**Using Cuckoo Search Algorithm with** *Q***-Learning and Genetic Operation to Solve the Problem of Logistics Distribution Center Location**

#### **Juan Li 1,2, Dan-dan Xiao 1, Hong Lei 2, Ting Zhang 1 and Tian Tian 3,\***


Received: 14 December 2019; Accepted: 17 January 2020; Published: 21 January 2020

**Abstract:** Cuckoo search (CS) algorithm is a novel swarm intelligence optimization algorithm, which is successfully applied to solve some optimization problems. However, it has some disadvantages, as it is easily trapped in local optimal solutions. Therefore, in this work, a new CS extension with *Q*-Learning step size and genetic operator, namely dynamic step size cuckoo search algorithm (DMQL-CS), is proposed. Step size control strategy is considered as action in DMQL-CS algorithm, which is used to examine the individual multi-step evolution effect and learn the individual optimal step size by calculating the *Q* function value. Furthermore, genetic operators are added to DMQL-CS algorithm. Crossover and mutation operations expand search area of the population and improve the diversity of the population. Comparing with various CS algorithms and variants of differential evolution (DE), the results demonstrate that the DMQL-CS algorithm is a competitive swarm algorithm. In addition, the DMQL-CS algorithm was applied to solve the problem of logistics distribution center location. The effectiveness of the proposed method was verified by comparing with cuckoo search (CS), improved cuckoo search algorithm (ICS), modified chaos-enhanced cuckoo search algorithm (CCS), and immune genetic algorithm (IGA) for both 6 and 10 distribution centers.

**Keywords:** global optimization; cuckoo search algorithm; *Q-*learning; mutation; self-adaptive step size
