Genetic Algorithms (GAs) can efficiently produce high quality results for hard combinatorial real world problems such as the Vehicle Routing Problem (VRP). Genetic Vehicle Representation (GVR), a recent approach to solving instances of the VRP with a GA, produces competitive or superior results to the standard benchmark problems. This work extends GVR research by presenting a more precise mathematical model of GVR than in previous works and a thorough comparison of GVR to Path Based Representation approaches. A suite of metrics that measures GVR’s efficiency and effectiveness provides an adequate characterization of the jagged search landscape. A new variation of a crossover operator is introduced. A previously unmentioned insight about the convergence rate of the search is also noted that is especially important to the application of a priori and dynamic routing for swarms of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). Results indicate that the search is robust, and it exponentially drives t...
Matthew A. Russell, Gary B. Lamont