SOM-based optimization

A new approach to optimization problems based on the self-organizing feature maps is proposed. We name the new optimization algorithm the SOM-based optimization (SOMO) algorithm. Through the self-organizing process, good solutions to an optimization problem can be simultaneously explored and exploited. An additional advantage of the algorithm is that the outputs of the neural network allow us to transform a multi-dimensional fitness landscape into a three-dimensional projected fitness landscape. Several simulations are used to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed optimization algorithm.