MRMOGA: a new parallel multi-objective evolutionary algorithm based on the use of multiple resolutions

In this paper, we introduce MRMOGA (Multiple Resolution Multi-Objective Genetic Algorithm), a new parallel multi-objective evolutionary algorithm which is based on an injection island approach. This approach is characterized by adopting an encoding of solutions which uses a different resolution for each island. This approach allows us to divide the decision variable. space into well-defined overlapped regions to achieve an efficient use of multiple processors. Also, this approach guarantees that the processors only generate solutions within their assigned region. In order to assess the performance of our proposed approach, we compare it to a parallel version of an algorithm that is representative of the state-of-the-art in the area, using standard test functions and performance measures reported in the specialized literature. Our results indicate that our proposed approach is a viable alternative to solve multi-objective optimization problems in parallel, particularly when dealing with large search spaces. Copyright @ 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.