Mutation
_ The Mutation operator guarantees the entire state-space will be searched, given enough time.
_ Restores lost information or adds information to the population.
_ Performed on a child after crossover.
_ Performed infrequently (For example, 0.005 probability of altering a gene in a chromosome)
Child 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 1
after mutation 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 1
_ Special Mutation operators may be application dependent (TSP)
_ Adaptive Mutation:
_Monitor the hamming distance between two parents.
_The more similar the parents, the more likely mutation is applied. Whitley, Starkweather
Example mutation:
101011 0 10101
101011 1 10101
Mutation of a chromosome at the fifth bit position.