Solving real world lecture room assignment problems by genetic algorithms

This paper proposes a genetic algorithm-based approach to the lecture room assignment problem (LRAP). A two-dimensional chromosome representation is used in our genetic algorithm, which employs a column-based crossover operator in order to preserve potential "building blocks ". Our algorithm has been tested on a real world case at the Australian Defence Force Academy where the lecture room assignment is currently done by a human domain expert. Our experimental results show that the GA results are better than those produced by the expert using the same set of constraints and criteria.