On the effiectivity of evolutionary algorithms for the multidimensional knapsack problem

Abstract

When designing evolutionary algorithms (EAs) for the mul- tidimensional knapsack problem, it is important to consider that the optima lie on the boundary B of the feasible region of the search space. Previously published EAs are reviewed, focusing on how they take this into account. We present new initialization routines and compare several repair and optimization methods, which help to concentrate the search on B. Our experiments identify the best EAs directly exploring B.