Trait-based heterogeneous populations plus (TbHP+) genetic algorithm

Abstract

This study developed a variant of genetic algorithm (GA) model called the trait-based heterogeneous populations plus (TbHP+). The developed TbHP+ model employs a memory concept in the form of immunity and instinct to provide the populations with a more efficient guidance. Also, it has an ability to vary the number of individuals during the search process, thus allowing an automatic determination of the size of the population based on the individual qualities such as character fitness and credit for immunity. The algorithm was tested against the classical GA model in convergence and minimum error performance. For this purpose, 5 different mathematical functions from the literature were employed. The selected functions have different topological characteristics, ranging from simple convex curves with 2 variables to complex trigonometric ones having several hilly shapes with more than 2 variables. The developed model and the classical GA model were applied to finding the global minima of the functions. The comparison of the results revealed that the developed TbHP+ model outperformed the classical GA in faster convergence and minimum errors, which may be explained by the adaptive nature of the new paradigm.