễn Hải Minh @ FIT 32

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