Dynamic parameter control in differential evolution with combined variants to optimize a three-finger end effector

A dynamic parameter control mechanism for the F parameter is added to a differential evolution with combined variants algorithm to optimize the design of a three-finger end effector. Such control is based on a sinusoidal behavior which allows the algorithm to get low and high stepsize values even late in the search. Two experiments are carried out to analyze the effect of the parameter control within the algorithm. The obtained performance is compared against the tuned version of the original algorithm and also against the tuned version of a differential evolution approach designed to solve mechanical design optimization problems. The results obtained suggest that the parameter control adopted helps the algorithm to find highly competitive results with a considerable lower number of solution evaluations.