Sorry if this isn't clear as I'm writing this on a mobile device and I'm trying to make it quick.
I've written a basic Genetic Algorithm with a binary encoding (genes) that builds a fitness value and evolves through several iterations using tournament selection, mutation and crossover. As a basic command-line example it seems to work.
The problem I've got is with applying a genetic algorithm within a GUI as I am writing a maze-solving program that uses the GA to find a method through a maze. How do I turn my random binary encoded genes and fitness function (add all the binary values together) into a method to control a bot around a maze? I have built a basic GUI in Java consisting of a maze of labels (like a grid) with the available routes being in blue and the walls being in black.
To reiterate my GA performs well and contains what any typical GA would (fitness method, get and set population, selection, crossover, etc) but now I need to plug it into a GUI to get my maze running. What needs to go where in order to get a bot that can move in different directions depending on what the GA says? Rough pseudocode would be great if possible
As requested, an Individual is built using a separate class (Indiv), with all the main work being done in a Pop class. When a new individual is instantiated an array of ints represent the genes of said individual, with the genes being picked at random from a number between 0 and 1. The fitness function merely adds together the value of these genes and in the Pop class handles selection, mutation and crossover of two selected individuals. There's not much else to it, the command line program just shows evolution over n generations with the total fitness improving over each iteration.
EDIT: It's starting to make a bit more sense now, although there are a few things that are bugging me...
As Adamski has suggested I want to create an "Agent" with the options shown below. The problem I have is where the random bit string comes into play here. The agent knows where the walls are and has it laid out in a 4 bit string (i.e. 0111), but how does this affect the random 32 bit string? (i.e. 10001011011001001010011011010101) If I have the following maze (x is the start place, 2 is the goal, 1 is the wall):
x 1 1 1 1
0 0 1 0 0
1 0 0 0 2
If I turn left I'm facing the wrong way and the agent will move completely off the maze if it moves forward. I assume that the first generation of the string will be completely random and it will evolve as the fitness grows but I don't get how the string will work within a maze.
So, to get this straight...
The fitness is the result of when the agent is able to move and is by a wall.
The genes are a string of 32 bits, split into 16 sets of 2 bits to show the available actions and for the robot to move the two bits need to be passed with four bits from the agent showings its position near the walls. If the move is to go past a wall the move isn't made and it is deemed invalid and if the move is made and if a new wall is found then the fitness goes up.
Is that right?
