A New “Good and Bad Groups-Based Optimizer” for Solving Various Optimization Problems

Abstract

Optimization is the science that presents a solution among the available solutions considering an optimization problem’s limitations. Optimization algorithms have been introduced as efficient tools for solving optimization problems. These algorithms are designed based on various natural phenomena, behavior, the lifestyle of living beings, physical laws, rules of games, etc. In this paper, a new optimization algorithm called the good and bad groups-based optimizer (GBGBO) is introduced to solve various optimization problems. In GBGBO, population members update under the influence of two groups named the good group and the bad group. The good group consists of a certain number of the population members with better fitness function than other members and the bad group consists of a number of the population members with worse fitness function than other members of the population. GBGBO is mathematically modeled and its performance in solving optimization problems was tested on a set of twenty-three different objective functions. In addition, for further analysis, the results obtained from the proposed algorithm were compared with eight optimization algorithms: genetic algorithm (GA), particle swarm optimization (PSO), gravitational search algorithm (GSA), teaching–learning-based optimization (TLBO), gray wolf optimizer (GWO), and the whale optimization algorithm (WOA), tunicate swarm algorithm (TSA), and marine predators algorithm (MPA). The results show that the proposed GBGBO algorithm has a good ability to solve various optimization problems and is more competitive than other similar algorithms.