Toward a more Generalized Quantum-Inspired Evolutionary Algorithm for Combinatorial Optimization Problems

In this paper, a generalization of the original Quantum-Inspired Evolutionary Algorithm (QIEA): the Generalized Quantum-Inspired Evolutionary Algorithm (GQIEA) is proposed. Like QIEA, GQIEA is also based on the quantum computing principle of superposition of states, but extending it not only to be used for binary values {0, 1}, but for any finite set of values {1, . . . , n}. GQIEA, as any other quantum inspired evolutionary algorithm, defines an own quantum individual, an evaluation function and population operators. As in QIEA, GQIEA also defines a generalized Q-gate operator, which is a variation operator to drive the individuals toward better solutions. To demonstrate its effectiveness and applicability, the proposal will be applied to the Knapsack Problem (KP), a classic combinatorial optimization problem. Results show that GQIEA has a good performance even with a small population.