This paper focuses on a performance analysis of single-walled-carbon-nanotube / liquid crystal classifiers produced by evolution in materio. A new confidence measure is proposed in this paper. It is different from statistical tools commonly used to evaluate the performance of classifiers in that it is based on physical quantities extracted from the composite and related to its state. Using this measure, it is confirmed that in an untrained state, ie: before being subjected to an algorithm-controlled evolution, the carbon-nanotube-based composites classify data at random. The training, or evolution, process brings these composites into a state where the classification is no longer random. Instead, the classifiers generalise well to unseen data and the classification accuracy remains stable across tests. The confidence measure associated with the resulting classifier's accuracy is relatively high at the classes' boundaries, which is consistent with the problem formulation.

This paper is concerned with the problem of macroscopic traffic flow model validation for ring-road shaped large-scale motorway networks. The calibration optimization problem is solved by a gradient-based algorithm combining into a single software package METANET (traffic simulator), RPROP (resilient backpropagation search heuristic), and ADOL-C (automatic differentiation library) and by a separate implementation of particle swarm optimization with METANET. These model validation packages are applied to the motorway network around the city of Manchester, U.K. The total road length of the site is 186 km considering the traffic flow on both directions of each modeled motorway. For this large scale network, a single optimization problem is formed for calibrating METANET, i.e., for identifying its parameters. Three different data sets are used and the corresponding optimal parameter sets are obtained. The results show that the combined METANET-RPROP-ADOL-C package is able to calibrate the large scale motorway network model with very good accuracy. The optimal parameter sets, where the optimization algorithm converged for a particular data set, are verified by running METANET simulations using the other two data sets. Results do show the expected degradation of the parameter set's quality, but the essential network wide dynamics of congestion are retained.

This paper presents a series of experiments demonstrating the capacity of single-walled carbon-nanotube (SWCNT)/liquid crystal (LC) mixtures to be trained by evolutionary algorithms to act as classifiers on linear and nonlinear binary datasets. The training process is formulated as an optimisation problem with hardware in the loop. The liquid SWCNT/LC samples used here are un-configured and with nonlinear current-voltage relationship, thus presenting a potential for being evolved. The nature of the problem means that derivative-free stochastic search algorithms are required. Results presented here are based on differential evolution (DE) and particle swarm optimisation (PSO). Further investigations using DE, suggest that a SWCNT/LC material is capable of being reconfigured for different binary classification problems, corroborating previous research. In addition, it is able to retain a physical memory of each of the solutions to the problems it has been trained to solve.

Evolution In Materio (EIM) is concerned with solving computational problems by exploiting the physical properties of materials. This paper presents the results of using a particle swarm optimisation (PSO) algorithm for evolving logic circuits in single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNT) based composites on a special custom made platform. The material used is a composite of SWCNT dispersed randomly in a polymer forming a complex conductive network. Following the EIM methodology the conductance of the material is manipulated for evolving threshold based logic circuits. The problem is formulated as a constrained, mixed integer optimisation problem. It is solved using PSO in conjunction with the shortest position value rule. The results showed that the conductive properties of SWCNT can be used to configure these materials to evolve multiple input/ output logic circuits.

Traffic congestion in urban road and freeway networks leads to a strong degradation of the network infrastructure and accordingly reduced throughput, which can be countered via suitable control measures and strategies. After illustrating the main reasons for infrastructure deterioration due to traffic congestion, a comprehensive overview of proposed and implemented control strategies is provided for three areas: urban road networks, freeway networks, and route guidance. Selected application results, obtained from either simulation studies or field implementations, are briefly outlined to illustrate the impact of various control actions and strategies. The paper concludes with a brief discussion of future needs in this important technical area.

This paper employs previously developed modeling, validation, and stimulation tools to address, for the first time, the realistic macroscopic simulation of a real large-scale motorway network. More specifically, the macroscopic simulator METANET, involving a second-order traffic flow model as well as network-relevant extensions, is utilized. A rigorous quantitative validation procedure is applied to individual network links, and subsequently a heuristic qualitative validation procedure is employed at a network level. The large-scale motorway network around Amsterdam, The Netherlands, is considered in this investigation. The main goal of the paper is to describe the application approach and procedures and to demonstrate the accuracy and usefulness of macroscopic modeling tools for large-scale motorway networks.

Recurrent and nonrecurrent congestion on freeways may be alleviated if today's "spontaneous" infrastructure utilization is replaced by an orderly, controllable operation via comprehensive application of ramp metering and freeway-to-freeway control, combined with powerful optimal control techniques. This paper first explains why ramp metering can lead to a dramatic amelioration of traffic conditions on freeways. An overview of ramp metering algorithms is provided next, ranging from early fixed-time approaches to traffic-responsive regulators and to modern sophisticated nonlinear optimal control schemes. Finally, a large-scale example demonstrates the high potential of advanced ramp metering approaches.