Multi-Fidelity Stochastic Trust Region Method with Adaptive Sampling

Abstract: Simulation optimization is often hindered by the high cost of running simulations. Multi-fidelity methods offer a promising solution by incorporating cheaper, lower-fidelity simulations to reduce computational time. However, the bias in low-fidelity models can mislead the search, potentially steering solutions away from the high-fidelity optimum. To overcome this, we propose ASTRO-MFDF, an adaptive sampling trust-region method for multi-fidelity simulation optimization. ASTRO-MFDF features two key strategies: (i) it adaptively determines the sample size and selects appropriate sampling strategies to reduce computational cost; and (ii) it selectively uses low-fidelity information only when a high correlation with the high-fidelity is anticipated, reducing the risk of bias. We validate the performance and computational efficiency of ASTRO-MFDF through numerical experiments using the SimOpt library.