Target shape design optimization with evolutionary computation

Target shape design optimization problem is to approximate an unknown shape, when a black-box function provides the fitness of the shape. The framework to solve this problem can be applied to the finding of optimized aerodynamic structures such as airplane wings or gas turbine blades. In order to approximate the two- and three-dimensional closed curve shapes, we use the idea of incremental abstraction, that is to find the best n-point polygon in the beginning and double the number n in the next stage until n reaches the specified limit. This idea is embodied into evolution strategies with a modified 1/5 rule using multiple layers. Furthermore, for the three-dimensional hidden object, the problem was decomposed into several 2D optimization problems. The results show that the suggested method is quite effective to solve the given problems even if the evaluation function has stochastic noise elements. The general strategy can also be applied to other practical applications using evolutionary algorithms.