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<div><h1 class="title">
<a name="documentation"></a>Documentation 1.0</h1></div>
<div><p class="copyright">Copyright &#169; 2011 </p></div>
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<a name="idp7801392"></a><p>
        CeCiLL
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<div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both">
<a name="documentation.sferes2"></a><a class="link" href="index.html#documentation.sferes2" title="Sferes 2">Sferes 2</a>
</h2></div></div></div>
<div class="toc"><dl>
<dt><span class="section"><a href="index.html#documentation.sferes2.introduction">Introduction</a></span></dt>
<dt><span class="section"><a href="index.html#documentation.sferes2.main_features">Main features</a></span></dt>
<dt><span class="section"><a href="index.html#documentation.sferes2.authors">Authors</a></span></dt>
<dt><span class="section"><a href="index.html#documentation.sferes2.where_to_go_next_">Where to go
      next?</a></span></dt>
<dt><span class="section"><a href="index.html#documentation.sferes2.specific_sections_for_isir_members">Specific
      sections for ISIR members</a></span></dt>
</dl></div>
<div class="section">
<div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title">
<a name="documentation.sferes2.introduction"></a><a class="link" href="index.html#documentation.sferes2.introduction" title="Introduction">Introduction</a>
</h3></div></div></div>
<p>
        Sferes2 is a <span class="emphasis"><em>framework</em></span> for evolutionary computation
        (EC) experiments and especially for evolutionary robotics (ER). Its main
        goal is to help researchers in EC and ER to efficiently try new ideas. Sferes2
        has been inspired by sferes <a href="http://sferes.lip6.fr" target="_top">http://sferes.lip6.fr</a>,
        another (older and no more maintained) framework for ER.
      </p>
<p>
        Sferes2 allows to design efficient programs on modern (multicore) computers:
        our experiments typically require more than 24 hours of computation; in this
        situation it can be profitable to trade some complexity of implementation
        for some hours of computation. Nevertheless, we try to keep the framework
        as simple as possible. More specifically, the following choices were made
        in the initial design:
      </p>
<div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" type="disc">
<li class="listitem">
            use of modern c++ techniques (template-based programming) to employ object-oriented
            programming without the cost of virtual functions;
          </li>
<li class="listitem">
            use of Intel TBB to take full advantages of multicore and SMP systems;
          </li>
<li class="listitem">
            use of boost libraries when it's useful (shared_ptr, serialization, filesystem,
            test,...);
          </li>
<li class="listitem">
            use of MPI to distribute the computational cost on clusters;
          </li>
<li class="listitem">
            a full set of unit tests;
          </li>
<li class="listitem">
            no configuration file: a fully optimized executable is built for each
            particular experiment.
          </li>
</ul></div>
<p>
        Appart from this documentation, information about Sferes 2 can be found in
        <a href="http://www.isir.upmc.fr/files/2010ACTI1524.pdf" target="_top">Sferes_v2: Evolvin'
        in the Multi-Core World</a>. If you use Sferes 2 in your work, please
        cite <a href="http://www.isir.upmc.fr/pages/get_bib.php?id=1524" target="_top">the previous
        publication</a>.
      </p>
<p>
        The source code of many experiments using sferes is available on the <a href="htpp://pages.isir.upmc.fr/evorob_db" target="_top">evorob_db website</a>
      </p>
<p>
        This documentation assumes that the reader is reasonably familiar with evolutionary
        algorithms. For references you can check the following books about evolutionary
        computation:
      </p>
<div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" type="disc">
<li class="listitem">
            Deb, K. (2001). Multi-Objective Optimization Using Evolutionary Algorithms.
            <span class="emphasis"><em>Wiley</em></span>.
          </li>
<li class="listitem">
            De Jong, K. A. (2002). Evolutionary Computation. <span class="emphasis"><em>The MIT Press</em></span>.
          </li>
</ul></div>
</div>
<div class="section">
<div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title">
<a name="documentation.sferes2.main_features"></a><a class="link" href="index.html#documentation.sferes2.main_features" title="Main features">Main features</a>
</h3></div></div></div>
<p>
        Sferes2 currently includes the following EA and toolboxes (this is a non-exhaustive
        list which contains only the most stable modules):
      </p>
<div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" type="disc">
<li class="listitem">
<p class="simpara">
            EA
          </p>
<div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" type="circle">
<li class="listitem">
                a rank-based single-objective EA
              </li>
<li class="listitem">
                CMAES (Covariance Matrix Adaptation Evolution Strategie)
              </li>
<li class="listitem">
                NSGA-II (multiobjective EA)
              </li>
<li class="listitem">
                Epsilon-MOEA (multiobjective EA)
              </li>
</ul></div>
</li>
<li class="listitem">
<p class="simpara">
            Genotypes / Phenotypes:
          </p>
<div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" type="circle">
<li class="listitem">
                Evolution of bit strings
              </li>
<li class="listitem">
                Evolution of real parameters using different operators (SBX, gaussian,
                etc)
              </li>
</ul></div>
</li>
<li class="listitem">
<p class="simpara">
            Simulators
          </p>
<div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" type="circle">
<li class="listitem">
                (optional) mobile robot (Khepera-like)
              </li>
<li class="listitem">
                (optional) cartpole (single and double)
              </li>
</ul></div>
</li>
<li class="listitem">
<p class="simpara">
            Other
          </p>
<div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" type="circle"><li class="listitem">
                (optional) evolution of neural-networks
              </li></ul></div>
</li>
</ul></div>
</div>
<div class="section">
<div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title">
<a name="documentation.sferes2.authors"></a><a class="link" href="index.html#documentation.sferes2.authors" title="Authors">Authors</a>
</h3></div></div></div>
<div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" type="disc">
<li class="listitem">
            Jean-Baptiste Mouret <a href="mailto:mouret@isir.fr" target="_top">mouret@isir.fr</a>:
            main author and maintainer
          </li>
<li class="listitem">
            Stephane Doncieux
          </li>
<li class="listitem">
            Paul Tonelli<a href="mailto:tonelli@isir.upmc.fr" target="_top">tonelli@isir.upmc.fr</a>
            : Documentation maintainer
          </li>
<li class="listitem">
            Many members of <a href="http://www.isir.fr" target="_top">ISIR</a>
          </li>
</ul></div>
</div>
<div class="section">
<div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title">
<a name="documentation.sferes2.where_to_go_next_"></a><a class="link" href="index.html#documentation.sferes2.where_to_go_next_" title="Where to go next?">Where to go
      next?</a>
</h3></div></div></div>
<p>
        <a class="link" href="documentation/download.html" title="Download and unzip">Download</a> Downloading sferes2
      </p>
<p>
        <a class="link" href="documentation/compilation.html" title="Compilation">Compilation</a> How to compile
        sferes2 on your system
      </p>
<p>
        <a class="link" href="documentation/tutorial.html" title="Tutorial">Tutorial/Example</a> A tutorial/example
        with explanation about the general structure of sferes2 experiment files,
        the example file is generated automatically in the next tutorials.
      </p>
<p>
        <a class="link" href="documentation/tutorial_neuro.html" title="Neurobiology Tutorial I">Neurobiology Tutorial I</a>
        A tutorial to create an experiment using the neural network module of sferes2,
        this enables you to create a neural network and evolve its weights and parameters.
      </p>
<p>
        <a class="link" href="documentation/tutorial_topo.html" title="Neurobiology Tutorial II">Neurobiology Tutorial II</a>
        A tutorial to evolve the topology of a network in sferes2
      </p>
<p>
        <a class="link" href="documentation/tutorial_evoneuro.html" title="Neurobiology Tutorial III">Neurobiology Tutorial III</a>
        A tutorial to evolve a network of maps using the EvoNeuro module from sferes
        II.
      </p>
<p>
        <a class="link" href="documentation/reference.html" title="Reference">Reference</a> A reference manual
        / guide to the source code
      </p>
</div>
<div class="section">
<div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title">
<a name="documentation.sferes2.specific_sections_for_isir_members"></a><a class="link" href="index.html#documentation.sferes2.specific_sections_for_isir_members" title="Specific sections for ISIR members">Specific
      sections for ISIR members</a>
</h3></div></div></div>
<p>
        <a class="link" href="documentation/torque.html" title="Launching experiments using Torque">Torque Introduction</a> A reference
        to launching experiments on the ISIR cluster
      </p>
</div>
</div>
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