In this article, an Improved Grey Wolf Optimizer (I-GWO) is proposed for solving global optimization and engineering design problems. This improvement is proposed to alleviate the lack of population diversity, the imbalance between the exploitation and exploration, and premature convergence of the GWO algorithm. The I-GWO algorithm benefits from a new movement strategy named dimension learning-based hunting (DLH) search strategy inherited from the individual hunting behavior of wolves in nature. DLH uses a different approach to construct a neighborhood for each wolf in which the neighboring information can be shared between wolves. This dimension learning used in the DLH search strategy enhances the balance between local and global search and maintains diversity. The performance of the proposed I-GWO algorithm is evaluated on the CEC 2018 benchmark suite and four engineering problems. In all experiments, I-GWO is compared with six other state-of-the-art metaheuristics. The results are also analyzed by Friedman and MAE statistical tests. The experimental results and statistical tests demonstrate that the I-GWO algorithm is very competitive and often superior compared to the algorithms used in the experiments. The results of the proposed algorithm on the engineering design problems demonstrate its efficiency and applicability.

An improved grey wolf optimizer for solving engineering problems

In this article, an effective metaheuristic algorithm named multi-trial vector-based differential evolution (MTDE) is proposed. The MTDE is distinguished by introducing an adaptive movement step designed based on a new multi-trial vector approach named MTV, which combines different search strategies in the form of trial vector producers (TVPs). In the developed MTV approach, the TVPs are applied on their dedicated subpopulation, which are distributed by a winner-based distribution policy, and share their experiences efficiently by using a life-time archive. The MTV can be deployed by different types of TVPs, particularly, we use the MTV approach in the MTDE algorithm by three TVPs: representative based trial vector producer, local random based trial vector producer, and global best history based trial vector producer. Therefore, this study introduces the MTV approach to boost the performance of the MTDE and demonstrates its advantages in dealing with problems of different levels of complexity. The performance of the proposed MTDE algorithm is evaluated on CEC 2018 benchmark suite which include unimodal, multimodal, hybrid, and composition functions and four complex engineering design problems. The experimental and statistical results are compared with state-of-the-art metaheuristic algorithms: GWO, WOA, SSA, HHO, CoDE, EPSDE, QUATRE, and MKE. The results demonstrate that the MTDE algorithm shows improved performance and benefits from high accuracy of optimal solutions obtained.

MTDE: An effective multi-trial vector-based differential evolution algorithm and its applications for engineering design problems

Starling murmuration optimizer: A novel bio-inspired algorithm for global and engineering optimization

In this article, a comprehensive overview of the Crow Search Algorithm (CSA) is introduced with detailed discussions, which is intended to keep researchers interested in swarm intelligence algorithms and optimization problems. CSA is a new swarm intelligence algorithm recently developed, which simulates crow behavior in storing excess food and retrieving it when needed. In the optimization theory, the crow is the searcher, the surrounding environment is the search space, and randomly storing the location of food is a feasible solution. Among all food locations, the location where the most food is stored is considered to be the global optimal solution, and the objective function is the amount of food. By simulating the intelligent behavior of crows, CSA tries to find optimal solutions to various optimization problems. It has gained a considerable interest worldwide since its advantages like simple implementation, a few numbers of parameters, flexibility, etc. This survey introduces a comprehensive variant of CSA, including hybrid, modified, and multi-objective versions. Furthermore, based on the analyzed papers published in the literature by some publishers such as IEEE, Elsevier, and Springer, the comprehensive application scenarios of CSA such as power, computer science, machine learning, civil engineering have also been reviewed. Finally, the advantages and disadvantages of CSA have been discussed by conducting some comparative experiments with other similar published peers.

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Crow Search Algorithm: Theory, Recent Advances, and Applications

In this paper, a conscious neighborhood-based crow search algorithm (CCSA) is proposed for solving global optimization and engineering design problems. It is a successful improvement to tackle the imbalance search strategy and premature convergence problems of the crow search algorithm. CCSA introduces three new search strategies called neighborhood-based local search (NLS), non-neighborhood based global search (NGS) and wandering around based search (WAS) in order to improve the movement of crows in different search spaces. Moreover, a neighborhood concept is defined to select the movement strategy between NLS and NGS consciously, which enhances the balance between local and global search. The proposed CCSA is evaluated on several benchmark functions and four applied problems of engineering design. In all experiments, CCSA is compared by other state-of-the-art swarm intelligence algorithms: CSA, BA, CLPSO, GWO, EEGWO, WOA, KH, ABC, GABC, and Best-so-far ABC. The experimental and statistical results show that CCSA is very competitive especially for large-scale optimization problems, and it is significantly superior to the compared algorithms. Furthermore, the proposed algorithm also finds the best optimal solution for the applied problems of engineering design.

/pdf/ccsa-conscious-neighborhood-based-crow-search-algorithm-for-40xfs3ttg3.pdf

CCSA: Conscious Neighborhood-based Crow Search Algorithm for Solving Global Optimization Problems

QANA: Quantum-based avian navigation optimizer algorithm

Enhanced whale optimization algorithm for medical feature selection: A COVID-19 case study

Advancements in medical technology have created numerous large datasets including many features. Usually, all captured features are not necessary, and there are redundant and irrelevant features, which reduce the performance of algorithms. To tackle this challenge, many metaheuristic algorithms are used to select effective features. However, most of them are not effective and scalable enough to select effective features from large medical datasets as well as small ones. Therefore, in this paper, a binary moth-flame optimization (B-MFO) is proposed to select effective features from small and large medical datasets. Three categories of B-MFO were developed using S-shaped, V-shaped, and U-shaped transfer functions to convert the canonical MFO from continuous to binary. These categories of B-MFO were evaluated on seven medical datasets and the results were compared with four well-known binary metaheuristic optimization algorithms: BPSO, bGWO, BDA, and BSSA. In addition, the convergence behavior of the B-MFO and comparative algorithms were assessed, and the results were statistically analyzed using the Friedman test. The experimental results demonstrate a superior performance of B-MFO in solving the feature selection problem for different medical datasets compared to other comparative algorithms.

Hoda Zamani

Papers

Starling murmuration optimizer: A novel bio-inspired algorithm for global and engineering optimization

CCSA: Conscious Neighborhood-based Crow Search Algorithm for Solving Global Optimization Problems

QANA: Quantum-based avian navigation optimizer algorithm

Enhanced whale optimization algorithm for medical feature selection: A COVID-19 case study

B-MFO: A Binary Moth-Flame Optimization for Feature Selection from Medical Datasets