Optimized Crossover JumpX in Genetic Algorithm for General Routing Problems

Abstract

Inspired by nature, genetic algorithms (GA) are among the greatest meta-heuristics optimization methods that have proved their effectiveness to conventional NP-hard problems, especially the traveling salesman problem (TSP) which is one of the most studied Supply chain management problems. This paper proposes a new crossover operator called Jump Crossover (JMPX) for solving the travelling salesmen problem using a genetic algorithm (GA) for near-optimal solutions, to conclude on its efficiency compared to solutions quality given by other conventional operators to the same problem, namely, Partially matched crossover (PMX), Edge recombination Crossover (ERX) and r-opt heuristic with consideration of computational overload. We adopt the path representation technique for our chromosome which is the most direct representation and a low mutation rate to isolate the search space exploration ability of each crossover. The experimental results show that in most cases JMPX can remarkably improve the solution quality of the GA compared to the two existing classic crossover approaches and the r-opt heuristic.