Using loops in genetic programming for a two class binary image classification problem

Abstract. Loops are rarely used in genetic programming (GP), because they lead to massive computation due to the increase in the size of the search space. We have investigated the use of loops with restricted semantics for a problem in which there are natural repetitive elements, that of distinguishing two classes of images. Using our formulation, programs with loops were successfully evolved and performed much better than programs without loops. Our results suggest that loops can successfully used in genetic programming in situations where domain knowledge is available to provide some restrictions on loop semantics.