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Outputs (79)

Evolving Staff Training Schedules using an Extensible Fitness Function and a Domain Specific Language (2024)
Conference Proceeding
Urquhart, N., & Hunter, K. (2024). Evolving Staff Training Schedules using an Extensible Fitness Function and a Domain Specific Language. In S. Smith, J. Correia, & C. Cintrano (Eds.), Applications of Evolutionary Computation (83–97). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-56852-7_6

When using a meta-heuristic based optimiser in some industrial scenarios, there may be a need to amend the objective function as time progresses to encompass constraints that did not exist during the development phase of the software. We propose a me... Read More about Evolving Staff Training Schedules using an Extensible Fitness Function and a Domain Specific Language.

The stuff we swim in: Regulation alone will not lead to justifiable trust in AI (2023)
Journal Article
Powers, S. T., Linnyk, O., Guckert, M., Hannig, J., Pitt, J., Urquhart, N., …Weber, T. (2023). The stuff we swim in: Regulation alone will not lead to justifiable trust in AI. IEEE technology & society magazine, 42(4), 95-106. https://doi.org/10.1109/MTS.2023.3341463

Information technology is used ubiquitously and has become an integral part of everyday life. With the ever increasing pervasiveness and persuasiveness of Artificial Intelligence (AI), the function of socio-technical systems changes and must be consi... Read More about The stuff we swim in: Regulation alone will not lead to justifiable trust in AI.

Extending AGADE Traffic To Simulate Auctions In Shared Mobility Services (2023)
Conference Proceeding
Nguyen, J., Powers, S., Urquhart, N., Eckerle, D., Farrenkopf, T., & Guckert, M. (2023). Extending AGADE Traffic To Simulate Auctions In Shared Mobility Services. In ECMS2023 Proceedings

With the number of individual vehicles meeting the capacity limit of urban road infrastructure, the deployment of new mobility services may help to achieve more efficient use of available resources and prevent critical overload. It may be observed th... Read More about Extending AGADE Traffic To Simulate Auctions In Shared Mobility Services.

Improving the size and quality of MAP-Elites containers via multiple emitters and decoders for urban logistics (2023)
Conference Proceeding
Urquhart, N., & Hart, E. (2023). Improving the size and quality of MAP-Elites containers via multiple emitters and decoders for urban logistics. In Applications of Evolutionary Computation – 26th International Conference, EvoApplications 2023 (35-52). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-30229-9

Quality-diversity (QD) methods such as MAP-Elites have been demonstrated to be useful in the domain of combinatorial optimisation due to their ability to generate a large set of solutions to a single-objective problem that are diverse with respect to... Read More about Improving the size and quality of MAP-Elites containers via multiple emitters and decoders for urban logistics.

Nature Inspired Optimisation for Delivery Problems: From Theory to the Real World (2022)
Book
Urquhart, N. (2022). Nature Inspired Optimisation for Delivery Problems: From Theory to the Real World. Cham: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-98108-2

This book explains classic routing and transportation problems and solutions, before offering insights based on successful real-world solutions. The chapters in Part I introduce and explain the traveling salesperson problem (TSP), vehicle routing pro... Read More about Nature Inspired Optimisation for Delivery Problems: From Theory to the Real World.

Multi-Agent Modelling Notation (MAMN): A multi-layered graphical modelling notation for agent-based simulations (2022)
Conference Proceeding
Nguyen, J., Powers, S., Urquhart, N., Farrenkopf, T., & Guckert, M. (2022). Multi-Agent Modelling Notation (MAMN): A multi-layered graphical modelling notation for agent-based simulations. In PRIMA 2022: Principles and Practice of Multi-Agent Systems - 24th International Conference, Valencia, Spain, November 16–18, 2022, Proceedings (640-649). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-21203-1_42

Cause-effect graphs have been applied in non agent-based simulations, where they are used to model chained causal relations between input parameters and system behaviour measured by appropriate indicators. This can be useful for the analysis and inte... Read More about Multi-Agent Modelling Notation (MAMN): A multi-layered graphical modelling notation for agent-based simulations.

An empirical evaluation of a novel domain-specific language – modelling vehicle routing problems with Athos (2022)
Journal Article
Hoffmann, B., Urquhart, N., Chalmers, K., & Guckert, M. (2022). An empirical evaluation of a novel domain-specific language – modelling vehicle routing problems with Athos. Empirical Software Engineering, 27(7), Article 180. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10664-022-10210-w

Domain-specific languages (DSLs) are a popular approach among software engineers who demand for a tailored development interface. A DSL-based approach allows to encapsulate the intricacies of the target platform in transformations that turn DSL model... Read More about An empirical evaluation of a novel domain-specific language – modelling vehicle routing problems with Athos.

Modelling the Impact of Individual Preferences on Traffic Policies (2022)
Journal Article
Nguyen, J., Powers, S., Urquhart, N., Farrenkopf, T., & Guckert, M. (2022). Modelling the Impact of Individual Preferences on Traffic Policies. SN Computer Science, 3(5), Article 365. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42979-022-01253-3

Urban traffic is a system always prone to overload, often approaching breakdown during rush hour times. Well adjusted modifications of traffic policies, with appropriate interventions, promise potential improvements by inducing change in both individ... Read More about Modelling the Impact of Individual Preferences on Traffic Policies.

Using Semantic Technology to Model Persona for Adaptable Agents (2021)
Conference Proceeding
Nguyen, J., Farrenkopf, T., Guckert, M., Powers, S., & Urquhart, N. (2021). Using Semantic Technology to Model Persona for Adaptable Agents. In ECMS 2021, 35th Proceedings (172-178). https://doi.org/10.7148/2021

In state of the art research a growing interest in the application of agent models for the simulation of road traffic can be observed. Software agents are particularly suitable for the representation of travellers and their goal-oriented behaviour. A... Read More about Using Semantic Technology to Model Persona for Adaptable Agents.

An overview of agent-based traffic simulators (2021)
Journal Article
Nguyen, J., Powers, S. T., Urquhart, N., Farrenkopf, T., & Guckert, M. (2021). An overview of agent-based traffic simulators. Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives, 12, Article 100486. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trip.2021.100486

Individual traffic significantly contributes to climate change and environmental degradation. Therefore, innovation in sustainable mobility is gaining importance as it helps to reduce environmental pollution. However, effects of new ideas in mobility... Read More about An overview of agent-based traffic simulators.

Modelling Individual Preferences to Study and Predict Effects of Traffic Policies (2021)
Conference Proceeding
Nguyen, J., Powers, S., Urquhart, N., Farrenkopf, T., & Guckert, M. (2021). Modelling Individual Preferences to Study and Predict Effects of Traffic Policies. In Advances in Practical Applications of Agents, Multi-Agent Systems, and Social Good. The PAAMS Collection 19th International Conference, PAAMS 2021, Salamanca, Spain, October 6–8, 2021, Proceedings (163-175). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-85739-4_14

Traffic can be viewed as a complex adaptive system in which systemic patterns arise as emergent phenomena. Global behaviour is a result of behavioural patterns of a large set of individual travellers. However, available traffic simulation models lack... Read More about Modelling Individual Preferences to Study and Predict Effects of Traffic Policies.

Using AGADE Traffic to Analyse Purpose-driven Travel Behaviour (2021)
Conference Proceeding
Nguyen, J., Powers, S. T., Urquhart, N., Farrenkopf, T., & Guckert, M. (2021). Using AGADE Traffic to Analyse Purpose-driven Travel Behaviour. In Advances in Practical Applications of Agents, Multi-Agent Systems, and Social Good: The PAAMS Collection 19th International Conference, PAAMS 2021, Salamanca, Spain, October 6–8, 2021, Proceedings (363-366). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-85739-4_33

AGADE Traffic is an agent-based traffic simulator that can be used to analyse purpose-driven travel behaviour of individuals that leads to the emergence of systemic patterns in mobility. The simulator uses semantic technology to model knowledge of in... Read More about Using AGADE Traffic to Analyse Purpose-driven Travel Behaviour.

Optimisation Algorithms for Parallel Machine Scheduling Problems with Setup Times (2021)
Conference Proceeding
Kittel, F., Enekel, J., Guckert, M., Holznigenkemper, J., & Urquhart, N. (2021). Optimisation Algorithms for Parallel Machine Scheduling Problems with Setup Times. In GECCO '21: Proceedings of the Genetic and Evolutionary Computation Conference Companion (131-132). https://doi.org/10.1145/3449726.3459487

Parallel machine scheduling is a problem of high practical relevance for the manufacturing industry. In this paper, we address a variant in which an unweighted combination of earliness, tardiness and setup times aggregated in a single objective funct... Read More about Optimisation Algorithms for Parallel Machine Scheduling Problems with Setup Times.

A Conceptual Framework for Establishing Trust in Real World Intelligent Systems (2021)
Journal Article
Guckert, M., Gumpfer, N., Hannig, J., Keller, T., & Urquhart, N. (2021). A Conceptual Framework for Establishing Trust in Real World Intelligent Systems. Cognitive Systems Research, 68, 143-155. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cogsys.2021.04.001

Intelligent information systems that contain emergent elements often encounter trust problems because results do not get sufficiently explained and the procedure itself can not be fully retraced. This is caused by a control flow depending either on s... Read More about A Conceptual Framework for Establishing Trust in Real World Intelligent Systems.

Real Time Optimisation of Traffic Signals to Prioritise Public Transport (2021)
Conference Proceeding
Plötz, P., Wittpohl, M., & Urquhart, N. (2021). Real Time Optimisation of Traffic Signals to Prioritise Public Transport. In Applications of Evolutionary Computation: 24th International Conference, EvoApplications 2021 (162-177). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-72699-7_11

This paper examines the optimisation of traffic signals to prioritise public transportation (busses) in real time. A novel representation for the traffic signal prioritisation problem is introduced. Through the novel representation a creative evoluti... Read More about Real Time Optimisation of Traffic Signals to Prioritise Public Transport.

Automated, Explainable Rule Extraction from MAP-Elites archives (2021)
Conference Proceeding
Urquhart, N., Höhl, S., & Hart, E. (2021). Automated, Explainable Rule Extraction from MAP-Elites archives. In Applications of Evolutionary Computation: 24th International Conference, EvoApplications 2021 (258-272). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-72699-7_17

Quality-diversity(QD) algorithms that return a large archive of elite solutions to a problem provide insights into how high-performing solutions are distributed throughout a feature-space defined by a user — they are often described as illuminating t... Read More about Automated, Explainable Rule Extraction from MAP-Elites archives.

Athos: An Extensible DSL for Model Driven Traffic and Transport Simulation (2020)
Conference Proceeding
Hoffmann, B., Urquhart, N., Chalmers, K., & Guckert, M. (2020). Athos: An Extensible DSL for Model Driven Traffic and Transport Simulation.

Multi-agent systems may be considered appropriate tools for simulating complex systems such as those based around traffic and transportation networks. Modelling traffic participants as agents can reveal relevant patterns of traffic flow. Upsurging tr... Read More about Athos: An Extensible DSL for Model Driven Traffic and Transport Simulation.

Using MAP-Elites to support policy making around Workforce Scheduling and Routing (2020)
Journal Article
Urquhart, N., Hart, E., & Hutcheson, W. (2020). Using MAP-Elites to support policy making around Workforce Scheduling and Routing. Automatisierungstechnik, 68(2), https://doi.org/10.1515/auto-2019-0107

English abstract: Algorithms such as MAP-Elites provide a means of allowing users to explore a solution space by returning an archive of high-performing solutions. Such an archive, can allow the user an overview of the solution space which may be use... Read More about Using MAP-Elites to support policy making around Workforce Scheduling and Routing.

Increasing Trust in Meta-Heuristics by Using MAP-Elites (2019)
Conference Proceeding
Urquhart, N., Guckert, M., & Powers, S. (2019). Increasing Trust in Meta-Heuristics by Using MAP-Elites. In GECCO '19 Companion (1345-1348). https://doi.org/10.1145/3319619.3326816

Intelligent AI systems using approaches containing emergent elements often encounter acceptance problems. Results do not get sufficiently explained and the procedure itself can not be fully retraced because the flow of control is dependent on stochas... Read More about Increasing Trust in Meta-Heuristics by Using MAP-Elites.

An Illumination Algorithm Approach to Solving the Micro-Depot Routing Problem (2019)
Conference Proceeding
Urquhart, N., Hoehl, S., & Hart, E. (2019). An Illumination Algorithm Approach to Solving the Micro-Depot Routing Problem. In GECCO '19: Proceedings of the Genetic and Evolutionary Computation Conference Companion (1347-1355). https://doi.org/10.1145/3321707.3321767

An increasing emphasis on reducing pollution and congestion in city centres combined with an increase in online shopping is changing the ways in which logistics companies address vehicle routing problems (VRP). We introduce the {\em micro-depot}-VRP,... Read More about An Illumination Algorithm Approach to Solving the Micro-Depot Routing Problem.

Simulating Dynamic Vehicle Routing Problems with Athos (2019)
Conference Proceeding
Hoffman, B., Guckert, M., Chalmers, K., & Urquhart, N. (2019). Simulating Dynamic Vehicle Routing Problems with Athos. In Proceedings of the 33rd International ECMS Conference on Modelling and Simulation ECMS 2019 (296-302). https://doi.org/10.7148/2019-0296

Complex routing problems, such as vehicle routing problems with additional constraints, are both hard to solve and hard to express in a form that is accessible to the human expert and at the same time processible by a computer system that is supposed... Read More about Simulating Dynamic Vehicle Routing Problems with Athos.

An Agent Based Technique for Improving Multi-Stakeholder Optimisation Problems (2019)
Conference Proceeding
Urquhart, N., & Powers, S. T. (2019). An Agent Based Technique for Improving Multi-Stakeholder Optimisation Problems. In PAAMS 2019: Advances in Practical Applications of Survivable Agents and Multi-Agent Systems: The PAAMS Collection: vol 1 – Main track and Demos proceedings (285-289). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-24209-1_32

We present an agent based framework for improving multi-stakeholder optimisation problems, which we define as optimisation problems where the solution is utilised by a number of stakeholders who have their own local preferences. We explore our ideas... Read More about An Agent Based Technique for Improving Multi-Stakeholder Optimisation Problems.

Simulating the actions of commuters using a multi-agent system (2019)
Journal Article
Urquhart, N., Powers, S., Wall, Z., Fonzone, A., Ge, J., & Polhill, G. (2019). Simulating the actions of commuters using a multi-agent system. Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation, 22(2), https://doi.org/10.18564/jasss.4007

The activity of commuting to and from a place of work affects not only those travelling but also wider society through their contribution to congestion and pollution. It is desirable to have a means of simulating commuting in order to allow organisat... Read More about Simulating the actions of commuters using a multi-agent system.

Quantifying the effects of increasing user choice in MAP-Elites applied to a Workforce Scheduling and Routing Problem. (2019)
Conference Proceeding
Urquhart, N., Hart, E., & Hutcheson, W. (2019). Quantifying the effects of increasing user choice in MAP-Elites applied to a Workforce Scheduling and Routing Problem. In EvoApplications 2019: Applications of Evolutionary Computation (49-63). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-16692-2_4

Quality-diversity algorithms such as MAP-Elites provide a means of supporting the users when finding and choosing solutions to a problem by returning a set of solutions which are diverse according to set of user-defined features. The number of soluti... Read More about Quantifying the effects of increasing user choice in MAP-Elites applied to a Workforce Scheduling and Routing Problem..

Athos - A Model Driven Approach to Describe and Solve Optimisation Problems (2019)
Conference Proceeding
Hoffman, B., Chalmers, K., Urquhart, N., & Guckert, M. (2019). Athos - A Model Driven Approach to Describe and Solve Optimisation Problems. . https://doi.org/10.1145/3300111.3300114

Implementing solutions for optimisation problems with general purpose high-level programming languages is a time consuming task that can only be carried out by professional software developers who typically are not domain experts. We address this pro... Read More about Athos - A Model Driven Approach to Describe and Solve Optimisation Problems.

Trusting Intelligent Machines: Deepening Trust Within Socio-Technical Systems (2018)
Journal Article
Andras, P., Esterle, L., Guckert, M., Anh Han, T., Lewis, P. R., Milanovic, K., …Wells, S. (2018). Trusting Intelligent Machines: Deepening Trust Within Socio-Technical Systems. IEEE technology & society magazine, 37(4), 76-83. https://doi.org/10.1109/MTS.2018.2876107

Intelligent machines have reached capabilities that go beyond a level that a human being can fully comprehend without sufficiently detailed understanding of the underlying mechanisms. The choice of moves in the game Go (generated by Deep Mind?s Alpha... Read More about Trusting Intelligent Machines: Deepening Trust Within Socio-Technical Systems.

SICSA Demofest 2018 - Supporting user choice in optimisation. (2018)
Exhibition / Performance
Urquhart, N., Hutcheson, W., & Hoehl, S. SICSA Demofest 2018 - Supporting user choice in optimisation. Exhibited at Our Dynamic Earth, Edinburgh. 6 November 2018 - 6 November 2018. (Unpublished)

Many complex optimisation problems can have multiple solutions, techniques such as MAP –Elites will produce a large number of solutions from which the user should make the final choice. That final choice may be based on a number of soft criteria for... Read More about SICSA Demofest 2018 - Supporting user choice in optimisation..

Optimisation and Illumination of a Real-world Workforce Scheduling and Routing Application via Map-Elites (2018)
Conference Proceeding
Urquhart, N., & Hart, E. (2018). Optimisation and Illumination of a Real-world Workforce Scheduling and Routing Application via Map-Elites. In Parallel Problem Solving from Nature – PPSN XV 15th International Conference, Coimbra, Portugal, September 8–12, 2018, Proceedings, Part I. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-99253-2_39

Workforce Scheduling and Routing Problems (WSRP) are very common in many practical domains, and usually have a number of objectives. Illumination algorithms such as Map-Elites (ME) have recently gained traction in application to design problems, in p... Read More about Optimisation and Illumination of a Real-world Workforce Scheduling and Routing Application via Map-Elites.

A new rich vehicle routing problem model and benchmark resource (2018)
Conference Proceeding
Sim, K., Hart, E., Urquhart, N. B., & Pigden, T. (2018). A new rich vehicle routing problem model and benchmark resource. In Advances in Evolutionary and Deterministic Methods for Design, Optimization and Control in Engineering and Sciences. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-89988-6_30

We describe a new rich VRP model that captures many real-world constraints, following a recently proposed taxonomy that addresses both scenario and problem physical characteristics. The model is used to generate 4800 new instances of rich VRPs which... Read More about A new rich vehicle routing problem model and benchmark resource.

Creating optimised employee travel plans (2018)
Conference Proceeding
Urquhart, N., & Hart, E. (2019). Creating optimised employee travel plans. In Advances in Evolutionary and Deterministic Methods for Design, Optimization and Control in Engineering and Sciences (489-502). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-89988-6_29

The routing of employees who provide services such as home health or social care is a complex problem. When sending an employee between two addresses , there may exist more than one travel option, e.g. public transport or car. In this paper we examin... Read More about Creating optimised employee travel plans.

Towards reducing complexity of multi-agent simulations by applying model-driven techniques (2018)
Conference Proceeding
Hoffman, B., Chalmers, K., Urquhart, N., Farrenkopf, T., & Guckert, M. (2018). Towards reducing complexity of multi-agent simulations by applying model-driven techniques. In Y. Demazeau, B. An, J. Bajo, & A. Fernández-Caballero (Eds.), Advances in Practical Applications of Agents, Multi-Agent Systems, and Complexity: The PAAMS Collection. PAAMS 2018 (187-199). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-94580-4_15

Creating multi-agent simulations is a challenging task often requiring programming skills at the professional software developer level. Model driven methods of software development are an appropriate tool for reducing the complexity of the developmen... Read More about Towards reducing complexity of multi-agent simulations by applying model-driven techniques.

A Domain-Specific Language For Routing Problems (2018)
Conference Proceeding
Hoffmann, B., Hoffman, B., Guckert, M., Farrenkopf, T., Chalmers, K., & Urquhart, N. (2018). A Domain-Specific Language For Routing Problems. In L. Nolle, A. Burger, C. Tholen, J. Werner, & J. Wellhausen (Eds.), Proceedings of the 32nd EUROPEAN CONFERENCE ON MODELLING AND SIMULATION. https://doi.org/10.7148/2018-0262

Vehicle Routing Problems (VRPs) are commonly used as benchmark optimisation problems and they also have many applications in industry. Using agent-based approaches to solve VRPs allows the analysis of dynamic VRP instances that incorporate congestion... Read More about A Domain-Specific Language For Routing Problems.

Evaluating the Performance of an Evolutionary Tool for Exploring Solution Fronts (2018)
Conference Proceeding
Urquhart, N. (2018). Evaluating the Performance of an Evolutionary Tool for Exploring Solution Fronts. In Applications of Evolutionary Computation (523-537). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-77538-8_36

EvoFilter is an evolutionary algorithm based tool for searching through large non-dominated fronts in order to find a subset of solutions that are of interest to the user. EvoFilter is designed to take the output of existing Multi Objective Evolutio... Read More about Evaluating the Performance of an Evolutionary Tool for Exploring Solution Fronts.

Combining parallel coordinates with multi-objective evolutionary algorithms in a real-world optimisation problem (2017)
Conference Proceeding
Urquhart, N. (2017). Combining parallel coordinates with multi-objective evolutionary algorithms in a real-world optimisation problem. In GECCO ’17 Companion, B (1335-1340). https://doi.org/10.1145/3067695.3082485

Optimisation problems based upon real-world instances often contain many objectives. Many existing Multi-Objective Evolutionary Algorithm techniques return a set of solutions from which the user must make a final selection; typically such a set of so... Read More about Combining parallel coordinates with multi-objective evolutionary algorithms in a real-world optimisation problem.

A Unifying Software Framework for Vehicle Routing and Logistics (2017)
Presentation / Conference
Enenkel, J., Geyer, J., Keiner, J., Nguyen, J., Steuler, J. L., & Urquhart, N. (2017, July). A Unifying Software Framework for Vehicle Routing and Logistics. Paper presented at Annual Workshop of the EURO Working Group on Vehicle Routing and Logistics optimization (VeRoLog), Amsterdam

A wide range of open source tools and real world data are available to support those working on vehicle routing and logistics optimisation. Despite such tools being available there is still a requirement for a unifying software API to allow researche... Read More about A Unifying Software Framework for Vehicle Routing and Logistics.

Evolving solution choice and decision support for a real-world optimisation problem (2017)
Conference Proceeding
Urquhart, N., & Fonzone, A. (2017). Evolving solution choice and decision support for a real-world optimisation problem. In Proceedings of the Genetic and Evolutionary Computation Conference 2017 (1264-1271). https://doi.org/10.1145/3071178.3071207

Agencies who provide social care services typically have to optimise staff allocations and the travel whilst attempting to satisfy conflicting objectives. In such cases it is desirable to have a range of solutions to choose from, allowing the agenc... Read More about Evolving solution choice and decision support for a real-world optimisation problem.

Information Diffusion in Multi-Agent Communities (2017)
Presentation / Conference
Farrenkopf, T., Guckert, M., Urquhart, N., & Wells, S. (2017, June). Information Diffusion in Multi-Agent Communities. Paper presented at 6th World Congress of the International Microsimulation Association, Moncalieri, Italy

Understanding the course of events when newly launched products penetrate a market, and how those products supersede existing dominant products, is crucial. Besides potential applications for business purposes the ability to simulate scenarios to mod... Read More about Information Diffusion in Multi-Agent Communities.

AGADE-TRAFFIC: Multi-Agent Simulations in Geographical Networks (2017)
Conference Proceeding
Rotärmel, S., Farrenkopf, T., Guckert, M., & Urquhart, N. (2017). AGADE-TRAFFIC: Multi-Agent Simulations in Geographical Networks. In Y. Demazeau, P. Davidsson, J. Bajo, & Z. Vale (Eds.), Advances in Practical Applications of Cyber-Physical Multi-Agent Systems: The PAAMS Collection (355-358). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-59930-4_37

AGADE-TRAFFIC is a tool for simulating traffic flow in networks. Traffic participants are modelled as NetLogo agents and are visualised in a graphical user interface. Geographic information is stored in a graph database and AGADE-TRAFFIC communicates... Read More about AGADE-TRAFFIC: Multi-Agent Simulations in Geographical Networks.

Ontology Based Business Simulations (2016)
Journal Article
Farrenkopf, T., Guckert, M., Urquhart, N., & Wells, S. (2016). Ontology Based Business Simulations. Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation, 19(4), https://doi.org/10.18564/jasss.3266

Within business games there is a need to provide realistic feedback for decisions made, if such business games are to continue to remain relevant in increasingly complex business environments. We address this problem by using soware agents to simula... Read More about Ontology Based Business Simulations.

Demo paper: AGADE - Scalability of ontology based agent simulations (2016)
Conference Proceeding
Farrenkopf, T., Guckert, M., Urquhart, N. B., & Wells, S. (2016). Demo paper: AGADE - Scalability of ontology based agent simulations. In Advances in Practical Applications of Scalable Multi-agent Systems. The PAAMS Collection (256-259). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-39324-7_25

Simulations of real world scenarios often require considerably large numbers of agents. With increasing level of detail and resolution in the underlying models machine limitations both in the aspect of memory and computing power are reached. Even... Read More about Demo paper: AGADE - Scalability of ontology based agent simulations.

Demo Paper: AGADE Using Communities of Agents to Provide Realistic Feedback in Business Simulations. (2015)
Conference Proceeding
Farrenkopf, T., Guckert, M., & Urquhart, N. B. (2015). Demo Paper: AGADE Using Communities of Agents to Provide Realistic Feedback in Business Simulations. In Advances in Practical Applications of Agents, Multi-Agent Systems, and Sustainability: The PAAMS Collection (271-274). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-18944-4_25

The need to provide realistic feedback against decisions made within business games is a requirement if business games are to continue to remain relevant in training towards increasingly complex business scenarios. We attempt to address this probl... Read More about Demo Paper: AGADE Using Communities of Agents to Provide Realistic Feedback in Business Simulations..

Multi-Modal employee routing with time windows in an urban environment. (2015)
Conference Proceeding
Urquhart, N. B., Hart, E., & Judson, A. (2015). Multi-Modal employee routing with time windows in an urban environment. In Proceedings of the 2015 Genetic and Evolutionary Algorithms Conference (1503-1504). https://doi.org/10.1145/2739482.2764649

An urban environment provides a number of challenges and opportunities for organisations faced with the task of scheduling a mobile workforce. Given a mixed set of public and private transportation and a list of scheduling constraints, we seek to... Read More about Multi-Modal employee routing with time windows in an urban environment..

Creating optimised employee travel plans. (2015)
Presentation / Conference
Urquhart, N. B., & Hart, E. (2015, September). Creating optimised employee travel plans. Paper presented at International Conference on Evolutionary and Deterministic Methods for Design, Optimization and Control with Applications to Industrial and Societal Problems, EUROGEN-2015

AGADE Using Personal Preferences and World Knowledge to Model Agent Behaviour (2015)
Conference Proceeding
Farrenkopf, T., Guckert, M., & Urquhart, N. (2015). AGADE Using Personal Preferences and World Knowledge to Model Agent Behaviour. In Y. Demazeau, K. S. Decker, J. Bajo Pérez, & F. de la Prieta (Eds.), Advances in Practical Applications of Agents, Multi-Agent Systems, and Sustainability: The PAAMS Collection; Lecture Notes in Computer Science (93-106). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-18944-4_8

BDI agents provide a common well established approach for building multi-agent simulations. In this paper we demonstrate how semantic technologies can be used to model agent behaviour. Beliefs, desires and intentions are mapped flexibly to correspond... Read More about AGADE Using Personal Preferences and World Knowledge to Model Agent Behaviour.

Optimising the scheduling and planning of urban milk deliveries. (2015)
Conference Proceeding
Urquhart, N. B. (2015). Optimising the scheduling and planning of urban milk deliveries. In A. M. Mora, & G. Squillero (Eds.), Applications of Evolutionary Computation (604-615). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16549-3_49

This paper investigates the optimisation of the delivery of dairy products to households in three urban areas. The requirement for the optimisation to be part of the existing business process has determined the approach taken. The solution is maintai... Read More about Optimising the scheduling and planning of urban milk deliveries..

AGADE how individual guidance leads to group behaviour and how this can be simulated (2014)
Conference Proceeding
Farrenkopf, T., Guckert, M., Hoffmann, B., & Urquhart, N. B. (2014). AGADE how individual guidance leads to group behaviour and how this can be simulated. In J. Muller, M. Weyrich, & A. Bazzan (Eds.), Multiagent System Technologies (234-250). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-11584-9_16

In this paper we will demonstrate how BDI agents can be used to model individuals as participants in social structures where they act as potential buyers in a simple mobile phone market simulation. The simulation presented here is run in AGADE (Agile... Read More about AGADE how individual guidance leads to group behaviour and how this can be simulated.

A real-world employee scheduling and routing application. (2014)
Conference Proceeding
Hart, E., Sim, K., & Urquhart, N. B. (2014). A real-world employee scheduling and routing application. In C. Igel (Ed.), GECCO 2014 Proceedings of the Companion Publication of the 2014 Annual Conference on Genetic and Evolutionary Computation (1239-1242). https://doi.org/10.1145/2598394.2605447

We describe a hyper-heuristic application developed for a client to find quick, acceptable solutions to Workforce Schedul- ing and Routing problems. An interactive fitness function controlled by the user enables five different objectives to be weight... Read More about A real-world employee scheduling and routing application..

Techniques for Auditing the ICT Carbon Footprint of an Organisation (2014)
Journal Article
Mouchet, C., Urquhart, N., & Kemmer, R. (2014). Techniques for Auditing the ICT Carbon Footprint of an Organisation. International Journal of Green Computing, 5(1), 44-61. https://doi.org/10.4018/ijgc.2014010104

This article has presents an extensive survey of the state of the art in Green IT/S. The findings of the survey suggest that there is scope for a reliable carbon footprint auditing tool for organisational ICT usage. A prototype auditing tool is devel... Read More about Techniques for Auditing the ICT Carbon Footprint of an Organisation.

Incorporating emissions models within a multi-objective vehicle routing problem. (2013)
Conference Proceeding
Urquhart, N. B., Scott, C., & Hart, E. (2013). Incorporating emissions models within a multi-objective vehicle routing problem. In C. Blum (Ed.), GECCO'13 Companion: Proceeding of the fifteenth annual conference companion on Genetic and evolutionary computation (193-194). https://doi.org/10.1145/2464576.2464663

The vehicle routing problem with time windows (VRPTW) has previously been investigated as a multi-objective problem. In this paper estimated carbon emissions is added as an objective alongside the number of vehicles required and distance travelled. W... Read More about Incorporating emissions models within a multi-objective vehicle routing problem..

Using graphical information systems to improve vehicle routing problem instances. (2013)
Conference Proceeding
Urquhart, N. B., Scott, C., & Hart, E. (2013). Using graphical information systems to improve vehicle routing problem instances. In C. Blum (Ed.), GECCO'13 Companion (1097-1102). https://doi.org/10.1145/2464576.2466802

This paper makes the assertion that vehicle routing rearch has produced increasingly more powerful problem solvers, but has not increased the realism or compexity of typical problem instances. This paper argues that the time has come of use realistic... Read More about Using graphical information systems to improve vehicle routing problem instances..

Planning and optimising organisational travel plans using an evolutionary algorithm. (2011)
Conference Proceeding
Urquhart, N. B. (2011). Planning and optimising organisational travel plans using an evolutionary algorithm. In C. Chio, A. Brabazon, G. A. Caro, R. Drechsler, M. Farooq, J. Grahl, …G. Squillero (Eds.), Applications of Evolutionary Computation (464-470). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-20520-0_47

Commuting to the workplace is a highly individualistic experience, especially where the private car is the chosen mode of transport. The costs of using cars with low occupancy rates are significant in environmental terms as well as requiring the prov... Read More about Planning and optimising organisational travel plans using an evolutionary algorithm..

State assignment for sequential circuits using multi-objective genetic algorithm (2011)
Journal Article
Al-Jassani, B. A., Urquhart, N. B., & Almaini, A. E. A. (2011). State assignment for sequential circuits using multi-objective genetic algorithm. IET Computers and Digital Techniques, 5, 296-305. https://doi.org/10.1049/iet-cdt.2010.0045

In this study, a new approach using a multi-objective genetic algorithm (MOGA) is proposed to determine the optimal state assignment with less area and power dissipations for completely and incompletely specified sequential circuits. The goal is to f... Read More about State assignment for sequential circuits using multi-objective genetic algorithm.

Using emissions model with EAs. (2011)
Presentation / Conference
Urquhart, N. B. (2011, April). Using emissions model with EAs. Paper presented at YoungOR 17

Influence of topology and payload on CO2 optimised vehicle routing (2010)
Conference Proceeding
Scott, C., Urquhart, N. B., & Hart, E. (2010). Influence of topology and payload on CO2 optimised vehicle routing. In Applications of Evolutionary Computing (141-150). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-12242-2_15

This paper investigates the influence of gradient and payload correction factors used within a CO2 emission model on the solutions to shortest path and travelling salesman problems when applied to freight delivery. Problem instances based on real li... Read More about Influence of topology and payload on CO2 optimised vehicle routing.

Using an evolutionary algorithm to discover low CO2 tours within a Travelling Salesman Problem (2010)
Conference Proceeding
Urquhart, N. B., Scott, C., & Hart, E. (2010). Using an evolutionary algorithm to discover low CO2 tours within a Travelling Salesman Problem. In C. Chio, A. Brabazon, G. A. Di Caro, M. Ebner, M. Farooq, A. Fink, …N. Urquhart (Eds.), Applications of evolutionary computation : EvoApplications 2010: EvoCOMNET, EvoENVIRONMENT, EvoFIN, EvoMUSART, and EvoTRANSLOG, Istanbul, Turkey, April 7-9, 2010, Proceedings, Part II (421-430). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-12242-2_43

This paper examines the issues surrounding the effects of using vehicle emissions as the fitness criteria when solving routing problems using evolutionary techniques. The case-study examined is that of the Travelling Salesman Problem (TSP) based upon... Read More about Using an evolutionary algorithm to discover low CO2 tours within a Travelling Salesman Problem.

Building low CO2 solutions to the vehicle routing problem with time windows using an evolutionary algorithm. (2010)
Conference Proceeding
Urquhart, N. B., Hart, E., & Scott, C. (2010). Building low CO2 solutions to the vehicle routing problem with time windows using an evolutionary algorithm. In IEEE Congress on Evolutionary Computation. https://doi.org/10.1109/CEC.2010.5586088

An evolutionary Multi-Objective Algorithm (MOA) is used to investigate the trade-off between CO2 savings, distance and number of vehicles used in a typical vehicle routing problem with Time Windows (VRPTW). A problem set is derived containing three... Read More about Building low CO2 solutions to the vehicle routing problem with time windows using an evolutionary algorithm..

Manipulation and optimization techniques for Boolean logic (2010)
Journal Article
Al-Jassani, B. A., Urquhart, N. B., & Almaini, A. E. A. (2010). Manipulation and optimization techniques for Boolean logic. IET computers & digital techniques / IET, 4, 227-239. https://doi.org/10.1049/iet-cdt.2009.0007

In this study, new techniques and algorithms are presented for the derivation and optimisation of mixed polarity Reed Muller (MPRM) and mixed polarity dual Reed Muller (MPDRM) functions. The first algorithm is used for bidirectional conversion betwee... Read More about Manipulation and optimization techniques for Boolean logic.

Using real-world geospatial data with evolutionary algorithms. (2010)
Presentation / Conference
Urquhart, N. B. (2010, January). Using real-world geospatial data with evolutionary algorithms. Paper presented at Universities' Transport Study Group

Developments in the field of Geographical Information Systems (GIS) have increased the availability of on-line road network data and associated routing services. The ability to integrate such data and services into web sites and other business system... Read More about Using real-world geospatial data with evolutionary algorithms..

An application of CoSMoS design methods to pedestrian simulation. (2009)
Conference Proceeding
Clayton, S., Urquhart, N., & Kerridge, J. (2009). An application of CoSMoS design methods to pedestrian simulation. In P. H. Welch, H. Roebbers, J. F. Broenink, F. R. M. Barnes, C. G. Ritson, A. T. Sampson, …B. Vinter (Eds.), Communicating Process Architectures 2009 WoTUG-32. https://doi.org/10.3233/978-1-60750-065-0-197

In this paper, we discuss the implementation of a simple pedestrian simulation that uses a multi agent based design pattern developed by the CoSMoS research group. Given the nature of Multi Agent Systems (MAS), parallel processing techniques are inev... Read More about An application of CoSMoS design methods to pedestrian simulation..

Application of CoSMoS parallel design patterns to a pedestrian simulation. (2009)
Conference Proceeding
Clayton, S., Urquhart, N. B., & Kerridge, J. (2009). Application of CoSMoS parallel design patterns to a pedestrian simulation. In R. Wyrzykowski, J. Dongarra, K. Karczewski, & J. Wasniewski (Eds.), Parallel Processing and Applied Mathematics (505-512). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-14403-5_53

In this paper, we discuss the implementation of a simple pedestrian simulation that uses a multi agent based design pattern developed by the CoSMoS research group. Given the nature of Multi Agent Systems (MAS), parallel processing techniques are inev... Read More about Application of CoSMoS parallel design patterns to a pedestrian simulation..

Minimization of incompletely specified mixed polarity Reed Muller functions using genetic algorithm. (2009)
Conference Proceeding
Al-Jassani, B. A., Urquhart, N. B., & Almaini, A. E. A. (2009). Minimization of incompletely specified mixed polarity Reed Muller functions using genetic algorithm. . https://doi.org/10.1109/12.67320

A New and efficient Genetic Algorithm (GA) based approach is presented to minimise the number of terms of Mixed Polarity Reed Muller (MPRM) single and multi output incompletely specified Boolean functions. The algorithm determines the allocation of d... Read More about Minimization of incompletely specified mixed polarity Reed Muller functions using genetic algorithm..

CO2Y the intelligent green solution: minimising carbon emissions by maximising shared travel opportunity. (2009)
Presentation / Conference
Urquhart, N. B., McEwan, T., Holden, R., & Vogogias, T. (2009, May). CO2Y the intelligent green solution: minimising carbon emissions by maximising shared travel opportunity. Paper presented at Scottish Transport Applications Research Conference

It is in the interests of everybody that the environment is protected. In view of the recent leaps in environmental awareness it would seem timely and sensible, therefore, for people to pool vehicle resources to minimise the damaging impact of emissi... Read More about CO2Y the intelligent green solution: minimising carbon emissions by maximising shared travel opportunity..

Optimization of MPRM functions using tabular techniques and genetic algorithms. (2008)
Journal Article
Al-Jassani, B. A., Urquhart, N. B., & Almaini, A. E. A. (2008). Optimization of MPRM functions using tabular techniques and genetic algorithms. The Mediterranean journal of electronics and communications, 4, 115-125

This paper presents new techniques and algorithms to compute and optimize Mixed Polarity Reed Muller logic functions (MPRM) using Tabular techniques and Genetic Algorithms (GA). The first algorithm is used for bidirectional conversion between Fixed P... Read More about Optimization of MPRM functions using tabular techniques and genetic algorithms..

Carbon-friendly travel plan construction using an evolutionary algorithm (2007)
Conference Proceeding
Urquhart, N. B., & Urquhart, N. B. (2007). Carbon-friendly travel plan construction using an evolutionary algorithm. In H. Lipson (Ed.), GECCO '07: Proceedings of the 9th annual conference on Genetic and evolutionary computation (2269). https://doi.org/10.1145/1276958.1277404

This paper discusses the use of an evolutionary algorithm to design workplace travel plans, to promote car sharing and reduce carbon emissions from single-occupancy motor vehicles.

Building distribution networks using cooperative agents. (2006)
Book Chapter
Urquhart, N. B. (2006). Building distribution networks using cooperative agents. In J. Rennard (Ed.), Handbook of Research on Nature Inspired Computing for Economics and Management (465-482). Idea Group Reference. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-59140-984-7.ch037

This chapter examines the use of emergent computing to optimize solutions to logistics problems. The chapter initially explores the use of agents and evolutionary algorithms to optimize postal distribution networks. The structure of the agent communi... Read More about Building distribution networks using cooperative agents..

Real-time construction of aircraft landing schedules using an evolutionary algorithm (2006)
Conference Proceeding
Urquhart, N. (2006). Real-time construction of aircraft landing schedules using an evolutionary algorithm. In M. Cattolico, M. Keijzer, M. O. Neill, & C. M. Ryan (Eds.), Genetic and Evolutionary Computation Conference (GECCO). https://doi.org/10.1145/1143997.1144309

This poster investigates the use of Evolutionary Algorithms (EAs) to optimise solutions to the Dynamic Aircraft Landing Problem (DALP). The approach adopted here uses an EA to evolve improvements to the solution so as to move towards an optimum solut... Read More about Real-time construction of aircraft landing schedules using an evolutionary algorithm.

Phase transition properties of clustered travelling salesman problem instances generated with evolutionary computation. (2004)
Conference Proceeding
van Hemert, J. I., & Urquhart, N. B. (2004). Phase transition properties of clustered travelling salesman problem instances generated with evolutionary computation.

We introduce a generator that creates problem instances for the Euclidean symmetric travelling salesman problem. To fit real world problems, we look at maps consisting of clustered nodes. Uniform random sampling methods do not result in maps where th... Read More about Phase transition properties of clustered travelling salesman problem instances generated with evolutionary computation..

Routing using evolutionary agents and proactive transitions. (2003)
Book Chapter
Urquhart, N. B., Ross, P., Paechter, B., & Chisholm, K. (2003). Routing using evolutionary agents and proactive transitions. In Applications of Evolutionary Computing (696-705). Springer-Verlag

The authors have previously introduced the concept of building a delivery network using an agent-based system. The delivery networks are built in response to a real-world problem that involves delivering post to a large number of households within an... Read More about Routing using evolutionary agents and proactive transitions..

Solving Real-World Routing Problems using Evolutionary Algorithms and Multi-Agent-Systems. (2003)
Thesis
Urquhart, N. B. Solving Real-World Routing Problems using Evolutionary Algorithms and Multi-Agent-Systems. (Thesis). Napier University. Retrieved from http://researchrepository.napier.ac.uk/id/eprint/2748

This thesis investigates the solving of routing problems using Evolutionary Algorithms (EAs). Routing problems are known to be hard and may possess complex search spaces. Evolutionary algorithms are potentially powerful tools for finding solutions wi... Read More about Solving Real-World Routing Problems using Evolutionary Algorithms and Multi-Agent-Systems..

Solving a real world routing problem using multiple evolutionary algorithms. (2002)
Conference Proceeding
Urquhart, N. B., Ross, P., Paechter, B., & Chisholm, K. (2002). Solving a real world routing problem using multiple evolutionary algorithms. In Parallel Problem Solving from Nature — PPSN VII (871-880). https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-45712-7_84

This paper investigates the solving of a real world routing problem using evolutionary algorithms embedded within a Multi-agent system (MAS). An architecture for the MAS is proposed and mechanisms for controlling the interactions of agents are invest... Read More about Solving a real world routing problem using multiple evolutionary algorithms..

Solving a real world routing problem using evolutionary agents. (2002)
Conference Proceeding
Urquhart, N. B., Ross, P., Paechter, B., & Chisholm, K. (2002). Solving a real world routing problem using evolutionary agents.

This paper investigates the solving of a real world routing problem using evolutionary algorithms embedded within a Multi-agent system (MAS). An architecture for the MAS is proposed and mechanisms for controlling the interactions of agents are invest... Read More about Solving a real world routing problem using evolutionary agents..

Improving street based routing using building block mutations. (2002)
Conference Proceeding
Urquhart, N. B., Ross, P., Paechter, B., & Chisholm, K. (2002). Improving street based routing using building block mutations. In J. Gottlieb, E. Hart, & S. Cagnoni (Eds.), Applications of Evolutionary Computing: EvoWorkshops 2002: EvoCOP, EvoIASP, EvoSTIM/EvoPLAN Kinsale, Ireland, April 3–4, 2002 Proceedings (189-202). https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-46004-7_33

Street based routing (SBR) is a real-world inspired routing problem that builds routes within an urban area for mail deliveries. The authors have previously attempted to solve this problem using an Evolutionary Algorithm (EA). In this paper the autho... Read More about Improving street based routing using building block mutations..

Agent motion planning with GAs enhanced by memory models. (2001)
Journal Article
Bot, M., Urquhart, N. B., & Chisholm, K. (2001). Agent motion planning with GAs enhanced by memory models. Genetic and Evolutionary Computation Conference, 227-234

The Tartarus problem may be considered a benchmark problem in the field of robotics. A robotic agent is required to move a number of blocks to the edge of an environment. The location of the blocks and position of the robot is unknown initially. The... Read More about Agent motion planning with GAs enhanced by memory models..

Street-based routing using an evolutionary algorithm (2001)
Conference Proceeding
Urquhart, N. B., Paechter, B., & Chisholm, K. (2001). Street-based routing using an evolutionary algorithm. In E. J. W. Boers, J. Gottlieb, P. L. Lanzi, R. E. Smith, S. Cagnoni, E. Hart, …H. Tijink (Eds.), Applications of Evolutionary Computing: EvoWorkshops 2001: EvoCOP, EvoFlight, EvoIASP, EvoLearn, and EvoSTIM, Proceedings (495-504). https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-45365-2_51

Much research has been carried out into solving routing problems using both Evolutionary Techniques and other methods. In this paper the authors investigate the usage of an Evolutionary Algorithms to solve the Street-Based Routing Problem (SBRP). The... Read More about Street-based routing using an evolutionary algorithm.

Optimising an evolutionary algorithm for scheduling (2000)
Conference Proceeding
Urquhart, N. B., Chisholm, K., & Paechter, B. (2000). Optimising an evolutionary algorithm for scheduling. In S. Cagnoni, R. Poli, G. D. Smith, D. Corne, M. Oates, E. Hart, …T. C. Fogarty (Eds.), Real-World Applications of Evolutionary Computing: EvoWorkshops 2000: EvoIASP, EvoSCONDI, EvoTel, EvoSTIM, EvoRob, and EvoFlight, Proceedings (307-318). https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-45561-2_30

This paper examines two techniques for setting the parameters of an evolutionary Algorithm (EA). The example EA used for test purposes undertakes a simple scheduling problem. An initial version of the EA was tested utilising a set of parameters that... Read More about Optimising an evolutionary algorithm for scheduling.