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This paper presents an improved arithmetic optimization algorithm that incorporates hybrid elite pool strategies to address the limitations of the arithmetic optimization algorithm (AOA). In AOA, the linear mathematical optimization acceleration (MOA) function cannot balance global exploitation and local exploration well. Therefore, the accuracy and convergence speed of the algorithm cannot be guaranteed. To improve the performance of AOA, this paper reconstructed a nonlinear MOA function, which is expected to balance the exploitation and the exploration of AOA. Furthermore, four hybrid elite pool strategies are integrated to enhance the ability to escape local optima. The proposed algorithm inherits the fast convergence of AOA and develops the performance of escaping local optima. Numerical experiment results on benchmark functions and engineering problems show that the proposed algorithm outperforms other compared meta-heuristic algorithms in terms of convergence speed and accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the past few decades, meta-heuristic algorithms have become a research hotspot in the field of evolutionary computing. The electric fish optimization algorithm (EFO) is a new meta-heuristic algorithm. Because of its simplicity and easy implementation, it has attracted the attention of researchers. However, it still faces premature convergence and poor balance between exploration and exploitation. To address this problems, an orthogonal electric fish optimization algorithm with quantization (QOXEFO) is proposed in this paper. In QOXEFO, orthogonal cross-design and quantification technique are employed to enhance the diversity of population and convergence precision of EFO. Secondly, the dynamic boundary mechanism is adopted to improve the convergence speed of EFO. At the same time, a sine-based update strategy of active electrolocation is used to change the direction of movement of individuals, thereby helping them jump out of the local optimum. Finally, the CEC2017 benchmark function and Speed reducer design problem are used to verify the performance of the proposed QOXEFO. Experimental results and statistical analysis show that compared with 9 famous evolutionary algorithms, QOXEFO is competitive in solution accuracy and convergence speed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concepts of generalized Hukuhara difference and interval differential equation play important role in the theory of interval uncertainty. These concepts have many applications in different branches of research, viz. optimization, information theory, inventory control and others. The goal of this work is to study an application of Hukuhara difference and interval differential equation in inventory management. In this paper, an inventory model for imperfect production process under warranty-dependent demand and carbon tax regulatory mechanism, is presented with the help of Hukuhara difference and interval differential equation. Also, using the interval arithmetic, the generalized Hukuhara difference, and the existence and uniqueness theorem of interval differential equation, the corresponding average profit function of this model is obtained. In order to maximize the average profit, a center-radius optimization technique is proposed. Some numerical examples are considered and solved by using different variant of quantum-behaved particle swarm optimization algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Segmentation refers to the process of dividing an image into multiple regions based on some criteria such as intensity and color. In recent years, color image segmentation has received considerable attention from the researchers. However, it is still a highly complicated task due to the presence of more attributes or components as compared to monochrome images. Numerous meta-heuristics algorithms are developed to determine the optimal threshold value for segmenting color images efficiently. This paper presents an enhanced sine cosine algorithm (ESCA) to seek threshold for segmenting color images. Sine cosine algorithm (SCA) is a population-based optimization algorithm which has the ability of preventing local minima problem. First an input image is transformed to CIE L*a*b* color reduced space. ESCA is applied to determine the optimal threshold values for segmentation. The performance of the proposed method is tested on color images from Berkeley database, and segmentation results are compared with two metaheuristic algorithms, namely particle swarm optimization (PSO) and standard SCA. Experimental results are validated by measuring peak signal–noise ratio (PSNR), structural similarity index and computation time for all the images investigated. Results revealed that the proposed method outperforms the other methods like PSO and SCA by achieving PSNR of 23 dB and SSIM of 0.93 and also require less time for finding optimal threshold values than PSO and SCA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to address uncertainty in practical applications that the experimental observations and measurements have nature of inhomogeneity, randomness, and imprecision. This study employs a new method for regression model prediction in an uncertain environment and presents fuzzy parameter estimation of fuzzy regression models using triangular fuzzy numbers. These estimation methods are obtained by new learning algorithms in which linear programming is used. In this study, the new algorithm is a combination of a fuzzy rule-based system, on the basis of particle swarm optimization (PSO) and ant colony optimization ACOR. In the adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system method, the output is crisp. In this research, a hybrid algorithm has been proposed to get the fuzzy output based on linear programming. Meta-heuristic algorithms have been used to reduce the error in the proposed methods based on PSO and ACOR. In addition, two simulation and two practical examples in the field of machining process are applied to indicate the performance of the proposed methods in dealing with crisp input and fuzzy output (CIFO) problems where the observed output variables have the nature of inhomogeneity, randomness, and imprecision. Finally, the results of the proposed algorithms are evaluated. Based on examples, the proposed method is more accurate than the LP and FWLP methods but is not more complicated than the FWLP in computations. Using paired t test, a significant difference was shown between the proposed methods and previous methods, such as LP and FWLP, but there was no significant difference between the two proposed methods ACOR and PSO. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the proliferation in the internet of things (IoT), a variety of delay sensitive applications have emerged over the past few years. Fog computing acts a viable computing paradigm for meeting the requirements of IoT applications. However, heterogeneous IoT tasks, resource constrained fog nodes makes task scheduling a challenging task. Efficient task scheduling reduces the computation cost, latency, energy and enhances the utilization of resources. In this paper, we propose the improved version of the meta-heuristic algorithm spider monkey optimization (SMO). We propose greedy task scheduling SMO (gTS-SMO) and semi-greedy task scheduling SMO (sgTS-SMO) for efficient task scheduling in fog computing environment. The main aim is minimize delay and energy consumption while considering the constraints of deadline and violation time. The system is evaluated based on the parameters of deadline violation time, makespan, energy consumption, total cost, and degree of imbalance. The results shows gTS-SMO reduces the violation time by 13.86%, 88.38% on comparison with sgTS-SMO and particle swarm optimization (PSO) respectively. The results also depicts the outperformance of gTS-SMO in terms of makespan and energy consumption. Makespan is reduced by 6.28%, and 57.75% and energy consumption by 5.74% and 53.65% on comparison with sgTS-SMO and PSO respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Determination of the parameters of metaheuristic methods, such as particle swarm optimization (PSO) is a vital issue. Determining the optimal values of these parameters is a very difficult task and sometimes impossible so we focus on identifying the most important PSO parameters. For this purpose, statistical analysis of the relationship between the performance of the PSO algorithm with the proper selection of the PSO parameters should be done. Thus, unlike the earlier studies, here the most important PSO parameters are statistically determined. In the related literature, PSO parameters are traditionally determined by using trial and error method or specified intuitively. In this study, a new approach for identifying the most important PSO parameters for any optimization problem is proposed by using the factorial design which is one of the most popular and widely used statistical technique in experimental studies. Here, the parameters of the Weibull distribution which has a wide usage in the engineering and statistics literature are estimated just for illustration. It is obvious that identifying the most important PSO parameters via the proposed approach is very important to reduce the dimension of the search space for the PSO parameters. Statistical results obtained from the Monte Carlo simulation study are given and discussed at the end of the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Combined heat and power economic dispatch (CHPED) problem is one of the challenging issues in power system control, and operation, that searches for the optimal values of power and heat generation of different units to minimize the total operation cost. The interdependency of heat and power outputs of CHP units and valve point loading effects of power-only units make this problem very nonlinear and non-convex. So far, a wide variety of optimization algorithms based on simulation of various natural phenomena have been proposed and applied to solve this complex problem, claiming that the proposed algorithm is better than the similar optimization algorithms in terms of accuracy and run-time. In this paper, the CHPED problem is investigated in different case studies by using the imperialist competitive Harris hawks optimization (ICHHO) algorithm, as a combination of the imperialist competitive algorithm and Harris hawks optimization. The effectiveness of the proposed algorithm is first evaluated by testing it on the standard cases of 5, and 7 units as small-scale systems and 48-unit as the large-scale test system, considering the electrical losses. Also for the first time, the multi-zone CHPED (MZCHPED) problem is solved by a metaheuristic algorithm. The obtained results show that ICHHO algorithm reduces the operating costs in the range of 0.02–1.1%, compared to the best-reported results, in different single-zone CHPED (SZCHPED) problems. Also, the MZCHPED results, prove the effective performance of the algorithm compared to the similar SZCHPED problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A biomedical application of a novel metaheuristic optimizer is proposed in this paper by constructing an enhanced arithmetic optimization algorithm (AOA). The latter algorithm was constructed using the logarithmic spiral (Ls) search mechanism from the whale optimization algorithm and the greedy selection scheme from the differential evolution algorithm. The proposed algorithm (Ls-AOA) was tested against unimodal and multimodal benchmark functions and demonstrated better capability comparatively using other efficient metaheuristic algorithms reported in the literature. The constructed Ls-AOA algorithm was then proposed to design a proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controller employed in a functional electrical stimulation (FES) system for the first time. The initial statistical and convergence profile assessment showed better performance of the proposed algorithm. The comparative analyses for transient and frequency responses were performed for the PID-controlled FES system using the original AOA, sine–cosine and particle swarm optimization algorithms and the traditional Ziegler-Nichols tuning scheme. Similarly, the FES system tuned with the latter methods was also assessed for disturbance rejection and noise elimination. All the comparative analyses demonstrated that the proposed Ls-AOA has the greater capability for the challenging biomedical FES system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multi-verse optimizer (MVO) algorithm is one of the recent metaheuristic algorithms used to solve various problems in different fields. However, MVO suffers from a lack of diversity which may trapping of local minima, and premature convergence. This paper introduces two steps of improving the basic MVO algorithm. The first step is using opposition-based learning (OBL) in MVO, called OMVO. The OBL aids to speed up the searching and improving the learning technique for selecting a better generation of candidate solutions of basic MVO. The second stage, called OMVOD, combines the disturbance operator (DO) and OMVO to improve the consistency of the chosen solution by providing a chance to solve the given problem with a high fitness value and increase diversity. To test the performance of the proposed models, fifteen CEC 2015 benchmark functions problems, thirty CEC 2017 benchmark functions problems and seven CEC 2011 real-world problems were used in both phases of the enhancement. The second step, known as OMVOD, incorporates the disruption operator (DO) and OMVO to improve the accuracy of the chosen solution by giving a chance to solve the given problem with a high fitness value while also increasing variety. Fifteen CEC 2015 benchmark functions problems, thirty CEC 2017 benchmark functions problems and seven CEC 2011 real-world problems were used in both phases of the upgrade to assess the accuracy of the proposed models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Teaching–learning-based optimization is one of the latest metaheuristic algorithms. TLBO has a simple framework and good global search ability. In addition, TLBO only needs population size and terminal condition for performing search tasks. Given these advantages, TLBO has been used widely since it was proposed. However, TLBO may fall into local optimal solutions in solving complex multimodal optimization problems. This paper reports an improved TLBO, namely competitive teaching–learning-based optimization, for solving multimodal optimization problems. In CTLBO, population is first divided into outstanding group and common group by the designed competitive mechanism. Then outstanding group is updated by the learning strategies of TLBO and common group is guided by outstanding group. In addition, a mutation operator for the optimal individual is introduced to increase the ability of CTLBO to escape from the local optima. The performance of CTLBO is investigated by 45 benchmark test functions from CEC 2014 and CEC 2015 test suites and three challenging real-world engineering problems. Experimental results show that CTLBO is more reliable and efficient on most test cases than TLBO and the other compared algorithms. This supports the effectiveness of the improved strategies and the superiority of CTLBO in solving multimodal optimization problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last decade, the size and complexity of real-world problems have grown dramatically, necessitating more effective tools. Nature-inspired metaheuristic algorithms have proven to be a promising tool for solving such problems due to their performance in a variety of fields. JAYA algorithm is a novel population-based algorithm which could have been able to present reliable results. This is because it does not need any parameters to be set other than the population size and the maximum number of iteration. Despite its positive feedbacks, this algorithm should be modified to witness more efficiency. This paper aims to amend the original version of Jaya to present a high-efficiency version named Powerful Enhanced Jaya (PEJAYA). In other words, the methodology of updating position in Jaya is modified to enhance the convergence and search capabilities. This approach is assessed according to solve 20 well-known benchmark functions, feature selection, and statistical tests. The output results of proposed optimization algorithm are then evaluated by comparing it with other recent algorithms including crow search algorithm (CSA), standard version of JAYA, particle swarm optimization (PSO), dragonfly algorithm (DA), grasshopper optimization algorithm (GOA), moth-flame optimization (MFO) and sine–cosine algorithm (SCA). Solving a real-world problem is another way of checking the efficiency of this approach with other published works. Prompt escape from local minima, superior convergence, and stability demonstrate that the suggested approach is a very powerful instrument that may be employed in a variety of optimization situations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Meta-heuristics have been successfully applied to many complex optimization problems. One of the main reasons for its success is its ability to handle non-convex, nonlinear, multimodal, multi-variable, and multi-objective problems with easy implementation. However, the quality of the response of these algorithms to an optimization problem is highly susceptible to the control parameters, and few works aim to tune them or find tools that can improve the algorithms. The literature is rich in proposals for new algorithms, but not for improving existing ones. This paper presents different strategies for tuning and accelerating meta-heuristics using the first hybrid algorithm in the literature. The Lichtenberg algorithm is inspired by lightning and Lichtenberg figures and has been increasingly successfully applied to various optimization problems. However, a study of its best parameters has never been presented until now. After a discussion of the best tuning tools, its tuning parameters are performed using response surface methodology. Then, 14 versions are studied through 10 test functions using chaos theory and Lévy flights scenarios. After 13,500 simulations, the chaotic Lichtenberg algorithm equipped with the piecewise function and tuned parameters proved the best version with only 16% similarity to the original algorithm. Then, it was compared to the genetic algorithm, particle swarm optimization, gray wolf optimizer, salp swarm optimization, whale optimization algorithm, and dragonfly algorithm. The proposed algorithm had both the best average accuracy, lower computational cost, and the smallest standard deviation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the applicability of the metaheuristic algorithm for calculating the building period. Firefly algorithm (FA) employing the feed-forward (FF) model is applied to an existing period dataset of several wood buildings, whose motions were recorded at ambient conditions. The composition of the considered artificial neural network (ANN) is optimized employing the firefly algorithm, and the fixed weights are determined with the least error for the model. The model's precision is evaluated by comparing the results with the multiple linear regression (MLR) model, the ANN model combined with the genetic algorithm (GA-ANN), particle swarm optimization algorithm (PSO-ANN), and the models existing in building code. The results are also compared with the models presented in the literature for the period estimate required for the seismic design of wood buildings. The paper concludes that the proposed informational model can predict the fundamental period of light-frame wood buildings more accurately than the other available models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Disasters are large-scale disruptions for the society that cause damage to human lives, infrastructure, and the ecosystem. Multiple emergencies emerge, which need to be handled and resolved efficiently to minimize the impact of the disaster. Therefore, the need for an effective and efficient emergency response system that optimally allocates resources and emergency services is essential. This paper proposes a methodology to model this situation as an optimization problem that can be solved using meta-heuristic algorithms. In the proposed model, four meta-heuristics, namely Particle Swarm Optimization, Cuckoo Search, Grey Wolf Optimizer, and iLSHADE-RSP algorithm, have been used to allocate resources and services. A benchmark dataset consisting of 16 situations is prepared to analyze the proposed model. The conducted empirical analysis demonstrates the applicability of the meta-heuristic algorithms in locating near-optimum solutions for the considered situations. The convergence analysis and statistical tests have been performed to test the validity and significance of the conducted experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Class imbalance problems have attracted the research community, but a few works have focused on feature selection with imbalanced datasets. To handle class imbalance problems, we developed a novel fitness function for feature selection using the chaotic salp swarm optimization algorithm, an efficient meta-heuristic optimization algorithm that has been successfully used in a wide range of optimization problems. This paper proposes an AdaBoost algorithm with chaotic salp swarm optimization. The most discriminating features are selected using salp swarm optimization, and AdaBoost classifiers are thereafter trained on the features selected. Experiments show the ability of the proposed technique to find the optimal features with performance maximization of AdaBoost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fitness-dependent optimizer (FDO) is a recent metaheuristic algorithm that mimics the reproduction behavior of the bee swarm in finding better hives. This algorithm is similar to particle swarm optimization, but it works differently. The algorithm is very powerful and has better results compared to other common metaheuristic algorithms. This paper aims at improving the performance of FDO; thus, the chaotic theory is used inside FDO to propose chaotic FDO (CFDO). Ten chaotic maps are used in the CFDO to consider which of them are performing well to avoid local optima and finding global optima. New technic is used to conduct population in specific limitation since FDO technic has a problem to amend population. The proposed CFDO is evaluated by using 10 benchmark functions from CEC2019. Finally, the results show that the ability of CFDO is improved. Singer map has a great impact on improving CFDO, while the Tent map is the worst. Results show that CFDO is superior to GA, FDO, and CSO. Both CEC2013 and CEC2005 are used to evaluate CFDO. Finally, the proposed CFDO is applied to classical engineering problems, such as pressure vessel design and the result shows that CFDO can handle the problem better than WOA, GWO, FDO, and CGWO. Besides, CFDO is applied to solve the task assignment problem and then compared to the original FDO. The results prove that CFDO has better capability to solve the problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays, use of various types of hybrid metaheuristic algorithms attracts the researchers to optimize the average profit or cost of an inventory system to avoid the local optimality due to high nonlinearity of the corresponding optimization problem. This paper deals with an application of binary tournament-based quantum-behaved particle swarm optimization algorithms on an imperfect production inventory problem with shortages. In order to reduce the production of defective items, modern/improvement technology has been incorporated in the production system. Also, the demand of the product is assumed to be dependent on its warranty period and selling price. The main objective of this study is to optimize the production rate, production period, selling price of the product, manufacturer's improvement technology level and maximum shortage level as well as maximize the average profit of the production system. For this purpose, three hybrid metaheuristic algorithms based on binary tournamenting and different variants of quantum-behaved PSO techniques have been developed. Then to examine the validity of the proposed model, three numerical examples have been solved. Considering each example, nonparametric statistical tests have been performed by using four different methods to analyze the performance of the used algorithms. Finally, sensitivity analyses have been performed to investigate the effects of different parameters on optimal policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Meta-heuristic algorithms have shown promising results in solving various optimization problems. The crow search algorithm (CSA) is a new and effective meta-heuristic algorithm that emulates crows' intelligent group behavior in nature. However, it suffers from several problems, such as trapping into local optimum and premature convergence. This paper proposes an improved crow search algorithm (ICSA), which has been tested and evaluated by a set of well-known benchmark functions. A new update mechanism that uses the merits of the global best position to move toward the best position is proposed. This mechanism increases the convergence of the algorithm and improves its local search-ability. Twenty benchmark functions are used to evaluate the performance of the proposed ICSA. Moreover, the ICSA algorithm is compared with the conventional CSA and other meta-heuristic algorithms such as particle swarm optimization (PSO), dragonfly algorithm (DA), grasshopper optimization algorithm (GOA), gray wolf optimizer (GWO), moth-flame optimization (MFO), and sine-cosine algorithm (SCA). The experimental result shows that the proposed ICSA algorithm has produced promising results and outperformed conventional CSA and other meta-heuristic algorithms. Also, the proposed ICSA has a more robust convergence for optimizing objective functions in terms of solution accuracy and efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Today, there are a lot of useful algorithms for covering array (CA) generation, one of the branches of combinatorial testing. The major CA challenge is the generation of an array with the minimum number of test cases (efficiency) in an appropriate run-time (performance), for large systems. CA generation strategies are classified into several categories: computational and meta-heuristic, to name the most important ones. Generally, computational strategies have high performance and yield poor results in terms of efficiency, in contrast, meta-heuristic strategies have good efficiency and lower performance. Among the strategies available, some are efficient strategies but suffer from low performance; conversely, some others have good performance, but is not such efficient. In general, there is not a strategy that enjoys both above-mentioned metrics. In this paper, it is tried to combine the genetic algorithm and the Augmented Lagrangian Particle Swarm Optimization with Fractional Order Velocity to produce the appropriate test suite in terms of efficiency and performance. Also, a simple and effective minimizing function is employed to increase efficiency. The evaluation results show that the proposed strategy outperforms the existing approaches in terms of both efficiency and performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a recently proposed metaheuristic optimization technique called hybrid flower pollination algorithm (HFPA) is applied to design wideband infinite impulse response digital differentiators (DDs) and digital integrators (DIs). In recent years, benchmark nature-inspired optimization algorithms such as particle swarm optimization (PSO), simulated annealing, and genetic algorithm have been employed for the design of wideband DDs and DIs. However, individually, these algorithms show major drawbacks such as premature convergence, thus leading to a sub-optimal solution. HFPA, however, is a hybrid approach which combines the efficient exploitation and exploration capabilities of two different metaheuristics, namely PSO and flower pollination algorithm (FPA), respectively. The HFPA-based designs have been compared with real-coded genetic algorithm, PSO, differential evolution, success-history-based adaptive differential evolution with linear population size reduction (L-SHADE), self-adaptive differential evolution (jDE), and FPA-based designs with respect to the solution quality, robustness, convergence, and optimization time. Simulation results demonstrate that among all the algorithms, the HFPA-based designs consistently achieve superior performances in the least number of function evaluations. Exhaustive experimentations are conducted to determine the best values of the control parameters of HFPA for the optimal design of DDs and DIs. The proposed designs also outperform the recently reported designs based on non-optimal, classical, and nature-inspired optimization approaches in terms of magnitude response. The lower orders of the proposed designs render them suitable for real-time applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes an optimal feature and parameter selection approach for extreme learning machine (ELM) for classifying power system disturbances. The relevant features of non-stationary time series data from power disturbances are extracted using a multiresolution S-transform which can be treated either as a phase corrected wavelet transform or a variable window short-time Fourier transform. After extracting the relevant features from the time series data, an integrated PSO and ELM architectures are used for pattern recognition of disturbance waveform data. The particle swarm optimization is a powerful meta-heuristic technique in artificial intelligence field; therefore, this study proposes a PSO-based approach, to specify the beneficial features and the optimal parameter to enhance the performance of ELM. One of the advantages of ELM over other methods is that the parameter that the user must properly adjust is the number of hidden nodes only. In this paper, a hybrid optimization mechanism is proposed which combines the discrete-valued PSO with the continuous-valued PSO to optimize the input feature subset selection and the number of hidden nodes to enhance the performance of ELM. The experimental results showed the proposed algorithm is faster and more accurate in discriminating power system disturbances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a new hybrid method for training high-order Takagi–Sugeno fuzzy systems using sparse regressions and metaheuristic optimization. The fuzzy system is considered with Gaussian fuzzy sets in the antecedents and high-order polynomials in the consequents of fuzzy rules. The fuzzy sets can be chosen manually or determined by a metaheuristic optimization method (particle swarm optimization, genetic algorithm or simulated annealing), while the polynomials are obtained using ordinary least squares, ridge regression or sparse regressions (forward selection, least angle regression, least absolute shrinkage and selection operator, and elastic net regression). A quality criterion is proposed that expresses a compromise between the prediction ability of the fuzzy model and its sparsity. The conducted experiments showed that: (a) the use of sparse regressions and/or metaheuristic optimization can reduce the validation error compared with the reference method, and (b) the use of sparse regressions may simplify the fuzzy model by zeroing some of the coefficients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The classification accuracy of a multi-layer perceptron (MLP) depends on the selection of relevant features from the data set, its architecture, connection weights and the transfer functions. Generating an optimal value of all these parameters together is a complex task. Metaheuristic algorithms are popular choice among researchers to solve complex optimization problems. This paper presents a hybrid metaheuristic algorithm simple matching-grasshopper new cat swarm optimization algorithm (SM-GNCSOA) that optimizes all the four components simultaneously. SM-GNCSOA uses grasshopper optimization algorithm, a new variant of binary grasshopper optimization algorithm called simple matching-binary grasshopper optimization algorithm and a new variant of cat swarm optimization algorithm called new cat swarm optimization algorithm to generate an optimal MLP. Features play a vital role in determining the classification accuracy of a classifier. Here, we propose a new feature penalty function and use it in SM-GNCSOA to prevent underfitting or overfitting due to the selected number of features. To evaluate the performance of SM-GNCSOA, different variants of SM-GNCSOA are proposed and their classification accuracies are compared with SM-GNCSOA on ten classification data sets. The results show that SM-GNCSOA gives better results on most of the data sets due to its capability to balance exploration and exploitation and to avoid local minima. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Salp Swarm Algorithm (SSA) is a new type of metaheuristic and has shown superiority over other well-known algorithms such as Particle Swarm Optimization and Grey Wolf Optimizer in solving challenging optimization problems. Despite its superior performance, SSA still has problems such as insufficient convergence speed. Moreover, its local optima avoidance ability is not as good as those evolutionary algorithms using crossover operators. In this paper, we propose a modified Salp Swarm Algorithm (m-SSA) which improves the exploitation and exploration of SSA by integrating random walk strategy and especially enhances exploration by adding a new controlling parameter. In addition, a simulated annealing-type acceptance criterion is adopted to accept the fittest follower position as the new best leader position. The performance of the proposed algorithm is benchmarked on a set of classical functions and CEC2014 test suite. The proposed algorithm (m-SSA) outperforms SSA significantly on most test functions. When compared with other state-of-the-art metaheuristics, it also presents very competitive results. Besides, we apply the proposed algorithm on training feedforward neural networks (FNNs) and the results prove the effectiveness and efficiency of m-SSA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper deals with hybrid flow shop scheduling problem with unrelated and eligible machines along with fuzzy processing times and fuzzy due dates. The objective is to minimize a linear combination of total completion time and maximum lateness of jobs. A mixed integer mathematical model is presented for the problem. The most challenging parts of hybrid evolutionary algorithms are determination of efficient strategies by which the whole search space is explored to perform local search around the promising search areas. In this study, a clustering-based approach as a data mining tool is introduced to identify the promising search areas. A repetitive clustering with an evolutionary algorithm is simultaneously employed to determine more promising parts of the solution space. Then, the searches in those parts are intensified with a local search. Here, two clustering-based meta-heuristic algorithms are applied to solve the problem, namely particle swarm optimization and genetic algorithm. The parameters are tuned by Taguchi experimental design, and various randomly generated test problems are used to evaluate the efficiency of the proposed algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bat algorithm (BA) is a powerful nature-inspired swarm algorithm which finds applicability to a diverse range of problem domains. Though it is efficient, it suffers from two handicaps: possibility of being trapped in local optima and lost convergence speed as the algorithm progresses. This paper proposes swarm bat algorithm with improved search (SBAIS). SBAIS gains superior exploration capabilities by employing swarming characteristics inspired by shuffled complex evolution (SCE) algorithm. Best bats of the population are kept in a super-swarm, while all other bats are partitioned according to SCE. The super-swarm uses the search mechanism of bat algorithm with improved search to perform refined search around the best solution, which makes sure that the convergence speed of the algorithm is not lost. Every other swarm gets one solution from the super-swarm before starting their evolution process. These swarms evolve using standard bat algorithm, helping the algorithm to escape any possible local optima. SBAIS further keeps a check on the overall diversity of the population. If the diversity drops below a given threshold value, new random solutions are added to the population. Performance of SBAIS is validated by comparing it to BA and fourteen recent variants of bat algorithm over 30 standard benchmark optimization functions, CEC'05 and CEC'14 function sets. Results established the superiority of SBAIS over the compared algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Up to now, many different methods (e.g., dispatching rules, metaheuristics) have been proposed to solve the job shop scheduling problem (JSSP), but the application of data mining approaches in the literature is limited. In this paper, we propose a data mining-based approach to generate an improved initial population for population-based heuristics/metaheuristics solving the JSSP. First, we apply a combination of 'attribute-oriented induction' and 'association rule mining' techniques to extract the rules behind the optimal or near-optimal schedules of JSSP. Then, a novel method called 'Assignment Procedure' is proposed to heuristically solve the JSSP using the extracted rules. The proposed method is able to generate numerous schedules for a given JSSP instance, and consequently, the generated solutions can be considered as the initial population for population-based solution methods. To evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed method, the two well-known metaheuristics are considered, i.e., genetic algorithm (GA) and particle swarm optimization (PSO). Extensive experiments were carried out on 35 benchmark problem instances, and Friedman test with post hoc Nemenyi test was performed to statistically analyze the results. The results revealed that using the initial populations generated by the proposed approach is very promising compared to the randomly generated population for both GA and PSO. Moreover, the experiments verify the significant amount of FEs that can be saved using the proposed approach and the superiority of the proposed method in comparison with the method of Koonce and Tsai (Comput Ind Eng 38:361–374, 2000) and four well-known dispatching rules in the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a critical research topic toward the new era of big data, how to develop a high-performance data analytics system has received significant research attention from different disciplines since the 2000s. In the literature, many recent works attempted to develop a high-performance data analytics system to handle the large amount of data (i.e., volume) from different information systems (i.e., variety) that typically will be created very quickly in a short time (i.e., velocity). In particular, several recent studies have shown that metaheuristic algorithms can be applied to many data mining optimization problems to provide a better way to find a high-quality result than traditional deterministic algorithms. A high-performance clustering algorithm for big data analytics system will be presented in this paper. The proposed algorithm is designed based on a new kind of metaheuristic algorithm, coral reef optimization with substrate layers (CRO-SL), to get a better cluster result. To improve the effectiveness and efficiency, the proposed CRO-SL scheme has been applied to a cloud computing platform as well to reduce the response time of a data analytics system. The simulation results show that the proposed algorithm is able to provide a better clustering result than the other clustering algorithms compared in this research, including k-means, genetic k-means algorithm, particle swarm optimization, and simple coral reef optimization algorithm in terms of the sum of squared errors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a new bat algorithm (BA) based on dynamic control parameters selection is presented. The dynamic BA (DBA) uses a new mechanism to dynamically select the best performing combination of the pulse rate coefficient, the pulse frequency coefficient, and the population size. A fractional-order PID (FOPID) controller based on the DBA is implemented to improve the performance of a distillation column process. The proposed FOPID controller is used to control the distillate and bottom mole fractions. The influence of the feed rate disturbance is considered for this model. The efficacy of the DBA-based FOPID is compared with the performance of the controllers based on the conventional BA, directional BA, enhanced BA, genetic algorithm, and particle swarm optimization algorithm. The analyses and simulation results show the superiority of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plenty of problems are related to the calculation of edges and nodes in the realistic networks. It also influences the realization of shortest path problem (SPP) because of its essential fuzziness. This paper presents a fuzzy-based modified particle swarm optimization (fuzzy-based MPSO) algorithm for resolving the shortest path issue. The proposed work also evaluates the uncertainties of this shortest path problem through the utilization of offered algorithm. Actually, the normal PSO algorithm is altered and estimated to tackle the fuzzy-based SPP (FSPP) with uncertain edges. The performance of the planned algorithm will be improved; also the results are compared with the existing methodologies. The early convergence of the PSO technique can be alleviated and travelled via the dynamic operation of fuzzy method. And the proposed method is compared with other metaheuristic algorithms such as evolutionary random weight networks (GA-RWNs), grasshopper optimization algorithm with evolutionary population dynamics (GOA-EPD), levy weight grey wolf optimization (LGWO) and PSO in terms of cost and time consumption. The related results and discussion is performed in the working platform of MATLAB tool for the demonstration of the proposed work to manage the FSPP in indeterminate networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, hybrid ant colony optimization (HAntCO) approach in solving multi-skill resource-constrained project scheduling problem (MS-RCPSP) has been presented. We have proposed hybrid approach that links classical heuristic priority rules for project scheduling with ant colony optimization (ACO). Furthermore, a novel approach for updating pheromone value has been proposed based on both the best and worst solutions stored by ants. The objective of this paper is to research the usability and robustness of ACO and its hybrids with priority rules in solving MS-RCPSP. Experiments have been performed using artificially created dataset instances based on real-world ones. We published those instances that can be used as a benchmark. Presented results show that ACO-based hybrid method is an efficient approach. More directed search process by hybrids makes this approach more stable and provides mostly better results than classical ACO. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bat Algorithm (BA) is a nature-inspired metaheuristic search algorithm designed to efficiently explore complex problem spaces and find near-optimal solutions. The algorithm is inspired by the echolocation behavior of bats, which acts as a signal system to estimate the distance and hunt prey. Although the BA has proven effective for various optimization problems, it exhibits limited exploration ability and susceptibility to local optima. The algorithm updates velocities and positions based on the current global best solution, causing all agents to converge toward a specific location, potentially leading to local optima issues in optimization problems. On this premise, this paper proposes the Modified Bat Algorithm (MBA) as an enhancement to address the local optima limitation observed in the original BA. MBA incorporates the frequency and velocity of the current best solution, enhancing convergence speed to the optimal solution and preventing local optima entrapment. While the original BA faces diversity issues, both the original BA and MBA are introduced. To assess MBA’s performance, three sets of test functions (classical benchmark functions, CEC2005, and CEC2019) are employed, with results compared to those of the original BA, Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO), Genetic Algorithm (GA), and Dragonfly Algorithm (DA). The outcomes demonstrate the MBA’s significant superiority over other algorithms. In addition, MBA successfully addresses a real-world assignment problem (call center problem), traditionally solved using linear programming methods, with satisfactory results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores rule decomposition for solving the MAXSAT problem. Four approaches are proposed to steer a bee swarm optimization metaheuristic. Two decomposition methods are proposed: direct and indirect. The first one applies the Kmeans algorithm, while the second one transforms a MAXSAT instance into a transactional database before performing decomposition using the Apriori algorithm. Several experiments conducted on DIMACS benchmark instances, and some other hard and large SAT instances have been carried out. Results show clear improvement compared to the state-of-the-art MAXSAT algorithms in terms of the quality of the obtained solutions. They show that the proposed approaches are stable when dealing with hard instances such as Parity8 from DIMACS. Results also demonstrate the superiority of the proposed approaches for medium and large instances. The proposed approaches could be applied to other optimization problems such as the weighted MAXSAT problem, the MAXCSP and coloring problems. They may also be adapted for other metaheuristics and decomposition methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a novel direct solution approach for fully fuzzy transportation problems in which all of the model parameters as well as decision variables are considered as fuzzy numbers. In detail, a fuzzy decoding procedure based on constrained fuzzy arithmetic operations and a fuzzy ranking technique is first introduced for solution of the problem directly without any fuzzy to crisp transformation process. Then, this decoding procedure is embedded into a metaheuristic, namely priority-based PSO algorithm for generating new solution vectors and seeking for better fuzzy acceptable solutions. By making use of the constrained fuzzy arithmetic concept, the proposed approach is also able to handle the decision maker's attitude toward risk. In order to show validity and applicability of the proposed approach, numerical examples on both balanced and unbalanced fully fuzzy transportation cases are generated and solved. The computational results have shown that relatively more precise and information efficient solutions can be obtained from the proposed approach for "risk-averse" and "partially risk-averse" decision makers. Furthermore, the proposed approach is also able to produce fuzzy solutions for "risk seekers" with high degree of uncertainty similar to the other methods available in the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most of the meta-heuristic algorithms are based on the natural processes. They were inspired by physical, biological, social, chemical, social-biological, biological-geography, music, and hybrid processes. In this paper, artificial atom algorithm which was inspired by one of natural processes was applied to traveling salesman problem. The obtained results have shown that for small-scale TSP, artificial atom algorithm is closer to optimum than the other compared heuristic algorithms such as tabu search, genetic algorithm, particle swarm optimization, ant colony optimization, and their different combinations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Behavioral teaching procedures can be used to promote the individualized learning of reading skills for children, and computational processes can assist instructors in the generation of a set of tasks. However, the automatic generation of these tasks can be unfeasible due to the high-order search space for the possible combinations of tasks; this complexity increases when considering the possible constraints as well as adapting the tasks to the individual characteristics of each student. This paper presents a new method to automatically generate teaching matching-to-sample tasks, adapting the difficulty by using bio-inspired optimization metaheuristics. Genetic algorithms, ant colony optimization, and integer and categorical particle swarm optimization were evaluated to determine their stability and capacity to generate adapted tasks. A comparison of the results between the algorithms showed a better rate of convergence for the genetic algorithms, which were able to generate tasks at an adapted level of difficulty to students. These tasks were applied to a group of students at a Brazilian public school in the early stages of a literacy course indicating satisfactory effects in the individual learning process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a novel meta-heuristic search algorithm inspired by rhinoceros’ natural behaviour is proposed, namely rhinoceros search algorithm (RSA). Similar to our earlier version called elephant search algorithm, RSA simplifies certain habitual characteristics of rhinoceros and stream-lines the search operations, thereby reducing the number of operational parameters required to configure the model. Via computer simulation, it is shown that RSA is able to outperform certain classical meta-heuristic algorithms. Different dimensions of optimization problems are tested, and good results are observed by RSA. The RSA is also implemented on permutation flow-shop scheduling problem (PFSP) with some representation method. Four different problem scales are used. Compared with partible swarm optimization (PSO) on PFSP, the RSA outperforms PSO on different problem scales with a 3% improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Harmony search (HS) and biogeography-based optimization (BBO) are two metaheuristic optimization methods which have demonstrated effectiveness on a wide variety of optimization problems. The paper proposes a new hybrid biogeographic harmony search (BHS) method, which integrates the blended migration operator of BBO with HS to enrich harmony diversity, and thus achieves a much better balance between exploration and exploitation. We then apply the BHS method to an emergency air transportation problem, and show that the proposed method is very competitive with the state-of-the-art BBO, HS, and other comparative algorithms on a set of problem instances from real-world disaster relief operations in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Clustering is a popular data analysis technique, which is applied for partitioning of datasets. The aim of clustering is to arrange the data items into clusters based on the values of their attributes. Magnetic charge system search (MCSS) algorithm is a new meta-heuristic optimization algorithm inspired by the electromagnetic theory. It has been proved better than other meta-heuristics. This paper presents a new hybrid meta-heuristic algorithm by combining both MCSS and particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithms, which is called MCSS-PSO, for partitional clustering problem. Moreover, a neighborhood search strategy is also incorporated in this algorithm to generate more promising solutions. The performance of the proposed MCSS-PSO algorithm is tested on several benchmark datasets and its performance is compared with already existing clustering algorithms such as K-means, PSO, genetic algorithm, ant colony optimization, charge system search, chaotic charge system search algorithm, and some PSO variants. From the experimental results, it can be seen that performance of the proposed algorithm is better than the other algorithms being compared and it can be effectively used for partitional clustering problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to assure accurate modelling, this study presents a new technique for appropriately modelling and simulating a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) system. The PEMFC is a cleaner and more sustainable energy source as compared to fossil fuels. The fundamental idea is to minimize the sum of squared error (SSE) between the estimated and measured output voltage for the Ballard Mark V model in order to identify the model parameters of PEMFC stacks as efficiently as possible using a newly developed meta-heuristic called enhanced efficient optimization algorithm (EINFO). The proposed optimizer is considered an enhanced version of the original INFO algorithm. By balancing the exploration and exploitation phases better, the EINFO algorithm is intended to improve the performance of the original INFO approach and prevent local optima. The new method was tested on 23 benchmark functions and compared to the original INFO algorithm as well as other recently evolved optimizers. The algorithm is examined and compared with some literature meta-heuristics, including the particle swarm optimization, sine cosine algorithm, dragonfly algorithm, atom search optimization, Harris hawks optimization, and efficient optimization algorithm, using 50 independent runs, in terms of convergence speed and least SSE. When compared to other methods, the final findings show that, the suggested technique achieves the fastest convergence speed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this era of trying to get more information from data, demand forecasting plays a very important role for companies. Companies implement many of their plans based on these forecasts. However, forecasting demand is not always easy. Demand is divided into many different classes depending on its structure. One of them is the problem of intermittent demand. Estimating intermittent demand is a more difficult problem than estimating series with low variability and no null demand. When working with intermittent demands, either a good demand forecast or a good inventory policy is required. Determining an efficient inventory policy is important in terms of meeting customer demand and customer satisfaction. In this study, an inventory lower bound and upper bound are calculated to balance the inventory cost of intermittent demand and the lost sale cost. For this purpose, 7 different test data with intermittent demand structure were studied. A mathematical model is proposed to calculate the cost with the upper and lower inventories under intermittent demand. A feasible solution could not be obtained with the proposed model, and a fitness function for the relevant model was proposed. This function was run on test data using genetic algorithm (GA) and particle swarm optimization (PSO). The results and solution times of GA and PSO were compared. In this way, the variability of demand and the difference between arrival times of demands were met with minimal cost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vehicular ad hoc Networks (VANETs) can be designed in a way to organize road protection with no specific need for any fixed infrastructure. Accordingly, the movement of all vehicles can be planned according to perceived information, and Quality of Services Routing (QoSR) algorithms can be pressured according to its available options, paths, and links, and according to the criteria and reliability of the QoSR. Ensure that QoSR is aware of the environment of the network of vehicles, including location of vehicles, direction, and speed. This study is to reduce the effects of unpredictable problems on the best pathway to replace the broken path/link. A QoSR with Particle Swarm Optimization (QoSR-PSO) is used in this article for improving QoSs in vehicular ad hoc networks. By modeling the behavior of a group of particles, particle swarm optimization algorithms find the best possible solution to the problem. In order to perform simulation experiments, NS2 simulator and VanetMobisim have been used. The comparison results with benchmark studies show the improvement in packet delivery rate (PDR), delay, Packet Drop, and overload. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present research proposes a new particle swarm optimization-based metaheuristic algorithm entitled "search in forest optimizer (SIFO)" to solve the global optimization problems. The algorithm is designed based on the organized behavior of search teams looking for missing persons in a forest. According to SIFO optimizer, a number of teams each including several experts in the search field spread out across the forest and gradually move in the same direction by finding clues from the target until they find the missing person. This search structure was designed in a mathematical structure in the form of intragroup search operators and transferring the expert member to the top team. In addition, the efficiency of the algorithm was assessed by comparing the results to the standard representations and a problem with the genetic, grey wolf, salp swarm, and ant lion optimizers. According to the results, the proposed algorithm was efficient for solving many numerical representations, compared to the other algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Researchers from different domains have developed several metaheuristic algorithms that are inspired by the biological phenomenon. In this work, we propose a novel algorithm that is inspired by the prey–predator interaction of animals. In the proposed algorithm, two random populations are considered as a predator and preys. The energy gain for both predators and preys calculated based on their body mass and the interaction between predators and their mutual preys. The best predator (i.e., predator with the highest energy gain) performs a local search (exploitation). The other solution members in prey population facilitate the exploration of the search space. The proposed algorithm is evaluated by three phases. Firstly, a set of 16 mathematical functions are considered to test different characteristics of predator–prey optimization (PPO) algorithm as a optimizer. Secondly, it is evaluated by seven datasets as a solver for feature selection problem. The proposed algorithm as an global optimizer has been compared with other metaheuristic algorithms such as genetic algorithm (GA), particle swarm optimization (PSO), ant lion optimizer (ALO), gray wolf optimizer (GWO), whale optimization algorithm (WOA), differential evolution (DE), sine–cosine algorithm (SCA), moth flame optimization (MFO), and salp swarm algorithm (SSA). The results indicate that PPO improves convergence rate by 33.8%, 24.2%, 37.3%, 10.5%, 12.4%, 22.7%, 18.6%, 30.7%, and 29.1% in average compared to GA, PSO, ALO, GWO, WOA, DE, SCA, MFO, and SSA, respectively. Furthermore, PPO obtains a higher Performance Index around 5–10% than competitor approaches with respect to exploration–exploitation balance and a high degree of stability. Secondly, the performance of PPO for feature selection issues demonstrates the applicability PPO algorithm in solving real problems with unknown search spaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since real-world problems are quite complex, developing more effective methods to optimize them is taken into consideration at the present age. One of the most popular strategies to solve such problems is nature-inspired metaheuristic algorithms which have presented promising solutions in different fields. The JAYA algorithm is an innovative and promising technique for solving a wide range of optimization problems. Hence, this investigation provides a new hybrid algorithm based on JAYA and crow search algorithm (CSA), known as HJCSA, to enhance its performance. In other words, the mechanism of updating position in CSA is integrated with JAYA algorithm to reinforce the convergence and search capabilities of JAYA algorithm. The proposed hybrid algorithm is evaluated through solving 20 well-known benchmark functions, and obtained results are compared with various up-to-date algorithms, including CSA, JAYA, particle swarm optimization (PSO), dragonfly algorithm (DA), grasshopper optimization algorithm (GOA), moth-flame optimization (MFO), and sine–cosine algorithm (SCA). In addition, a real-world engineering problem is optimized by the proposed optimization approach and compared with other published works. The results showed that the suggested optimization algorithm is much more vigorous in escaping from local minima, possessing better convergence, and discovering more accurate solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Handwritten signature verification is one of the most fast, intuitive and cost-effective tools for user authentication. However, the analysis of the handwritten signature may become complicated due to the large dimensionality. Feature selection is treated as one of the most commonly applied preprocessing techniques in data mining to deal with the dimensionality. Since the feature selection can be considered as an optimization problem, we propose a wrapper metaheuristic framework for the handwritten signature verification, which uses the k-nearest neighbor classification algorithm to guide a metaheuristic optimization algorithm in order to find the best subset of features. The following metaheuristics are used in the work: swallow swarm optimization (SSO), binary dragonfly swarm optimization (BBA), population algorithm with memory (PAO), genetic algorithm (GA), binary bat algorithm (BBA), binary whale optimization algorithm (WOA) and particle swarm optimization (PSO). The experiments are carried on the SVC2004 dataset by comparing the employed metaheuristics with each other from different perspectives, including the classification performance, the relatives frequencies of selected features and the feature subset size. According to results, the proposed wrapper framework obtains extremely promising results for handwritten signature verification. In particular, the proposed framework can increase the classification accuracy at least or more than 8%, even though selecting between 2 and 6 features among 100 features in most cases. It is also observed that the proposed framework with PSO can achieve slightly better results than with the other metaheuristics in most cases. It can therefore be suggested that the traditional metaheuristics like PSO and GA maintain their position and entrench their popularity in a wide range of fields despite a variety of the recently introduced metaheuristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aiming at the shortcomings of quantum-behaved particle swarm optimization algorithm (QPSO), an improved quantum-behaved particle swarm optimization algorithm (IQPSO) is put forward, and the improved algorithm is applied in solving a kind of fuzzy portfolio selection problems. Firstly, a kind of portfolio models with fuzzy return rates and background risk is established followed by some necessary preparations of fuzzy theory. Then, in the improved algorithm, hybrid probability distribution strategy and contraction–expansion coefficient with nonlinear structure are chosen to enhance particle's exploration ability, and premature prevention mechanism is used to maintain population diversity. Furthermore, the experimental results on 16 benchmark functions show that IQPSO has better convergence and robustness than PSO with inertia weight, QPSO and QPSO with a hybrid probability distribution in most cases. Finally, when solving a fuzzy portfolio model, IQPSO provides comparable and superior results compared with the other metaheuristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the methods for solving optimization problems is applying metaheuristic algorithms that find near to optimal solutions. Dragonfly algorithm is one of the metaheuristic algorithms which search problem space by the inspiration of hunting and emigration behavior of dragonflies in nature. However, it suffers from the premature convergence of the population to an undesirable point in the detection ability (global search). In this research, an improved dragonfly algorithm called BMDA (applying Biogeography-based algorithm, Mexican hat wavelet, and Dragonfly algorithm) is presented to resolve the premature convergence in high workloads by creating a mutation phase based on the combination of the biogeography-based optimization (BBO) migration process and the Mexican hat wavelet transform in dragonfly algorithm (DA). The algorithm was evaluated for the mean error in comparison with standard dragonfly algorithm (DA), Memory-based Hybrid Dragonfly Algorithm (MHDA), chaotic dragonfly algorithm version 9 (CDA9), Adaptive_DA algorithm, bat algorithm (BAT), particle swarm optimization algorithm (PSO), raven roosting optimization (RRO) and whale optimization algorithm (WOA) using the CEC2017 benchmark functions. The implementation results of the proposed BMDA algorithm applying different benchmark functions outweighed the DA-based algorithm, MHDA algorithm, CDA9 algorithm, Adaptive_DA algorithm, BAT algorithm, PSO algorithm, RRO, and WOA algorithms in terms of mean error. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Meta-heuristic algorithms are divided into two categories: biological and non-biological. Biological algorithms are divided into evolutionary and swarm-based intelligence, where the latter is divided into imitation based and sign based. The whale algorithm is a meta-heuristic biological swarm-based intelligence algorithm (based on imitation). This algorithm suffers from the early convergence problem which means the population convergences early to an unfavorable optimum point. Usually, the early convergence occurs because of the weakness in exploration capability (global search). In this study, an optimized version of the whale algorithm is proposed that introduces a new idea in grouping of whales (called GWOA) to overcome the early convergence problem. The proposed whale optimization algorithm is compared with the standard whale algorithm (WOA), CWOA improved whale algorithm, particle swarm optimization, and BAT algorithms applying CEC2017 functions. The results of the experiments show that the proposed method applying Friedman's test on 30 standard benchmark functions has a better performance than the other baseline algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]