Machine Learning: Evolutionary Algorithms

Evolutionary Algorithms are randomized optimization methods, inspired by principles of biological evolution. Such algorithms apply the principle of "survival of the fittest" to the solution of technical problems. The resulting search heuristics are widely and generically applicable to a wide variety of application problems. They are conceptually simple and often easy to implement. Evolutionary search is often applied to the approximate solution of hard optimization tasks for which efficient problem-specific solvers are not available.

The course starts out with a basic model of an evolutionary algorithm. Departing from this model students will learn about various aspects of evolutionary optimization on discrete and continuous search spaces, from which a systematic taxonomy of modular components will be developed.

The course consists of a two hours/week lecture and an accompanying two hours/week practical course. From this year on the course will be in English.

Lecturers

Details

Course type
Lectures
Term
Winter Term 2014/2015

Dates

Lecture
Takes place every week on Friday from 10:00 to 12:00 in room NB 3/72.
First appointment is on 10.10.2014
Exercise
Takes place every week on Monday from 12:00 to 14:00 in room NB 3/57.
First appointment is on 13.10.2014
Examination
Takes place on 17.02.2015 from 10:00 to 12:00 in room HZO 80.

Requirements

The course is designed for Master students of the Angewandte Informatik program. The lecture Mathematics for Modeling and Data Analysis is recommended as a background.

The Institut für Neuroinformatik (INI) is a central research unit of the Ruhr-Universität Bochum. We aim to understand the fundamental principles through which organisms generate behavior and cognition while linked to their environments through sensory systems and while acting in those environments through effector systems. Inspired by our insights into such natural cognitive systems, we seek new solutions to problems of information processing in artificial cognitive systems. We draw from a variety of disciplines that include experimental approaches from psychology and neurophysiology as well as theoretical approaches from physics, mathematics, electrical engineering and applied computer science, in particular machine learning, artificial intelligence, and computer vision.

Universitätsstr. 150, Building NB, Room 3/32
D-44801 Bochum, Germany

Tel: (+49) 234 32-28967
Fax: (+49) 234 32-14210