Hands-On Genetic Algorithms with Python

Mutation

The purpose of the mutation operator is to periodically and randomly refresh the population, introduce new patterns into the chromosomes, and encourage search in uncharted areas of the solution space.

A mutation may manifest itself as a random change in a gene. Mutations are implemented as random changes to one or more of the chromosome values; for example, flipping a bit in a binary string:

Mutation operator applied to a binary-coded chromosome

The preceding image shows an example of the mutation operation.

Now, let's look at the theory behind genetic algorithms.