An improved particle swarm optimization algorithm mimicking territorial dispute between groups for multimodal function optimization problems

In the present paper, an improved particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm for multimodal function optimization is proposed. The new algorithm, named auto-tuning multigrouped PSO (AT-MGPSO) algorithm mimics natural phenomena in ecosystem such as territorial dispute between different group members and immigration of weak groups, resulting in automatic determination of the size of each group's territory and robust convergence. The usefulness of the proposed algorithm is verified by the application to a specially designed test function and a practical electromagnetic optimization problem.