An adaptive neuroevolution-based hyperheuristic

According to the No-Free-Lunch theorem, an algorithm that performs efficiently on any type of problem does not exist. In this sense, algorithms that exploit problem-specific knowledge usually outperform more generic approaches, at the cost of a more complex design and parameter tuning process. Trying to combine the best of both worlds, the field of hyperheuristics investigates the automatized generation and hybridization of heuristic algorithms. In this paper, we propose a neuroevolution-based hyperheuristic approach. Particularly, we develop a population-based hyperheuristic algorithm that first trains a neural network on an instance of a problem and then uses the trained neural network to control how and which low-level operators are applied to each of the solutions when optimizing different problem instances. The trained neural network maps the state of the optimization process to the operations to be applied to the solutions in the population at each generation.