Stochastic partially optimized cyclic shift crossover for multi-objective genetic algorithms for the vehicle routing problem with time-windows

• Main Author: Zakaria, M.N.
• Format: Article
• Published: 2017
• Subjects: T Technology (General)
• Online Access: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1568494616304987; http://eprints.utp.edu.my/12368/

This paper presents a stochastic partially optimized cyclic shift crossover operator for the optimization of the multi-objective vehicle routing problem with time windows using genetic algorithms. The aim of the paper is to show how the combination of simple stochastic rules and sequential appendage policies addresses a common limitation of the traditional genetic algorithm when optimizing complex combinatorial problems. The limitation, in question, is the inability of the traditional genetic algorithm to perform local optimization. A series of tests based on the Solomon benchmark instances show the level of competitiveness of the newly introduced crossover operator.