SC – GA - I ntroduction

1. In tro duction

Solving problems mean looking for solutions, which is best among others.

Finding the solution to a problem is often thought :

 In computer science and AI, as a process of search through the space of

possible solutions. The set of possible solutions defines the search space
(also called state space) for a given problem. Solutions or partial solutions
are viewed as points in the search space.

 In engineering and mathematics, as a process of optim ization . The

problems are first formulated as mathematical models expressed in terms
of functions and then to find a solution, discover the parameters that
optimize the model or the function components that provide optimal
system performance.

04
 SC – GA - I ntroduction
• Why G e n e tic A lgorithm s ?

It is better than conventional AI ; It is more robust.

- unlike older AI systems, the GA's do not break easily even if the
inputs changed slightly, or in the presence of reasonable noise.

- while performing search in large state-space, multi-modal state-space,

or n-dimensional surface, a genetic algorithms offer significant benefits
over many other typical search optimization techniques like - linear
programming, heuristic, depth-first, breath-first.

"Genetic Algorithms are good at taking large, potentially huge search

spaces and navigating them, looking for optimal combinations of things,
the solutions one might not otherwise find in a lifetime.” Salvatore
Mangano Computer Design, May 1995.

05
 SC – GA - I ntroduction
1.1 O ptimization

Optimization is a process that finds a best, or optimal, solution for a

problem. The Optimization problems are centered around three factors :

■ An objective fu n ction : which is to be minimized or maximized;

Examples:
1. In manufacturing, we want to maximize the profit or minimize
the cost .
2. In designing an automobile panel, we want to maximize the
strength.
■ A set of unkn ow n s or variables : that affect the objective function,
Examples:

1. In manufacturing, the variables are amount of resources used or

the time spent.
2. In panel design problem, the variables are shape and dimensions of
the panel.
■
A set of con straints : that allow the unknowns to take on certain
values but exclude others;
Examples:
1. In manufacturing, one constrain is, that all "time" variables to

be non-negative.
2 In the panel design, we want to limit the weight and put

constrain on its shape.

An optimization problem is defined as : Finding values of the variables

that minimize or maximize the objective function while satisfying

the constraints.
06
 SC – GA - I ntroduction
• O p tim iza tio n M ethods
Many optimization methods exist and categorized as shown below.

The suitability of a method depends on one or more problem

characteristics to be optimized to meet one or more objectives like :

 low cost,
 high performance,

 low loss
These characteristics necessarily obtainable, and requires
are not
knowledge about the
problem.

Op tim iz a tion
M eth od s

L in ear N on-Lin ear

P ro g ram m in g P ro g ram m in g

C lassica l Enu m era ti ve Stoch astic

M eth od s M eth ods M ethods

Fig. O ptim izatio n M eth ods

Each of these methods are briefly discussed indicating the nature of

the problem they are more applicable.
07
 SC – GA - I ntroduction
■ L inear Pro gram m ing

Intends to obtain the optimal solution to problems that are

perfectly represented by a set of linear equations; thus require

a priori knowledge of the problem. Here the

 the functions to be minimized or

maximized, is called objective

functions,

 the set of linear equations are called restrictions.

 the optimal solution, is the one that minimizes (or maximizes)

the objective function.

Exam ple : “Traveling salesman”, seeking a minimal traveling distance.

08
 SC – GA - I ntroduction
■ Non- Linea r Pro gram m i n g

Intended for problems described by non-linear equations.

The methods are divided in three large groups:
Classical, Enumerative and Stochastic.

Classical search uses deterministic approach to find best solution.

These methods requires knowledge of gradients or higher order

derivatives. In many practical problems, some desired information

are not available, means deterministic algorithms are inappropriate.
The techniques are subdivide into:

 Direct methods, e.g. Newton or Fibonacci

 Indirect methods.

Enu m erative search goes through every point (one point at a

time ) related to the function's domain space. At each point, all

possible solutions are generated and tested to find optimum

solution. It is easy to implement but usually require significant
computation. In the field of artificial intelligence, the enumerative

methods are subdivided into two categories:

 Uninformed methods, e.g. Mini-Max algorithm

 Informed methods, e.g. Alpha-Beta and A* ,

Stocha stic search deliberately introduces randomness into the search

process. The injected randomness may provide the necessary impetus

to move away from a local solution when searching for a global
optimum. e.g., a gradient vector criterion for “smoothing” problems.
Stochastic methods offer robustness quality to optimization process.
Among the stochastic techniques, the most widely used are :

 Evolutionary Strategies (ES),

 Genetic Algorithms (GA), and

 Simulated Annealing (SA).

The ES and GA emulate nature’s evolutionary behavior, while SA is
based on the physical process of annealing a material.
09
 SC – GA - I ntroduction
1.2 Search Optim ization

Among the three Non-Linear search methodologies, just mentioned

in the previous slide, our immediate concern is Stoch astic search

which means
 Evolutionary Strategies (ES),

 Genetic Algorithms (GA), and

 Simulated Annealing (SA).

The two other search methodologies, shown below, the Classical and
the Enumerative methods, are first briefly explained. Later the Stochastic
methods are discussed in detail. All these methods belong to Non-
Linear search.

Search
O ptimization

Cla ssi ca l Stochastic Search Enu m e ra tiv e

Search (Guided Random Search) Search

Evol u t ion ary Genetic Sim ulated

Strategi es A lgorith m s A n n ea lin g
(ES) (G A) (ES)

Fig Non- Lin ear search m eth ods

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 SC – GA - I ntroduction
• C la ssica l or Calculus based search
Uses deterministic approach to find best solutions of an optimization
problem.

 the solutions satisfy a set of necessary

and sufficient conditions of

the optimization problem.

into direct and in d ire ct methods.
 the techniques are subdivide

◊ Direct or Numerical methods :

 example : Newton or Fibonacci,

 tries to find extremes by "hopping" around the search space

and assessing the gradient of the new point, which
guides the search.
 applies the concept of "hill climbing", and finds the best
local point by climbing the steepest permissible gradient.

 used only on a restricted set of "well behaved" functions.

◊ Indirect methods :
 does search for local extremes by solving usually non-linear
set of equations resulting from setting the gradient of the

objective function to zero.

 does search for possible solutions (function peaks), starts by

restricting itself to points with zero slope in all directions.

11
 SC – GA - I ntroduction
• Enu m e rativ e Search

Here the search goes through every point (one point at a time) related
to the function's domain space.
 At each point, all possible solutions are generated and tested to find

optimum solution.
 It is easy to implement but usually require significant computation.

Thus these techniques are not suitable for applications with large
domain spaces.
In the field of artificial intelligence, the enumerative methods are
subdivided into two categories : Uninformed and Informed methods.

◊ Uninformed or blind methods :

 example: Mini-Max algorithm,

 search all points in the space in a predefined order,

 used in game playing.

◊ Informed methods :
 example: Alpha-Beta and A* ,

 does more sophisticated search

 uses domain specific knowledge in the form of a cost
function or heuristic to reduce cost for search.

Next slide shows, the taxonomy of enumerative search in AI domain.

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 SC – GA - I ntroduction
[Ref : previous slide Enumerative search]

The Enumerative search techniques follows, the traditional search and

control strategies, in the domain of Artificial Intelligence.

 the search methods explore the search space "intelligently"; means

evaluating possibilities without investigating every single possibility.

 there are many control structures for search; the depth-first search
and breadth-first search are two common search strategies.
 the taxonomy of
search algorithms in AI domain is given below.

En u merative Search
G (State, Operator, Cost)

No h(n) present User heuristics h(n)

U n in form ed Search In fo rm ed Search

LIFO Stack P riority

FIFO
Queue: g(n)

Depth-First Breadth-First Cost-First Generate H ill

Search Search Search -and-test Clim bing
Impose fixed
depth lim it Priority
Queue: h( n)
Depth Constraint Mean-end-
Best first P roblem
Limited satisfaction analysis
search Reduction
Search
Priority Queue:
Gradually i ncrease f( n) =h(n)+g(n
fixed depth limit
A* Search AO* Search
I terative
Deepening
DFS

Fig. Enu m erativ e Search Algorith m s in AI Dom ain

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 SC – GA - I ntroduction
• S tocha stic Search
Here the search methods, include heuristics and an element of
randomness (non-determinism) in traversing the search space. Unlike
the previous two search methodologies
 the stochastic search algorithm moves from one point to another in
the search space in a non-deterministic manner, guided by heuristics.
 the stochastic search techniques are usually called Guided random
search techniques.

The stochastic search techniques are grouped into two major subclasses :
 Simulated annealing and
 Evolutionary algorithms.

Both these classes follow the principles of evolutionary processes.

◊ Simulated annealing (SAs)

 uses a thermodynamic evolution process to search
minimum energy states.

◊ Evolutionary algorithms (EAs)

 use natural selection principles.
 the search
evolves throughout generations, improving the
features of potential solutions by means of biological
inspired operations.
Algorith m s (G As) are a good example of this
 G en etic
technique.

The next slide shows, the taxonomy of evolutionary search algorithms.

It includes the other two search, the Enumerative search and Calculus
based techniques, for better understanding of Non-Linear search
methodologies in its entirety.

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 SC – GA - I ntroduction
• Taxo nom y of Search Optim izatio n
Fig. below shows different types of Search Optimization algorithms.

Search
O p tim iza tio n

Calculus Guided Random Search Enumerative

Based tech n iqu es Techniques
Techniques

Indirect Direct
method Uninformed In formed
method
Search Search

Newton Finonacci

Tabu Hill Simulated Evol u tion ary

Search Climbing Annealing A lgo ri th m s

Genetic Genetic
P r ogram m in g A lgo ri th m s

Fig. Taxon om y of Search Optim izatio n tech n iqu es

We are interested in Evolutionary search algorithms.

Our main concern is to understand the evolutionary algorithms :
- how to describe the process of search,
- how to implement and carry out search,
- what are the elements required to carry out search, and
- the different search strategies

The Evolutionary Algorithms include :

- Genetic Algorithms and
- Genetic Programming

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 SC – GA - I ntroduction
1.3 Evolu tionary A lgorithm (EA s)

Evolutionary Algorithm (EA) is a subset of Evolutionary Computation (EC)

which is a subfield of Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Evolu tion a ry C om p u tation (EC) is a general term for several

computational techniques. Evolutionary Computation represents powerful
search and optimization paradigm influenced by biological mechanisms of
evolution : that of natural selection and genetic.

Evolu tion a ry Algorith m s (EAs) refers to Evolutionary Computational

models using randomness and genetic inspired operations. EAs
involve selection, recombination, random variation and competition of the
individuals in a population of adequately represented potential solutions.
The candidate solutions are referred as chromosomes or individuals.

Genetic Algorith m s (G As) represent the main paradigm of Evolutionary

Computation.
- GAs simulate natural evolution, mimicking processes the nature uses :

Selection, Crosses over, Mutation and Accepting.

- GAs simulate the survival of the fittest among individuals over
consecutive generation for solving a problem.

D e velo pm en t H isto ry

EC = GP + ES + EP + GA
Evolutionary Genetic Evolution Evolutionary Genetic
Computing P rogramming Strategies P rogramming A lgorithm s

Rechenberg Koza Rechenberg Fogel Holland

1960 1992 1965 1962 1970

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 SC – GA - I ntroduction
1.4 G enetic Algorithm s (G A s) - Basic Con cepts

Genetic algorithms (GAs) are the main paradigm of evolutionary

computing. GAs are inspired by Darwin's theory about evolution – the

"survival of the fittest". In nature, competition among individuals for
scanty resources results in the fittest individuals dominating over the
weaker ones.

 GAs are the ways of solving problems by mimicking processes nature

uses; ie., Selection, Crosses over, Mutation and Accepting, to evolve a
solution to a problem.
 GAs are adaptive heuristic search based on the evolutionary ideas
of natural selection and genetics.
 GAs are intelligent exploitation of random search used in optimization

problems.
 GAs, although randomized, exploit historical information to direct the

search into the region of better performance within the search space.

The biological background (basic genetics), the scheme of evolutionary

processes, the working principles and the steps involved in GAs are
illustrated in next few slides.

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 SC – GA - I ntroduction
• B io lo gical B ackgroun d – Basic Genetics
‡
Every organism has a set of rules, describing how that organism
is built. All living organisms consist of cel l s .
‡
In each cell there is same set of chrom oso m e s. Chromosomes are
strings of DNA and serve as a model for the whole organism.
‡ A chromosome consists of genes, blocks of DNA.

‡ Each gene encodes a particular protein that represents a tra it

(feature), e.g., color of eyes.

‡ Possible settings for a trait (e.g. blue, brown) are called all el es .

‡
Each gene has its own position in the chromosome called its lo cu s .
‡
Complete set of genetic material (all chromosomes) is called a
g en om e .
‡ Particular set of genes in a genome is called g en otype .

‡
The physical expression of the genotype (the organism itself after
birth) is called the ph en otyp e , its physical and mental characteristics,
such as eye color, intelligence etc.
‡
When two organisms mate they share their genes; the resultant
offspring may end up having half the genes from one parent and half
from the other. This process is called recom bin ation (cross over) .
‡
The new created offspring can then be mutated. Mu tation means,
that the elements of DNA are a bit changed. This changes are mainly
caused by errors in copying genes from parents.
‡
The fitness of an organism is measured by success of the organism
in its life (survival).
18
 SC – GA - I ntroduction
[ continued from previous slide - Biological background ]

Below shown, the general scheme of evolutionary process in genetic

along with pseudo-code.

P aren ts
P a rents
I n itia liz atio n
R ecom bin ati on
P o pulation
M u tation

O ffspring
Survivo r

Fig. General Schem e of Evolu tion ary p rocess

P seu d o-Cod e

BEGIN

INITIALISE population with random candidate solution.

EVALUATE each candidate;
REPEAT UNTIL (termination condition ) is satisfied DO

1. SELECT parents;
2. RECOMBINE pairs of parents;
3. MUTATE the resulting offspring;
4. SELECT individuals or the next generation;
END.
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 SC – GA - I ntroduction
• S ea rch Sp ace

In solving problems, some solution will be the best among others. The
space of all feasible solutions (among which the desired solution
resides) is called search space (also called state space).

 Each point in the search space represents one possible solu tio n .

 Each possible solution can be "marked" by its value (or fitn ess ) for
the problem.
 The GA looks for the best solu tio n among a number of possible
solutions represented by one point in the search space.
 Looking for a solution is then equal to looking for some extreme value

(minimum or maximum) in the search space.

 At times the search space may be well defined, but usually only a few

points in the search space are known.

In using GA, the process of finding solutions generates other points

(possible solutions) as evolution proceeds.

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 SC – GA - I ntroduction
• W o rk in g P rin cip les
Before getting into GAs, it is necessary to explain few terms.

 Chromosome : a set of genes; a chromosome contains the solution in

form of genes.

 Gene : a part of chromosome; a gene contains a part of solution. It

determines the solution. e.g. 16743 is a chromosome and 1, 6, 7, 4
and 3 are its genes.

 Individual : same as chromosome.

 Population: number of individuals present with same length of
chromosome.

 Fitness : the value assigned to an individual based on how far or

close a individual is from the solution; greater the fitness value better
the solution it contains.
 Fitness function : a function that assigns fitness value to the individual.

It is problem specific.

 Breeding : taking two fit individuals and then intermingling there

chromosome to create new two individuals.
 Mutation : changing a random gene in an individual.

 Selection : selecting individuals for creating the next generation.

W orkin g principle s :
Genetic algorithm begins with a set of solutions (represented by
chromosomes) called the population.
 Solutions from one population are taken and used to form a new
population. This is motivated by the possibility that the new population

will be better than the old one.

 Solutions are selected according to their fitness to form new solutions

(offspring); more suitable they are, more chances they have to

reproduce.
 This is repeated until some condition (e.g. number of populations or

improvement of the best solution) is satisfied.

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 SC – GA - I ntroduction
• O utlin e of the Basic G enetic A lgorith m

1.
[Start] Generate random population of n chromosomes (i.e. suitable
solutions for the problem).
2.
[Fitness] Evaluate the fitness f(x) of each chromosome x in the
population.
a new population by repeating following
3.
[New population] Create
steps until the new population is complete.
population
(a) [Selection] Select two parent chromosomes from a
according to their fitness (better the fitness, bigger the chance to
be selected)
(b) [Crossover] With a crossover probability, cross over the parents
to form new offspring (children). If no crossover was performed,

offspring is the exact copy of parents.

(c) [Mutation] With a mutation probability, mutate new offspring at
each locus (position in chromosome).
(d) [Accepting] Place new offspring in the new population

4. [Replace] Use new generated population for a further run of the

algorithm

5.
[Test] If the end condition is satisfied, stop, and return the best
solution in current population
6.
[Loop] Go to step 2

Note : The genetic algorithm's performance is largely influenced by two

operators called crossover and mutation. These two operators are the
most important parts of GA.
22
 SC – GA - I ntroduction
• F lo w chart for G enetic P r o gram m ing

Start

Seed Popu lation

Generate N individuals Gen esis

Scoring : assign fitness

to each individual

N atu ral Select two individuals

S e lectio n (Parent 1 Parent 2)

No
R e pro du ctio n Use crossover operator
R eco m bin a tion to produce off- springs Cro s so ver

Scoring : assign fitness Cro s so ver

to off- springs F in ishe d?

Y es
S u rv iv al of F itte st
N atu ral Select one o ff-spring
Apply replacement Y es No
operator to incorporate Selectio n
new individual into
population Apply Mutation operator
M u tatio n to produce Mutated
offspring
No

Term in ate ?
M utatio n Scoring : a ssign
Y es F in ishe d? fitn e ss to off- spring

Fin ish

Fig. G en etic Algorith m – pro gra m flo w ch art

23
 SC – GA - Encoding
2. Encoding
Before a genetic algorithm can be put to work on any problem, a method is
needed to encode potential solutions to that problem in a form so that a
computer can process.

 One common approach is to encode solutions as binary strings: sequences

of 1's and 0's, where the digit at each position represents the value of

some aspect of the solution.

Exa m ple :
A Gene represents some data (eye color, hair color, sight, etc.).
A chromosome is an array of genes. In binary form
a Gene looks like : ( 11 10 001 0)

a Ch romosom e looks like: Gene1 G ene2 Gene3 Ge n e4

(11000010, 00001110, 001111010, 10100011)
A chromosome should in some way contain information about solution
which it represents; it thus requires encoding. The most popular way of
encoding is a bin ary strin g like :
Chrom osom e 1 : 11 01100 10 01 10 110
Chrom osom e 2 : 11 0111 100 00 11 110
Each bit in the string represent some characteristics of the solution.

 There are many other ways of encoding, e.g., encoding values as integer or

real numbers or some permutations and so on.

 The virtue of these encoding method depends on the problem to work on .

24
 SC – GA - Encoding
• B in a ry Encoding

Binary encoding is the most common to represent information contained.

In genetic algorithms, it was first used because of its relative simplicity.

 In binary encoding, every chromosome is a string of bits : 0 or 1, like

Chrom osom e 1: 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 1
Chrom osom e 2: 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1

 Binary encoding gives many possible chromosomes even with a small

number of alleles ie possible settings for a trait (features).

 This encoding is often not natural for many problems and sometimes

corrections must be made after crossover and/or mutation.

Exam ple 1:

One variable function, say 0 to 15 numbers, numeric values,

represented by 4 bit binary string.

Numeric 4–bit Numeric 4–bit Numeric 4–bit

value string value string value string

0 0 00 0 6 0 11 0 12 1 10 0
1 0 0 0 1 7 0 1 1 1 13 1 1 0 1
2 0 01 0 8 1 00 0 14 1 11 0
3 0 0 1 1 9 1 0 0 1 15 1 1 1 1
4 0 1 0 0 10 1 0 1 0
5 0 1 0 1 11 1 0 1 1

25
 SC – GA - Encoding
[ continued binary encoding ]
Exam ple 2 :
Two variable function represented by 4 bit string for each variable.
Let two variables X1 , X2 as (1011 0110) .
L U
Every variable will have both upper and lower limits as X i
 Xi  Xi

Because 4-bit string can represent integers from 0 to 15 ,

so (0000 0000) and (1111 1 1 1 1) represent the points for X1 , X2 as
U U
L
and (X ,X
( X 1L , X2 ) 1 2 ) respectively.
Thus, an n-bit string can represent integers from
n
0 to 2 -1, i.e. 2n integers.
Binary Coding Equivalent integer Decoded binary substring
Remainder
Let Xi is coded as a substring
2 10 1 0 1 0
2 5 0 0 x 20 = 0 Si of length ni. Then decoded
1
2 2 1 1 x 2 = 2 binary substring Si is as
2
1 0 0 x 2 = 0 K=ni - 1
1 x 23 = 8
10
2k Sk
k=0
where Si can be 0 or 1 and the
string S is represented as

Sn-1 . . . . S3 S2 S1 S0

Exam ple : Decoding value

Consider a 4-bit string (0111),

 the decoded value is equal to

23 x 0 + 22 x 1 + 21 x 1 + 20 x 1 = 7
 Knowing X
i
L
and X i U corresponding to (0000) and (1111) ,
the equivalent value for any 4-bit string can be obtained as
U L
(X i —X i )
L
Xi =X i + --------------- x (de co de d v alu e of string)
( 2ni − 1 )

 For e.g. a variable Xi ; let X i

L
= 2 , and X i
U
= 17, find what value the

4-bit string Xi = (1010) would represent. First get decoded value for
Si = 1010 = 23 x 1 + 22 x 0 + 21 x 1 + 20 x 0 = 10 then
(17 -2)
Xi = 2 + ----------- x 10 = 12
(24 - 1)

The accuracy obtained with a 4-bit code is 1 / 1 6 of search space.

By increasing the string length by 1-bit , accuracy increases to 1 / 3 2 .
26
 SC – GA - Encoding
• V a lu e Encoding

The Value encoding can be used in problems where values such as real
numbers are used. Use of binary encoding for this type of problems
would be difficult.

1. In value encoding, every chromosome is a sequence of some values.

2. The Values can be anything connected to the problem, such as :

real numbers, characters or objects.
Examples :
Chromoso m e A 1.2324 5.3243 0.4556 2.3293 2.4545

Chrom osom e B A B D JE IFJ D HDI ERJ F D LD FL FEGT

Chrom o som e C (back), ( ba ck ), (righ t), (forw ard ), (le ft)

3. Value encoding is often necessary to develop some new types of

crossovers and mutations specific for the problem.

27
 SC – GA - Encoding
• P e rm u tatio n Enco din g
Permutation encoding can be used in ordering problems, such as traveling
salesman problem or task ordering problem.
1. In permutation
encoding, every chromosome is a string of numbers
that represent
a position in a sequence.
Chrom oso m e A 1 5 3 2 6 4 7 9 8
Chrom oso m e B 8 5 6 7 2 3 1 4 9

2. Permutation encoding is useful for ordering problems. For some

problems, crossover and mutation corrections must be made to
leave the chromosome consistent.

Exampl es :

1. The Traveling Salesman problem:

There are cities and given distances between them. Traveling
salesman has to visit all of them, but he does not want to travel more
than necessary. Find a sequence of cities with a minimal traveled
distance. Here, encoded chromosomes describe the order of cities the
salesman visits.

2. The Eight Queens problem :

There are eight queens. Find a way to place them on a chess board
so that no two queens attack each other. Here, encoding
describes the position of a queen on each row.

28
 SC – GA - Encoding
• Tree Encoding

Tree encoding is used mainly for evolving programs or expressions.

For genetic programming :
 In tree encoding, every chromosome is a tree of some objects, such as

functions or commands in programming language.

 Tree encoding is useful for evolving programs or any other structures

that can be encoded in trees.

 The crossover and mutation can be done relatively easy way .

Exa m ple :

Chrom osom e A Ch rom os om e B

+ do untill

x /
step w a ll

5 y

( + x ( / 5 y ) ) ( do u n til step w a l l )

Fig. Exam ple of C h ro m os om e s w ith tree en cod in g

Note : Tree encoding is good for evolving programs. The programming

language LISP is often used. Programs in LISP can be easily parsed as a
tree, so the crossover and mutation is relatively easy.
29
 SC – GA - Operators
3. O perators of G enetic A lgorithm

Genetic operators used in genetic algorithms maintain genetic diversity.

Genetic diversity or variation is a necessity for the process of evolution.
Genetic operators are analogous to those which occur in the natural world:
 R ep rodu ction (or Selection) ;

 Crossov er (or Recombination); and

 M u tatio n .

In addition to these operators, there are some parameters of GA.

One important parameter is P op u lation siz e .

 Population size says how many chromosomes are in population (in one
generation).

 If there are only few chromosomes, then GA would have a few possibilities
to perform crossover and only a small part of search space is explored.

 If there are many chromosomes, then GA slows down.

 Research shows that after some limit, it is not useful to increase population

size, because it does not help in solving the problem faster. The population
size depends on the type of encoding and the problem.

30
 SC – GA - Operators
1. R epro duction, or Selectio n

Reproduction is usually the first operator applied on population. From

the population, the chromosomes are selected to be parents to crossover
and produce offspring.

The p roblem is how to select th ese ch rom oso m es ?

According to Darwin's evolution theory "survival of the fittest" – the best
ones should survive and create new offspring.

 The Reproduction operators are also called Selection operators.

 Selection means extract a subset of genes from an existing population,
according to any definition of quality. Every gene has a meaning, so
one can derive from the gene a kind of quality measurement called
fitn e s s fu n ctio n . Following this quality (fitness value), selection can be

performed.
 Fitness function quantifies the optimality of a solution (chromosome) so

that a particular solution may be ranked against all the other solutions.
The function depicts the closeness of a given ‘solution’ to the desired
result.

Many reproduction operators exists and they all essentially do same thing.
They pick from current population the strings of above average and insert
their multiple copies in the mating pool in a probabilistic manner.

The most commonly used methods of selecting chromosomes for parents

to crossover are :

 Roulette wheel selection,  Rank selection

 Boltzmann selection,  Steady state selection.

 Tournament selection,

The Roulette wheel and Boltzmann selections methods are illustrated next.
31
 SC – GA - Operators
• Exa m ple of Selection

Evolutionary Algorithms is to maximize the function f(x) = x2 with x in

the integer interval [0 , 31], i.e., x = 0, 1, . . . 30, 31.

1. The first step is encoding of chromosomes; use binary representation

for integers; 5-bits are used to represent integers up to 31.

2. Assume that the population size is 4.

3. Generate initial population at random. They are chromosomes or
genotypes; e.g., 01101, 1 1000, 01000, 1 0011 .
4. Calculate fitness value for each individual.
(a) Decode the individual into an integer (called phenotypes),
01101  13; 11000  24; 01000  8; 10011  19;

(b) Evaluate the fitness according to f(x) = x2 ,

13  169; 24  576; 8  64; 19  36 1.
5. Select parents (two individuals) for crossover based on their fitness
in pi . Out of many methods for selecting the best chromosomes, if
th
rou lette-w h ee l selection is used, then the probability of the i string
n
in the population is pi = F i / (  F j ) , where
j=1

F i is fitness for the string i in the population, expressed as f( x )

pi is probability of the string i being selected,

n is no of individuals in the population, is population size, n= 4
n * pi is expected count
String No Initial X value Fitness Fi p i Expected count
Population f(x) = x2 N * Prob i
1 0 1 1 0 1 13 169 0.14 0.58
2 1 1 0 0 0 24 576 0.49 1.97
3 0 1 0 0 0 8 64 0.06 0.22
4 1 0 0 1 1 19 361 0.31 1.23
Sum 1170 1.00 4.00
Average 293 0.25 1.00
Max 576 0.49 1.97

The string no 2 has maximum chance of selection.

32
 SC – GA - Operators
• R o u le tte w h e e l se lectio n (Fitness-Proportionate Selection)

Roulette-wheel selection, also known as Fitness Proportionate Selection, is

a genetic operator, used for selecting potentially useful solutions for
recombination.

In fitness-proportionate selection :
 the chance of an individual's being selected is proportional to its
fitness, greater or less than its competitors' fitness.

 conceptually, this can be thought as a game of Roulette.

The Roulette-wheel simulates 8

1
5% individuals with fitness values F i,
8 2
20% 9%
marked at its circumference; e.g.,
 the 5th individual has a higher
3
7
13% fitness than others, so the wheel
8%
would choose the 5th individual
more than other individuals .
6
8%
17%  the fitness of theindividuals is
4 spun
calculated as the wheel is
20%
n = 8 times, each time selecting
5
Fig. R ou lette-wheel S h ow s 8 an instance, of the string, chosen
in div id u a l w ith f itness
by the wheel pointer.
n
Probability of i th string is pi = F i / (  F j ) , where
j=1
n = no of in dividu als , called population size; pi = p rob ab ility of i th

string being selected; Fi = fitn es s for i th string in the population.

Because the circumference of the wheel is marked according to

a string's fitness, the Roulette-wheel mechanism is expected to
F
make copies of the i th string.
F
Average fitness = F Fj/ n ; Expected cou n t = (n =8 ) x pi
N=5
Cum ulative Probability 5 =  pi
i=1

33
 SC – GA - Operators
• B oltzm a n n Selection
Simulated annealing is a method used to minimize or maximize a function.

 This method simulates the process of slow cooling of molten metal to

achieve the minimum function value in a minimization problem.

 The cooling phenomena is simulated by controlling a temperature like

parameter introduced with the concept of Boltzmann probability
distribution.

 The system in thermal equilibrium at a temperature T has its energy

distribution based on the probability defined by

P (E ) = exp ( - E / kT ) were k is Boltzmann constant.

 This expression suggests that a system at a higher temperature has

almost uniform probability at any energy state, but at lower
temperature it has a small probability of being at a higher energy state.

 Thus, by controlling the temperature T and assuming that the search

process follows Boltzmann probability distribution, the convergence of

the algorithm is controlled.
34
 SC – GA - Operators
3.2 Crosso ver

Crossover is a genetic operator that combines (mates) two chromosomes

(parents) to produce a new chromosome (offspring). The idea behind
crossover is that the new chromosome may be better than both of the
parents if it takes the best characteristics from each of the parents.
Crossover occurs during evolution according to a user-definable crossover
probability. Crossover selects genes from parent chromosomes and
creates a new offspring.

The Crossover operators are of many types.

 one simple way is, On e-P oint cro sso v e r .

 the others are Two Point, U niform , Arith m e tic, and H e u ristic cro sso v e rs .

The operators are selected based on the way chromosomes are encoded.

35
 SC – GA - Operators
• O ne- Po in t Crossover

One-Point crossover operator randomly selects one crossover point and

then copy everything before this point from the first parent and then
everything after the crossover point copy from the second parent. The
Crossover would then look as shown below.

Consider the two parents selected for crossover.

Parent 1 1 10 1 1 | 0 0 1 0 01 1 01 1 0
Parent 2 1 10 1 1 | 1 1 0 0 00 1 11 1 0

Interchanging the parents chromosomes after the crossover points -

The Offspring produced are :

Offspring 1 1 1 01 1 | 1 1 0 0 00 1 1 1 1 0
Offspring 2 1 1 01 1 | 0 0 1 0 0 1 10 1 1 0

Note : The symbol, a vertical line, | is the chosen crossover point.

36
 SC – GA - Operators
• T w o -P o in t Crossover

Two-Point crossover operator randomly selects two crossover points within

a chromosome then interchanges the two parent chromosomes between
these points to produce two new offspring.

Consider the two parents selected for crossover :

Parent 1 110 1 1 | 0 0 10 0 1 1 | 01 1 0
Parent 2 110 1 1 | 1 1 00 0 0 1 | 11 1 0

Interchanging the parents chromosomes between the crossover points -

The Offspring produced are :

Offspring 1 1 1 01 1 | 0 0 1 0 01 1 | 0 1 1 0
Offspring 2 1 1 01 1 | 0 0 1 0 01 1 | 0 1 1 0

37
 SC – GA - Operators
• U n ifo rm Crossover

Uniform crossover operator decides (with some probability – know as the

mixing ratio) which parent will contribute how the gene values in the
offspring chromosomes. The crossover operator allows the parent
chromosomes to be mixed at the gene level rather than the segment
level (as with one and two point crossover).

Consider the two parents selected for crossover.

Parent 1 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 1 1 0
Parent 2 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 0

If the mixing ratio is 0.5 approximately, then half of the genes in the
offspring will come from parent 1 and other half will come from parent 2.
The possible set of offspring after uniform crossover would be:
11 12 02 11 11 12 12 02 01 01 02 11 12 11 11 02
Offspring 1
12 11 01 12 12 01 01 11 02 02 11 12 01 12 12 01
Offspring 2

Note: The subscripts indicate which parent the gene came from.
38
 SC – GA - Operators
• A rith m e tic

Arithmetic crossover operator linearly combines two parent chromosome

vectors to produce two new offspring according to the equations:

O ffspring1 = a * P a re n t1 + (1- a) * P a re n t2

O ffsprin g2 = (1 – a) * P are n t1 + a * P a re n t2

where a is a random weighting factor chosen before each crossover

operation.

Consider two parents (each of 4 float genes) selected for crossover:

Parent 1 (0.3) (1.4) (0.2) (7.4)
Parent 2 (0.5) (4.5) (0.1) (5.6)

Applying the above two equations and assuming the weighting

factor a = 0.7, applying above equations, we get two resulting offspring.
The possible set of offspring after arithmetic crossover would be:

Offspring 1 (0.36) (2.33) (0.17) (6.87)

Offspring 2 (0.402) (2.981) (0.149) (5.842)

39
 SC – GA - Operators
• H euristic

Heuristic crossover operator uses the fitness values of the two parent
chromosomes to determine the direction of the search.

The offspring are created according to the equations:

O ffsprin g1 = Be stPare n t + r * (B e stP a re n t − W o rstP a re n t)

O ffsprin g2 = B e stP a ren t

where r is a random number between 0 and 1.

It is possible that offsp rin g 1 will not be feasible. It can happen if r is

chosen such that one or more of its genes fall outside of the allowable
upper or lower bounds. For this reason, heuristic crossover has a user
defined parameter n for the number of times to try and find an r
that results in a feasible chromosome. If a feasible chromosome is not
produced after n tries, the worst parent is returned as offspring1.

40
 SC – GA - Operators
3. M utation

After a crossover is performed, mutation takes place.

Mutation is a genetic operator used to maintain genetic diversity from
one generation of a population of chromosomes to the next.

Mutation occurs during evolution according to a user-definable mutation

probability, usually set to fairly low value, say 0.01 a good first choice.

Mutation alters one or more gene values in a chromosome from its initial
state. This can result in entirely new gene values being added to the
gene pool. With the new gene values, the genetic algorithm may be able
to arrive at better solution than was previously possible.

Mutation is an important part of the genetic search, helps to prevent the

population from stagnating at any local optima. Mutation is intended to
prevent the search falling into a local optimum of the state space.

The Mutation operators are of many type.

 one simple way is, Flip B it .

 the others are Boundary, N on-U niform , U niform , and G aussia n .

The operators are selected based on the way chromosomes are
encoded .

41
 SC – GA - Operators
• Flip B it
The mutation operator simply inverts the value of the chosen gene.
i.e. 0 goes to 1 and 1 goes to 0 .
This mutation operator can only be used for binary genes.

Consider the two original off-springs selected for mutation.

Original offspring 1 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 0
Original offspring 2 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 1 1 0
0 to 1 and 1 to 0
Invert the value of the chosen gene as

The Mutated Off-spring produced are :

Mutated offspring 1 1 1 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 0
Mutated offspring 2 1 1 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 0

42
 SC – GA - Operators
• B oun dary
The mutation operator replaces the value of the chosen gene with either
the upper or lower bound for that gene (chosen randomly).
This mutation operator can only be used for integer and float genes.

• N on-U niform
The mutation operator increases the probability such that the amount of
the mutation will be close to 0 as the generation number increases. This
mutation operator prevents the population from stagnating in the early
stages of the evolution then allows the genetic algorithm to fine tune the
solution in the later stages of evolution.

This mutation operator can only be used for integer and float genes.

• U niform
The mutation operator replaces the value of the chosen gene with a
uniform random value selected between the user-specified upper and
lower bounds for that gene.

This mutation operator can only be used for integer and float genes.

• Gaussia n
The mutation operator adds a unit Gaussian distributed random value to
the chosen gene. The new gene value is clipped if it falls outside of the
user-specified lower or upper bounds for that gene.

This mutation operator can only be used for integer and float genes.

43
 SC – GA - Examples
4. Basic Genetic A lgorithm :

Examples to demonstrate and explain : Random population, Fitness, Selection,

Crossover, Mutation, and Accepting.

• E x a m p le 1 :
Maximize the function f(x) = x2 over the range of integers from 0 . . . 31 .

Note : This function could be solved by a variety of traditional methods

such as a hill-climbing algorithm which uses the derivative.

One way is to :
 Start from any integer x in the domain of f

 Evaluate at this point x the derivative f’

 Observing that the derivative is +ve, pick a new x which is at a small
distance in the +ve direction from current x

 Repeat until x = 3 1

See, how a genetic algorithm would approach this problem ?

44
 SC – GA - Examples
[ con tin u ed from pre viou s slid e ]

Genetic Alg orith m approach to problem - Maximize the function f(x) = x 2

1. Devise a means to represent a solution to the problem :

Assume, we represent x with five-digit unsigned binary integers. Devise

2. a heuristic for evaluating the fitness of any particular solution : The

function f(x) is simple, so it is easy to use the f(x) value itself to rate the
fitness of a solution; else we might have considered a more simpler
heuristic that would more or less serve the same purpose.
3. Coding - Binary and the String length :

GAs often process binary representations of solutions. This works well,

because crossover and mutation can be clearly defined for binary solutions.
A Binary string of length 5 can represents 32 numbers (0 to 31).
4. Randomly generate a set of solutions :

Here, considered a population of four solutions. However, larger populations

are used in real applications to explore a larger part of the search. Assume,
four randomly generated solutions as : 01101, 11000, 01000, 10011.
These are chromosomes or genotypes.
5. Evaluate the fitness of each member of the population :

The calculated fitness values for each individual are -

(a) Decode the individual into an integer (called phenotypes),
01101  13; 11000  24; 01000  8; 10011  19;
2
(b) Evaluate the fitness according to f(x) = x ,
13  169; 24  576; 8  64; 19  361.
(c) Expected count = N * Prob i , where N is the number of

individuals in the population called population size, here N = 4.

Thus the evaluation of the initial population summarized in table below .

String No Initial X value Fitness Prob i Expected count

i Population (Pheno f(x) = x2 (fraction N * Prob i
(chromosome) types) of total)
1 0 1 1 0 1 13 169 0.14 0.58
2 1 1 0 0 0 24 576 0.49 1.97
3 0 1 0 0 0 8 64 0.06 0.22
4 1 0 0 1 1 19 361 0.31 1.23
Total (sum) 1170 1.00 4.00
Average 293 0.25 1.00
Max 576 0.49 1.97

Thus, the strin g no 2 has m axim u m chance of selection .

45
 SC – GA - Examples
6. Produce a new generation of solutions by picking from the existing

pool of solutions with a preference for solutions which are better

suited than others:
We divide the range into four bins, sized according to the relative fitness of
the solutions which they represent.
Strings Prob i Associated Bin

0 1 1 0 1 0.14 0.0 . . . 0.14

1 1 0 0 0 0.49 0.14 . . . 0.63
0 1 0 0 0 0.06 0.63 . . . 0.69
1 0 0 1 1 0.31 0.69 . . . 1.00

By generating 4 uniform (0, 1) random values and seeing which bin they fall
into we pick the four strings that will form the basis for the next generation.
Random No Falls into bin Chosen string

0.08 0.0 ... 0.14 0 1 1 0 1

0.24 0.14 ... 0.63 1 1 0 0 0
0.52 0.14 ... 0.63 1 1 0 0 0
0.87 0.69 ... 1.00 1 0 0 1 1

7. Randomly pair the members of the new generation

Random number generator decides for us to mate the first two strings
together and the second two strings together.

8.
Within each pair swap parts of the members solutions to create
offspring which are a mixture of the parents :
For the first pair of strings: 0 1 1 0 1 , 1 1 0 00
 We randomly select the crossover point to be after the fourth digit.
Crossing these two strings at that point yields:
01 1 0 1 ⇒ 0 1 1 0 |1 ⇒ 0 1 1 0 0

1 1 00 0 ⇒ 1 1 0 0 |0 ⇒ 1 1 0 0 1

For the second pair of strings: 1 1 0 0 0 , 10 0 1 1

 We randomly select the crossover point to be after the second digit.
Crossing these two strings at that point yields:
1 1 0 0 0 ⇒ 1 1 |0 0 0 ⇒ 1 1 0 1 1

1 0 0 1 1 ⇒ 1 0 |0 1 1 ⇒ 1 0 0 0 0

46
 SC – GA - Examples
9. Randomly mutate a very small fraction of genes in the population :

With a typical mutation probability of per bit it happens that none of the bits
in our population are mutated.

10. Go back and re-evaluate fitness of the population (new generation) :

This would be the first step in generating a new generation of solutions.

However it is also useful in showing the way that a single iteration of the
genetic algorithm has improved this sample.
String No Initial X value Fitness Prob i Expected count
Population (Pheno f(x) = x2 (fraction
(chromosome) types) of total)
1 0 1 1 0 0 12 144 0.082 0.328
2 1 1 0 0 1 25 625 0.356 1.424
3 1 1 0 1 1 27 729 0.415 1.660
4 1 0 0 0 0 16 256 0.145 0.580
Total (sum) 1754 1.000 4.000
Average 439 0.250 1.000
Max 729 0.415 1.660

Observe that :
1. Initial populations : At start step 5 were
0 1 1 0 1 , 1 1 0 0 0 , 0 1 0 0 0 , 1 0 0 1 1
After one cycle, new populations, at step 10 to act as initial population

0 1 1 0 0 , 1 1 0 0 1 , 1 1 0 11 , 1 0 0 0 0

2. The total fitness has gone from 1170 to 1754 in a single generation.
3. The algorithm has already come up with the string 11011 (i.e x = 27) as
a possible solution.

47
 SC – GA - Examples
• Exa m ple 2 : Two bar pendu lu m

Two uniform bars are connected by pins at A and B and supported

at A. Let a horizontal force P acts at C.

A G iven : Force P = 2, Length of bars ℓ 1 = 2 ,

y
ℓ 2 = 2, Bar weights W1= 2, W2 = 2 . angles = X i
ℓ1
1 Find : Equilibrium configuration of the system if
B
ℓ2 fiction at all joints are neglected ?
C
2
P S olu tio n : Since there are two unknowns 1 and
W1
2 , we use 4 – bit binary for each unknown.
XU - XL 90 - 0
W2 Accuracy = ----------- = --------- = 6 0
Fig. Two bar pendulu m 24 - 1 15

Hence, the binary coding and the corresponding angles Xi are given as

XiU - X i L th
Xi = Xi L + ----------- Si where Si is decoded Value of the i chromosome.
24 - 1
e.g. the 6th chromosome binary code (0 1 0 1) would have the corresponding
angle given by Si = 0 1 0 1 = 23 x 0 + 22 x 1 + 21 x 0 + 20 x 1 = 5

90 - 0
Xi = 0 + ----------- x 5 = 30
15
The binary coding and the angles are given in the table below.
S. No. Binary code Angle S. No. Binary code Angle
Si Xi Si Xi
1 0 0 0 0 0 9 1 0 0 0 48
2 0 0 0 1 6 10 1 0 0 1 54
3 0 0 1 0 12 11 1 0 1 0 60
4 0 0 1 1 18 12 1 0 1 1 66
5 0 1 0 0 24 13 1 1 0 0 72
6 0 1 0 1 30 14 1 1 0 1 78
7 0 1 1 0 36 15 1 1 1 0 84
8 0 1 1 1 42 16 1 1 1 1 90

Note : The total potential for two bar pendulum is written as

∏ = - P [ (ℓ 1 sin1 + ℓ 2 sin2 )] - (W1 ℓ 1 / 2 )cos 1 - W2 [(ℓ 2 /2 ) cos2 + ℓ 1 cos1] (Eq.1)

Substituting the values for P, W1 , W2 , ℓ1 , ℓ2 all as 2 , we get ,

∏ (1 , 2 ) = - 4 sin1 - 6 cos1 - 4 sin2 - 2 cos2 = function f (Eq. 2)

1 , 2 lies between 0 and 90 both inclusive ie 0 ≤ 1 , 2 ≤ 90 (Eq. 3)
Equilibrium configuration is the one which makes ∏ a minimum .

Since the objective function is –ve , instead of minimizing the function f let us
maximize -f = f ’ . The maximum value of f ’ = 8 when 1 and 2 are zero.

Hence the fitness function F is given by F = – f – 7 = f ’ – 7 (Eq. 4)

48
 SC – GA - Examples
[ continued from previous slide ]

First randomly generate 8 population with 8 bit strings as shown in table below.

Population Population of 8 bit strings Corresponding Angles F = – f – 7

No. (Randomly generated) (from table above) 1
, 2
1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
2 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 12 6 2.1
3 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 6 30 3.11
4 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 12 48 4.01
5 0 1 1 0 1 0 1 0 36 60 4.66
6 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 84 48 1.91
7 1 1 1 0 1 1 0 1 84 78 1.93
8 0 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 42 72 4.55

These angles and the corresponding to fitness function are shown below.

F=1 F=2.1 F=3.11 F=3.11

1 =0 1 =12 1 =6 1 =12

2 =0 2 =6 2 =30 2 =48

F=4.6 F=1.91 F=1.93 F=4.55

1 =36 1 =84 1 =84 1 =42

2 =60 2 =48 2 =78 2 =72

Fig. Fitn ess fu n ction F for variou s p opu la tion

The above Table and the Fig. illustrates that :

 GA begins with a population of random strings.

 Then, each string is evaluated to find the fitness value.

 The population is then operated by three operators –

Reproduction , Crossover and Mutation, to create new population.
 The new population is further evaluated tested for termination.
 If the termination criteria are not met, the population is iteratively operated
by the three operators and evaluated until the termination criteria are met.
 One cycle of these operation and the subsequent evaluation procedure is
known as a Generation in GA terminology.
49
 Sc – GA – References
5. Reference s : Textbooks

1. "Neural Network, Fuzzy Logic, and Genetic Algorithms - Synthesis and

Applications", by S. Rajasekaran and G.A. Vijayalaksmi Pai, (2005), Prentice
Hall, Chapter 8-9, page 225-293.

2. "Genetic Algorithms in Search, Optimization, and Machine Learning", by David E.

Goldberg, (1989), Addison-Wesley, Chapter 1-5, page 1- 214.

3. "An Introduction to Genetic Algorithms", by Melanie Mitchell, (1998), MIT Press,

Chapter 1- 5, page 1- 155,

4. "Genetic Algorithms: Concepts And Designs", by K. F. Man, K. S. and Tang, S.

Kwong, (201), Springer, Chapter 1- 2, page 1- 42,

5. "Practical genetic algorithms", by Randy L. Haupt, (2004), John Wiley & Sons
Inc, Chapter 1- 5, page 1- 127.

6. Related documents from open source, mainly internet. An exhaustive list is

being prepared for inclusion at a later date.

50