Solving the Workshop Layout Optimization Problem Based on a Constrained Multimodal Multiobjective Evolutionary Algorithm

Layout Optimization (LO) is gaining increasing attention as competition among enterprises intensifies and the demand for cost reduction and efficiency improvement continues to grow. LO poses its peculiar challenges with Many-dimensions, Many-constraints and Many-optima. Although many approaches have been proposed for various LO applications, they focus only on the diversity and convergence of the objective space, neglecting the diversity of solutions, which is detrimental to solving potential issues. Therefore, this paper proposes a constrained multimodal multiobjective optimization (CMMO) framework based on dual-population multitask collaborative evolution. This framework assists in solving the workshop layout problem by creating an auxiliary task population and transferring knowledge to support the optimization process. Additionally, the dynamic narrowing of constraint boundaries and gradual expansion of the contrast neighborhood for the auxiliary tasks ensure a high degree of correlation with the main task, continuously providing supplementary evolutionary directions. Ultimately, compared to other constrained multimodal multiobjective algorithms and two classic genetic algorithms, the proposed algorithm proves to be more competitive in practical layout optimization problems.