Work on leveraging optimization with mixed individual and social learning appears on Applied Soft Computing

We present CGO-AS, a generalized Ant System (AS) implemented in the framework of Cooperative Group Optimization (CGO), to show the leveraged optimization with a mixed individual and social learning. Ant colony is a simple yet efficient natural system for understanding the effects of primary intelligence on optimization. However, existing AS algorithms are mostly focusing on their capability of using social heuristic cues while ignoring their individual learning. CGO can integrate the advantages of a cooperative group and a low-level algorithm portfolio design, and the agents of CGO can explore both individual and social search. In CGO-AS, each ant (agent) is added with an individual memory, and is implemented with a novel search strategy to use individual and social cues in a controlled proportion.