Unit – 4 Genetic Algorithm

A genetic algorithm is an adaptive heuristic search algorithm

inspired by "Darwin's theory of evolution in Nature." It is used to
solve optimization problems in machine learning. It is one of the important
algorithms as it helps solve complex problems that would take a long time
to solve.

Genetic Algorithms are being

widely used in different real-world
applications, for
example, Designing electronic
circuits, code-breaking, image
processing, and artificial
creativity.

What is a Genetic
Algorithm?
Before understanding the Genetic algorithm, let's first understand basic
terminologies to better understand this algorithm:

o Population: Population is the subset of all possible or probable

solutions, which can solve the given problem.
o Chromosomes: A chromosome is one of the solutions in the
population for the given problem, and the collection of gene
generate a chromosome.
o Gene: A chromosome is divided into a different gene, or it is an
element of the chromosome.
o Allele: Allele is the value provided to the gene within a particular
chromosome.
o Fitness Function: The fitness function is used to determine the
individual's fitness level in the population. It means the ability of an
individual to compete with other individuals. In every iteration,
individuals are evaluated based on their fitness function.
o Genetic Operators: In a genetic algorithm, the best individual
mate to regenerate offspring better than parents. Here genetic
operators play a role in changing the genetic composition of the
next generation.
o Selection
After calculating the fitness of every existent in the population, a selection
process is used to determine which of the individualities in the population
will get to reproduce and produce the seed that will form the coming
generation.

Types of selection styles available

o Roulette wheel selection

o Event selection
o Rank- grounded selection

So, now we can define a genetic algorithm as a heuristic search algorithm

to solve optimization problems. It is a subset of evolutionary algorithms,
which is used in computing. A genetic algorithm uses genetic and natural
selection concepts to solve optimization problems.

How Genetic Algorithm Work?

The genetic algorithm works on the evolutionary generational cycle to
generate high-quality solutions. These algorithms use different operations
that either enhance or replace the population to give an improved fit
solution.

It basically involves five phases to solve the complex optimization

problems, which are given as below:

o Initialization
o Fitness Assignment
o Selection
o Reproduction
o Termination

1. Initialization
The process of a genetic algorithm starts by generating the set of
individuals, which is called population. Here each individual is the solution
for the given problem. An individual contains or is characterized by a set
of parameters called Genes. Genes are combined into a string and
generate chromosomes, which is the solution to the problem. One of the
most popular techniques for initialization is the use of random binary
strings.
2. Fitness Assignment
Fitness function is used to determine how fit an individual is? It means the
ability of an individual to compete with other individuals. In every
iteration, individuals are evaluated based on their fitness function. The
fitness function provides a fitness score to each individual. This score
further determines the probability of being selected for reproduction. The
high the fitness score, the more chances of getting selected for
reproduction.

3. Selection
The selection phase involves the selection of individuals for the
reproduction of offspring. All the selected individuals are then arranged in
a pair of two to increase reproduction. Then these individuals transfer
their genes to the next generation.

There are three types of Selection methods available, which are:

o Roulette wheel selection

o Tournament selection
o Rank-based selection

4. Reproduction
After the selection process, the creation of a child occurs in the
reproduction step. In this step, the genetic algorithm uses two variation
operators that are applied to the parent population. The two operators
involved in the reproduction phase are given below:

o Crossover: The crossover plays a most significant role in the

reproduction phase of the genetic algorithm. In this process, a
crossover point is selected at random within the genes. Then the
crossover operator swaps genetic information of two parents from
the current generation to produce a new individual representing the
offspring.
 The genes of parents are exchanged among themselves until the
crossover point is met. These newly generated offspring are added
to the population. This process is also called or crossover. Types of
crossover styles available:
o One point crossover
o Two-point crossover
o Livery crossover
o Inheritable Algorithms crossover
o Mutation
The mutation operator inserts random genes in the offspring (new
child) to maintain the diversity in the population. It can be done by
flipping some bits in the chromosomes.
Mutation helps in solving the issue of premature convergence and
enhances diversification. The below image shows the mutation
process:
Types of mutation styles available,
o Flip bit mutation
o Gaussian mutation
o Exchange/Swap mutation

5. Termination
After the reproduction phase, a stopping criterion is applied as a base for
termination. The algorithm terminates after the threshold fitness solution
is reached. It will identify the final solution as the best solution in the
population.

General Workflow of a Simple Genetic Algorithm

Advantages of Genetic Algorithm
o The parallel capabilities of genetic algorithms are best.
o It helps in optimizing various problems such as discrete functions,
multi-objective problems, and continuous functions.
o It provides a solution for a problem that improves over time.
o A genetic algorithm does not need derivative information.

Limitations of Genetic Algorithms

o Genetic algorithms are not efficient algorithms for solving simple
problems.
o It does not guarantee the quality of the final solution to a problem.
o Repetitive calculation of fitness values may generate some
computational challenges.

Difference between Genetic Algorithms and

Traditional Algorithms
o A search space is the set of all possible solutions to the problem. In
the traditional algorithm, only one set of solutions is maintained,
whereas, in a genetic algorithm, several sets of solutions in search
space can be used.
 o Traditional algorithms need more information in order to perform a
search, whereas genetic algorithms need only one objective
function to calculate the fitness of an individual.
o Traditional Algorithms cannot work parallelly, whereas genetic
Algorithms can work parallelly (calculating the fitness of the
individualities are independent).
o One big difference in genetic Algorithms is that rather of operating
directly on seeker results, inheritable algorithms operate on their
representations (or rendering), frequently appertained to as
chromosomes.
o One of the big differences between traditional algorithm and genetic
algorithm is that it does not directly operate on candidate solutions.
o Traditional Algorithms can only generate one result in the end,
whereas Genetic Algorithms can generate multiple optimal results
from different generations.
o The traditional algorithm is not more likely to generate optimal
results, whereas Genetic algorithms do not guarantee to generate
optimal global results, but also there is a great possibility of getting
the optimal result for a problem as it uses genetic operators such as
Crossover and Mutation.
o Traditional algorithms are deterministic in nature, whereas Genetic
algorithms are probabilistic and stochastic in nature.

Operators of Genetic Algorithms

Once the initial generation is created, the algorithm evolves the generation using
following operators –
1) Selection Operator: The idea is to give preference to the individuals with
good fitness scores and allow them to pass their genes to successive
generations.
2) Crossover Operator: This represents mating between individuals. Two
individuals are selected using selection operator and crossover sites are chosen
randomly. Then the genes at these crossover sites are exchanged thus creating a
completely new individual (offspring). For example –
3) Mutation Operator: The key idea is to insert random genes in offspring to
maintain the diversity in the population to avoid premature convergence. For
example –

The whole algorithm can be summarized as –

1) Randomly initialize populations p
2) Determine fitness of population
3) Until convergence repeat:
a) Select parents from population
b) Crossover and generate new population
c) Perform mutation on new population
d) Calculate fitness for new population

Example problem and solution using Genetic Algorithms

Given a target string, the goal is to produce target string starting from a random
string of the same length. In the following implementation, following analogies
are made –
Characters A-Z, a-z, 0-9, and other special symbols are considered as genes
A string generated by these characters is considered as
chromosome/solution/Individual
Fitness score is the number of characters which differ from characters in target
string at a particular index. So, individual having lower fitness value is given
more preference.