An equilibrium honey badger algorithm with differential evolution strategy for cluster analysis

Data clustering is a machine learning method for unsupervised learning that is popular in the two areas of data analysis and data mining. The objective is to partition a given dataset into distinct clusters, aiming to maximize the similarity among data objects within the same cluster. In this paper, an improved honey badger algorithm called DELHBA is proposed to solve the clustering problem. In DELHBA, to boost the population’s diversity and the performance of global search, the differential evolution method is incorporated into algorithm’s initial step. Secondly, the equilibrium pooling technique is included to assist the standard honey badger algorithm (HBA) break free of the local optimum. Finally, the updated honey badger population individuals are updated with Levy flight strategy to produce more potential solutions. Ten famous benchmark test datasets are utilized to evaluate the efficiency of the DELHBA algorithm and to contrast it with twelve of the current most used swarm intelligence algorithms and k-means. Additionally, DELHBA algorithm’s performance is assessed using the Wilcoxon rank sum test and Friedman’s test. The experimental results show that DELHBA has better clustering accuracy, convergence speed and stability compared with other algorithms, demonstrating its superiority in solving clustering problems.