This is the first book devoted entirely to Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO), which is a non-specific algorithm, similar to evolutionary algorithms, such as taboo search and ant colonies.

Since its original development in 1995, PSO has mainly been applied to continuous-discrete heterogeneous strongly non-linear numerical optimization and it is thus used almost everywhere in the world. Its convergence rate also makes it a preferred tool in dynamic optimization.

Maurice Clerc is recognized as one of the foremost PSO specialists in the world. A former France Telecom Research and Development engineer, he maintains his research activities as a consultant for the XPS (eXtended Particle Swarm) project.