An Object-Based Evolutionary Algorithm for Nesting Problems

This paper presents a new methodology, object-based evolutionary algorithm (OBEA), which can obtain an approximate solution to irregular nesting problems directly from two-dimensional space. It has been developed based on a convergence of three ideas, namely evolutionary algorithms, graphical data manipulation, and simulation/animation. The advantage of the OBEA is not only the ability to exploit the whole solution space, but also the ability to communicate the essence of the methodology itself to the user. Suggestions for changing of the operators, and understanding the behaviour of the nesting problems, are some of the positive attributes of using this methodology. The capability of this new methodology has been tested on several versions of nesting problems selected from both rectangular and irregular piece problems.