The mutation is the last genetic operator to be applied in the process of creating a new generation. The mutation operator is applied to the offspring that were created as a result of the selection and crossover operations.
The mutation is probability-based and usually occurs at a (very) low probability as it carries the risk of harming the performance of any individual it is applied to. In some versions of genetic algorithms, the mutation probability gradually increases as the generations advance to prevent stagnation and ensure diversity of the population. On the other hand, if the mutation rate is excessively increased, the genetic algorithm will turn into the equivalent of a random search.
The following sections describe some of the commonly used mutation methods and their typical use cases. However, remember that you can always choose to use your own problem...
