Hands-On Neuroevolution with Python

Mutation operator

The mutation operator serves the essential role of preserving the genetic diversity of the population during evolution and prevents stalling in the local minima when the chromosomes of organisms in a population become too similar. This mutation alters one or more genes in the chromosome, according to the mutation probability defined by the experimenter. By introducing random changes to the solver's chromosome, mutation allows the evolutionary process to explore new areas in the search space of possible solutions and find better and better solutions over generations.

The following diagram shows the common types of mutation operators:

Types of mutation operators

The exact type of mutation operator depends on the kind of genetic ...