Experimenting on a Novel Approach to MDO using an Adaptive Multi-Agent System

1. Abstract MultiDisciplinary Optimization (MDO) problems represent one of the hardest and broadest domains of continuous optimization. By involving both the models and criteria of different disciplines, MDO problems are often too complex to be tackled by classical optimization methods. We propose an approach for taking into account this complexity using a new formalism (NDMO Natural Domain Modeling for Optimization) and a self-adaptive multi-agent algorithm. Our method agentifies the different elements of the problem (such as the variables, the models, the objectives). Each agent is in charge of a small part of the problem and cooperates with its neighbors to find equilibrium on conflicting values. Despite the fact that no agent of the system has a complete view of the entire problem, the mechanisms we provide make the emergence of a coherent solution possible. Evaluations on several academic and industrial test cases are provided. 2.