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The fashion industry is one of the most harmful industries in the world. Many garments are produced and dyed on a petroleum base; vast amounts of water are used in the production of textiles and garments; and environmentally harmful chemicals are released into the environment during production. Working towards sustainability in fashion is more relevant than ever. One way of doing this is to design garments with nature. To do so, I am presenting an example of biotechnology in the field of dyeing techniques. The project is innovative and future-driven in that it offers alternatives to industrial, petroleum-based dyeing techniques. A number of bacteria produce different colored pigments. The bacteria strain Janthinobacterium lividum, for example, is considered nontoxic and safe to handle. It is found in nature on the skin of the red-backed salamander. The bacteria produce dark purple pigments called violacein. With the pigment’s antifungal and antibacterial characteristics, it protects itself and its host from intruders. Can the pigment, however, be applied to dye textiles?
Epidemic Geographies
(2023)
This essay is a shortened version of a final BA thesis, written during the global pandemic of covid-19, dominating media reports, public life, and private experience in the quarantine society in the months of April to July 2020. Yet this thesis was also a test, a quiet personal one. To focus on current conditions and events allowed to shift the perspective from familiar contexts to unknown environments. It allowed to try out whether the subjects of our studies can be applied to a ‘real world context’ besides works that often only retrospectively comment on preexisting conditions. Parallel to this text two video works were developed. While the first (Heatmap Urbanism - https://vimeo.com/469567011) offers a visual inquiry into the urban implications of pandemic contact tracing, the second (Relational Topographies - https://vimeo.com/469582311) presents the cartographic speculations that are conceived in this essay.
Collective Defined Contribution Plans – Backtesting Based on German Capital Market Data 1950 - 2022
(2022)
Using historical capital market data for Germany (1950-2022) we analyze and compare (individual) defined contribution (IDC-) and collective defined contribution (CDC) pension plans. To this end we define simple asset liability management rules that govern a CDC pension plan and compare these to IDC-plans with the same asset allovation. Our main result is, that the CDC pension plans allow for a significant improvement of the risk return profile compared to individual pension plans. Hereby we consider different risk measures. This empirical study affirms the theoretical results based on stochastic CDC-models.
Drinking water supply and distribution systems are critical infrastructure that has to be well maintained for the safety of the public. One important tool in the maintenance of water distribution systems (WDS) is flushing. Flushing is a process carried out in a periodic fashion to clean sediments and other contaminants in the water pipes. Given the different topographies, water composition and supply demand between WDS no single flushing strategy is suitable for all of them. In this report a non-exhaustive overview of optimization methods for flushing in WDS is given. Implementation of optimization methods for the flushing procedure and the flushing planing are presented. Suggestions are given as a possible option to optimise existing flushing planing frameworks.
EventDetectR: An efficient Event Detection System (EDS) capable of detecting unexpected water quality conditions. This approach uses multiple algorithms to model the relationship between various multivariate water quality signals. Then the residuals of the models were utilized in constructing the event detection algorithm, which provides a continuous measure of the probability of an event at every time step. The proposed framework was tested for water contamination events with industrial data from automated water quality sensors. The results showed that the framework is reliable with better performance and is highly suitable for event detection.
Sensor placement for contaminant detection in water distribution systems (WDS) has become a topic of great interest aiming to secure a population's water supply. Several approaches can be found in the literature with differences ranging from the objective selected to optimize to the methods implemented to solve the optimization problem. In this work we aim to give an overview of the current work in sensor placement with focus on contaminant detection for WDS. We present some of the objectives for which the sensor placement problem is defined along with common optimization algorithms and Toolkits available to help with algorithm testing and comparison.
Benchmark experiments are required to test, compare, tune, and understand optimization algorithms. Ideally, benchmark problems closely reflect real-world problem behavior. Yet, real-world problems are not always readily available for benchmarking. For example, evaluation costs may be too high, or resources are unavailable (e.g., software or equipment). As a solution, data from previous evaluations can be used to train surrogate models which are then used for benchmarking. The goal is to generate test functions on which the performance of an algorithm is similar to that on the real-world objective function. However, predictions from data-driven models tend to be smoother than the ground-truth from which the training data is derived. This is especially problematic when the training data becomes sparse. The resulting benchmarks may not reflect the landscape features of the ground-truth, are too easy, and may lead to biased conclusions.
To resolve this, we use simulation of Gaussian processes instead of estimation (or prediction). This retains the covariance properties estimated during model training. While previous research suggested a decomposition-based approach for a small-scale, discrete problem, we show that the spectral simulation method enables simulation for continuous optimization problems. In a set of experiments with an artificial ground-truth, we demonstrate that this yields more accurate benchmarks than simply predicting with the Gaussian process model.
Many black-box optimization problems rely on simulations to evaluate the quality of candidate solutions. These evaluations can be computationally expensive and very time-consuming. We present and approach to mitigate this problem by taking into consideration two factors: The number of evaluations and the execution time. We aim to keep the number of evaluations low by using Bayesian optimization (BO) – known to be sample efficient– and to reduce wall-clock times by executing parallel evaluations. Four parallelization methods using BO as optimizer are compared against the inherently parallel CMA-ES. Each method is evaluated on all the 24 objective functions of the Black-Box-Optimization-Benchmarking test suite in their 20-dimensional versions. The results show that parallelized BO outperforms the state-of-the-art CMA-ES on most of the test functions, also on higher dimensions.
An important class of black-box optimization problems relies on using simulations to assess the quality of a given candidate solution. Solving such problems can be computationally expensive because each simulation is very time-consuming. We present an approach to mitigate this problem by distinguishing two factors of computational cost: the number of trials and the time needed to execute the trials. Our approach tries to keep down the number of trials by using Bayesian optimization (BO) –known to be sample efficient– and reducing wall-clock times by parallel execution of trials. We compare the performance of four parallelization methods and two model-free alternatives. Each method is evaluated on all 24 objective functions of the Black-Box-Optimization- Benchmarking (BBOB) test suite in their five, ten, and 20-dimensional versions. Additionally, their performance is investigated on six test cases in robot learning. The results show that parallelized BO outperforms the state-of-the-art CMA-ES on the BBOB test functions, especially for higher dimensions. On the robot learning tasks, the differences are less clear, but the data do support parallelized BO as the ‘best guess’, winning on some cases and never losing.
Surrogate-based optimization relies on so-called infill criteria (acquisition functions) to decide which point to evaluate next. When Kriging is used as the surrogate model of choice (also called Bayesian optimization), one of the most frequently chosen criteria is expected improvement. We argue that the popularity of expected improvement largely relies on its theoretical properties rather than empirically validated performance. Few results from the literature show evidence, that under certain conditions, expected improvement may perform worse than something as simple as the predicted value of the surrogate model. We benchmark both infill criteria in an extensive empirical study on the ‘BBOB’ function set. This investigation includes a detailed study of the impact of problem dimensionality on algorithm performance. The results support the hypothesis that exploration loses importance with increasing problem dimensionality. A statistical analysis reveals that the purely exploitative search with the predicted value criterion performs better on most problems of five or higher dimensions. Possible reasons for these results are discussed. In addition, we give an in-depth guide for choosing the infill criteria based on prior knowledge about the problem at hand, its dimensionality, and the available budget.
Real-world problems such as computational fluid dynamics simulations and finite element analyses are computationally expensive. A standard approach to mitigating the high computational expense is Surrogate-Based Optimization (SBO). Yet, due to the high-dimensionality of many simulation problems, SBO is not directly applicable or not efficient. Reducing the dimensionality of the search space is one method to overcome this limitation. In addition to the applicability of SBO, dimensionality reduction enables easier data handling and improved data and model interpretability. Regularization is considered as one state-of-the-art technique for dimensionality reduction. We propose a hybridization approach called Regularized-Surrogate-Optimization (RSO) aimed at overcoming difficulties related to high-dimensionality. It couples standard Kriging-based SBO with regularization techniques. The employed regularization methods are based on three adaptations of the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO). In addition, tree-based methods are analyzed as an alternative variable selection method. An extensive study is performed on a set of artificial test functions and two real-world applications: the electrostatic precipitator problem and a multilayered composite design problem. Experiments reveal that RSO requires significantly less time than standard SBO to obtain comparable results. The pros and cons of the RSO approach are discussed, and recommendations for practitioners are presented.
We propose a hybridization approach called Regularized-Surrogate- Optimization (RSO) aimed at overcoming difficulties related to high- dimensionality. It combines standard Kriging-based SMBO with regularization techniques. The employed regularization methods use the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO). An extensive study is performed on a set of artificial test functions and two real-world applications: the electrostatic precipitator problem and a multilayered composite design problem. Experiments reveal that RSO requires significantly less time than Kriging to obtain comparable results. The pros and cons of the RSO approach are discussed and recommendations for practitioners are presented.
This survey compiles ideas and recommendations from more than a dozen researchers with different backgrounds and from different institutes around the world. Promoting best practice in benchmarking is its main goal. The article discusses eight essential topics in benchmarking: clearly stated goals, well- specified problems, suitable algorithms, adequate performance measures, thoughtful analysis, effective and efficient designs, comprehensible presentations, and guaranteed reproducibility. The final goal is to provide well-accepted guidelines (rules) that might be useful for authors and reviewers. As benchmarking in optimization is an active and evolving field of research this manuscript is meant to co-evolve over time by means of periodic updates.
This paper introduces CAAI, a novel cognitive architecture for artificial intelligence in cyber-physical production systems. The goal of the architecture is to reduce the implementation effort for the usage of artificial intelligence algorithms. The core of the CAAI is a cognitive module that processes declarative goals of the user, selects suitable models and algorithms, and creates a configuration for the execution of a processing pipeline on a big data platform. Constant observation and evaluation against performance criteria assess the performance of pipelines for many and varying use cases. Based on these evaluations, the pipelines are automatically adapted if necessary. The modular design with well-defined interfaces enables the reusability and extensibility of pipeline components. A big data platform implements this modular design supported by technologies such as Docker, Kubernetes, and Kafka for virtualization and orchestration of the individual components and their communication. The implementation of the architecture is evaluated using a real-world use case.
This volume is a collection of thoughts and ideas around the concepts of resilience and vulnerability related to their application in the context of disaster risk. Each of the chapters can be classified as an essay, a working paper, or simply as a think piece. Irrespective of different contexts and themes they are united as they represent efforts to grasp the elusive concepts of vulnerability, resilience, exposure, risk in context of natural hazards or wilful destruction and the potential disasters these may cause. One further common feature of these pieces put together in this volume is that they were never really became known and acknowledged. Most of these writings, or versions thereof have never been published in printed media. They all originate from the period between 2008 and 2018. Some of these “early thoughts” might have been premature then. We speculate however, that in light of the present state of the international scientific discourse in the respective area and the ever flourishing conceptual debates around vulnerability and resilience some of the ideas found in these “hidden essays” may trigger second thoughts and hence could enliven the present debates. Thus next to be the historical documentation of what has been pondered on a decade ago, some scientific follow up may occur.
A pension system is resilient if it able to absorb external (temporal) shocks and if it is able to adapt to (longterm) shifts of the socio-economic environment. Defined benefit (DB) and defined contribution pension plans behave contrastingly with respect to capital market shocks and shifts: while DB-plan benefits are not affected by external shocks they totally lack adaptability with respect to fundamental changes; DC-plans automatically adjust to a changing environment but any external shock has a direct impact on the (expected) pensions. By adding a collective component to DC-plans one can make these collective DC (CDC)-plans shock absorbing - at least to a certain degree. In our CDC pension model we build a collective reserve of assets that serves as a buffer to capital market shocks, e.g. stock market crashes. The idea is to transfer money from the collective reserve to the individual pension accounts whenever capital markets slump and to feed the collective reserve whenever capital market are booming. This mechanism is particular valuable for age cohorts that are close to retirement. It is clear that withdrawing assets from or adding assets to the collective reserve is essentially a transfer of assets between the age cohorts. In our near reality model we investigate the effect of stock market shocks and interest rate (and mortality) shifts on a CDC- pension system. We are particularly interested in the question, to what extend a CDC-pension system is actually able to absorb shocks and whether the intergenerational transfer of assets via the collective reserve can be regarded as fair.
The availability of several CPU cores on current computers enables
parallelization and increases the computational power significantly.
Optimization algorithms have to be adapted to exploit these highly
parallelized systems and evaluate multiple candidate solutions in
each iteration. This issue is especially challenging for expensive
optimization problems, where surrogate models are employed to
reduce the load of objective function evaluations.
This paper compares different approaches for surrogate modelbased
optimization in parallel environments. Additionally, an easy
to use method, which was developed for an industrial project, is
proposed. All described algorithms are tested with a variety of
standard benchmark functions. Furthermore, they are applied to
a real-world engineering problem, the electrostatic precipitator
problem. Expensive computational fluid dynamics simulations are
required to estimate the performance of the precipitator. The task
is to optimize a gas-distribution system so that a desired velocity
distribution is achieved for the gas flow throughout the precipitator.
The vast amount of possible configurations leads to a complex
discrete valued optimization problem. The experiments indicate
that a hybrid approach works best, which proposes candidate solutions
based on different surrogate model-based infill criteria and
evolutionary operators.
Modelling Zero-inflated Rainfall Data through the Use of Gaussian Process and Bayesian Regression
(2018)
Rainfall is a key parameter for understanding the water cycle. An accurate rainfall measurement is vital in the development of hydrological models. By means of indirect measurement, satellites can nowadays estimate the rainfall around the world. However, these measurements are not always accurate. As a first approach to generate a bias-corrected rainfall estimate using satellite data, the performance of Gaussian process and Bayesian regression is studied. The results show Gaussian process as the better option for this dataset but leave place to improvements on both modelling strategies.
Surrogate-based optimization and nature-inspired metaheuristics have become the state of the art in solving real-world optimization problems. Still, it is difficult for beginners and even experts to get an overview that explains their advantages in comparison to the large number of available methods in the scope of continuous optimization. Available taxonomies lack the integration of surrogate-based approaches and thus their embedding in the larger context of this broad field.
This article presents a taxonomy of the field, which further matches the idea of nature-inspired algorithms, as it is based on the human behavior in path finding. Intuitive analogies make it easy to conceive the most basic principles of the search algorithms, even for beginners and non-experts in this area of research. However, this scheme does not oversimplify the high complexity of the different algorithms, as the class identifier only defines a descriptive meta-level of the algorithm search strategies. The taxonomy was established by exploring and matching algorithm schemes, extracting similarities and differences, and creating a set of classification indicators to distinguish between five distinct classes. In practice, this taxonomy allows recommendations for the applicability of the corresponding algorithms and helps developers trying to create or improve their own algorithms.
In the present paper a calculation tool for the lifetime prediction of composite materials with focus on local multiaxial
stress states and different local stress ratios within each lamina is developed. The approach is based on repetitiv, progressive in-plane stress calculations using classical laminate theory with subsequent analysis of the material stressing effort and use of appropriate material degradation models. Therefore experimentally data of S-N curves are
used to generate anistropic constant life diagrams for a closer examination of critical fracture planes under any given combination of local stress ratios. The model is verified against various balanced angle plies and multi-directional
laminates with arbitrary stacking sequences and varying stress ratios throughout the analysis. Different sections of the
model, such as residual strength and residual stiffness, are examined and verified over a wide range of load cycles. The obtained results agree very well with the analyzed experimental data.