An Adaptive Length Chromosome Hyperheuristic Genetic Algorithm for a Trainer Scheduling Problem

Hyper-GA was introduced by the authors as a genetic algorithm based hyperheuristic which aims to evolve an ordering of low-level heuristics so as to find a good quality solution to a given problem. The adaptive length chromosome hyper-GA, let’s call it ALChyper-GA, is an extension of the authors previous work, in which the chromosome was of fixed length. The aim of a variable length chromosome is two fold; 1) it allows dynamic removal and insertion of heuristics 2) it allows the GA to find a good chromosome length which could otherwise only be found by experimentation. We apply the ALChyper-GA to a geographically distributed training staff and courses scheduling problem, and report that good quality solution can be found. We also present results for four versions of the ALChyper-GA, applied to five test data sets.