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Hyper-Heuristics: An Emerging Direction in Modern Search Technology

  • Chapter
Handbook of Metaheuristics

Part of the book series: International Series in Operations Research & Management Science ((ISOR,volume 57))

Abstract

This chapter introduces and overviews an emerging methodology in search and optimisation. One of the key aims of these new approaches, which have been termed hyperheuristics, is to raise the level of generality at which optimisation systems can operate. An objective is that hyper-heuristics will lead to more general systems that are able to handle a wide range of problem domains rather than current meta-heuristic technology which tends to be customised to a particular problem or a narrow class of problems. Hyper-heuristics are broadly concerned with intelligently choosing the right heuristic or algorithm in a given situation. Of course, a hyper-heuristic can be (often is) a (meta-)heuristic and it can operate on (meta-)heuristics. In a certain sense, a hyper-heuristic works at a higher level when compared with the typical application of meta-heuristics to optimisation problems, i.e., a hyper-heuristic could be thought of as a (meta)-heuristic which operates on lower level (meta-)heuristics. In this chapter we will introduce the idea and give a brief history of this emerging area. In addition, we will review some of the latest work to be published in the field.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. The University of Nottingham, UK

    Edmund Burke, Graham Kendall & Jim Newall

  2. Napier University, UK

    Emma Hart, Peter Ross & Sonia Schulenburg

Authors
  1. Edmund Burke
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  2. Graham Kendall
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  3. Jim Newall
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  4. Emma Hart
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  5. Peter Ross
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  6. Sonia Schulenburg
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Leeds School of Business, University of Colorado at Boulder, USA

    Fred Glover

  2. College of Business, University of Colorado at Denver, USA

    Gary A. Kochenberger

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© 2003 Kluwer Academic Publishers

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Burke, E., Kendall, G., Newall, J., Hart, E., Ross, P., Schulenburg, S. (2003). Hyper-Heuristics: An Emerging Direction in Modern Search Technology. In: Glover, F., Kochenberger, G.A. (eds) Handbook of Metaheuristics. International Series in Operations Research & Management Science, vol 57. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/0-306-48056-5_16

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/0-306-48056-5_16

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4020-7263-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-0-306-48056-0

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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