A hybrid ant colony optimization algorithm for optimal multiuser detection in DS-UWB system

A hybrid ant colony optimization algorithm is proposed by introducing extremal optimization local-search algorithm to the ant colony optimization (ACO) algorithm, and is applied to multiuser detection in direct sequence ultra wideband (DS-UWB) communication system in this paper. ACO algorithms have already successfully been applied to combinatorial optimization; however, as the pheromone accumulates, we may not get a global optimum because it can get stuck in a local minimum resulting in a bad steady state. Extremal optimization (EO) is a recently developed local-search heuristic method and has been successfully applied to a wide variety of optimization problems. Hence in this paper, a hybrid ACO algorithm, named ACO–EO algorithm, is proposed by introducing EO to ACO to improve the local-search ability of the algorithm. The ACO–EO algorithm is applied to multiuser detection in DS-UWB communication system, and via computer simulations it is shown that the proposed hybrid ACO algorithm has much better performance than other ACO algorithms and even equal to the optimal multiuser detector.

► We propose ACO–EO algorithm by introducing EO to ACO.
► We apply ACO–EO algorithm to multiuser detection in DS-UWB.
► ACO–EO can improve the local-search ability greatly.
► Simulations shown the superior performance of the ACO–EO algorithm.