A novel search algorithm based on waterweeds reproduction principle for job shop scheduling problem

Along with the mushroom development of new information technology, scheduling plays an increasing important role in manufacturing systems. A new search algorithm which imitates reproduction principle of waterweeds in searching for water sources is proposed for solving the job shop scheduling problems (JSSPs). Inspired by the swarm intelligence in waterweeds’ collaborative behavior and inheriting their strong survivability, the new waterweeds (WW) algorithm with few user-defined parameters and simple structure shows remarkable performance in solving continuous unconstrained optimization problems, which is proved by two experiments against five well-known benchmark functions. Furthermore, according to special needs of JSSPs solving, a series of modifications are introduced into original WW algorithm and the computational experiments on a set of problem instances indicate that the new discrete WW algorithm has competitive effectiveness and efficiency in comparison with other classical JSSPs solving methods in the literature. Successful application of WW algorithm in solving JSSPs illustrates its bright prospect in manufacturing field and other related optimization areas.