Design of Multi-dimensional Bin-packing Heuristic Based on Genetic Algorithm

Genetic algorithm (GA) is an intelligent method based on natural selection for global numerical optimization. To make use of the great advantages of GA, this paper focuses on applying GA to multi-dimensional bin-packing problem (MBP). In multi-dimensional bin-packing problem, the primary goal is putting grouping items into appropriate bins with the same dimensions to make full use of the bins and minimize the number of bins used. In other words, the optimal solution requires that most bins are filled in maximum degree. By designing proper fitness functions, GA is successfully applied to MBP. The experimental results reveal that the proposed GA method solves the MBP efficiently.