Foundations in Grammatical Evolution for Dynamic Environments
Press Release
Foundations in Grammatical Evolution for Dynamic Environments
UCD's Natural Computing Research and Applications Group (NCRA) researchers demonstrate how biologically inspired algorithms can be used to create the next generation of problem solving tools for application in dynamic, real-world problem domains in areas such as financial modelling. In addition, the developed tools are being applied as design tools for architects and engineers, to computer graphics and animation and video game middleware
UCD's Natural Computing Research and Applications Group (NCRA) is undertaking both basic and applied research in natural computing, the study of computational systems inspired by the natural world. Applications being investigated by researchers at UCD's NCRA include Evolutionary Design Tools for Architects and Engineers, Evolutionary Physics-based Animation, Evolutionary Middleware for Video Games, evolving programs that allow computers to program themselves, and Breeding new art (e.g., Music, Pictures) and novel Designs (e.g., Logos). In addition, a range of real-world applications in Finance are being investigated with partners in the IFSC.
UCD's NCRA is located in UCD CASL, the Complex and Adaptive Systems Laboratory (http://casl.ucd.ie). The group's activities embody the ideals of CASL, drawing upon a multidisciplinary team of researchers who are striving to understand the natural world around us, and in so doing taking inspiration from this world to develop novel, computational, problem solving tools. Over the past year NCRA researchers have attracted substantial research funding to support the group's activities, including an SFI Principal Investigator Award to Dr. Michael O'Neill. UCD's NCRA research is funded by Science Foundation Ireland, IRCSET, Enterprise Ireland and a number of corporate sponsors. The group's website (http://ncra.ucd.ie) provides more information about the activities being undertaken.
The founders and directors of UCD's Natural Computing Research and Applications Group (NCRA), Dr Michael O'Neill and Prof Anthony Brabazon, have published a book with Dr. Ian Dempsey (Pipeline Inc., NY, USA) on their recent research with Grammatical Evolution in Dynamic Environments, including the application of the method to Financial modelling. Foundations in Grammatical Evolution for Dynamic Environments is written to be accessible by a wide audience and should be of interest to practitioners, academics and students, who are seeking to apply grammar-based evolutionary algorithms to solve problems in dynamic environments. Prof. Brabazon notes that "It is natural to turn to algorithms which are inspired by the natural world when one wishes to solve problems in the natural world".
Dr O'Neill points out that "The natural process of biological evolution operates in an ever-changing world, and it is because of the very fact that this environment is dynamic that we observe the awe inspiring diversity of function and form in nature. It can be argued that without evolution we would not have brains, immune systems, languages and social systems. We use dynamic environments with our evolutionary programs to help us create the next generation of powerful problem solving tools, which are able to adapt to a changing world. Foundations in Grammatical Evolution for Dynamic Environments represents the initial steps in an exciting journey towards this goal, providing real-world examples of the application of the principles to Finance. Foundations in Grammatical Evolution for Dynamic Environments is the second book to be published on Grammatical Evolution, and it has been six years since Dr. O'Neill published the seminal book on the subject, Grammatical Evolution: Evolutionary Automatic Programming in an Arbitrary Language.
Pictured at official book launch: Dr. Michael O'Neill (UCD School of Computer Science & Informatics and UCD CASL), Dr. Ian Dempsey (Pipeline Trading Systems Inc., and UCD NCRA), Prof. Anthony Brabazon (UCD School of Business and UCD CASL)
Our latest book (published May 2009 by Springer) describes the initial research undertaken in the application and analysis of Grammatical Evolution in Dynamic Environments.
Dynamic environments abound, encompassing many real-world problems in fields as diverse as finance, engineering, biology and business. A vibrant research literature has emerged which takes inspiration from evolutionary processes to develop problem-solvers for these environments.
'Foundations in Grammatical Evolution for Dynamic Environments' is a cutting edge volume illustrating current state of the art in applying grammar-based evolutionary computation to solve real-world problems in dynamic environments. The book provides a clear introduction to dynamic environments and the types of change that can occur in them. This is followed by a detailed description of evolutionary computation, concentrating on the powerful Grammatical Evolution methodology. It continues by addressing fundamental issues facing all Evolutionary Algorithms in dynamic problems, such as how to adapt and generate constants, how to enhance evolvability and maintain diversity. Finally, the developed methods are illustrated with application to the real-world dynamic problem of trading on financial time-series.
The book was written to be accessible to a wide audience and should be of interest to practitioners, academics and students, who are seeking to apply grammar-based evolutionary algorithms to solve problems in dynamic environments. 'Foundations in Grammatical Evolution for Dynamic Environments' is the second book dedicated to the topic of Grammatical Evolution.
Launch Reception - Friday May 22th 2009
