An Introduction to Evolutionary Computation and Evolutionary Algorithms

Abstract

Numerous techniques exist in science for tackling large-scale optimisation problems. In many instances, scientists must identify the best solution from within a pool containing millions of possible solutions. Evolutionary algorithms are particularly adept at handling this sort of optimisation and their advantages often become more marked as the size of the search space grows. This chapter introduces evolutionary methods, and outlines some of the principles of genetic algorithms, genetic programming and evolution strategies.