Firefly algorithm with multiple learning ability based on gender difference

Abstract The Firefly Algorithm (FA), while effective for complex optimization, suffers from inherent limitations such as search oscillation and low convergence precision. To address these issues, a firefly algorithm with multiple learning ability based on gender difference (MLFA-GD) is proposed. Fir...

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Main Authors: Wenning Zhang, Chongyang Jiao, Qinglei Zhou
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2025-08-01
Series:Scientific Reports
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-09523-9
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author Wenning Zhang
Chongyang Jiao
Qinglei Zhou
author_facet Wenning Zhang
Chongyang Jiao
Qinglei Zhou
author_sort Wenning Zhang
collection DOAJ
description Abstract The Firefly Algorithm (FA), while effective for complex optimization, suffers from inherent limitations such as search oscillation and low convergence precision. To address these issues, a firefly algorithm with multiple learning ability based on gender difference (MLFA-GD) is proposed. Firstly, the algorithm evenly divides the randomly initialized population into male and female subgroups. Then a male firefly learning strategy which incorporated a partial attraction model combining with an escape mechanism, and a female firefly learning strategy guided by both the generalized centroid of the male subgroup and the global optimal individual are designed separately. Additionally, a random walk strategy is further incorporated to refine the optimization accuracy. Different from existing gender-based FA variants, male fireflies either fly toward brighter female fireflies or move away from weaker individuals to enhance exploration capability. Meanwhile, female fireflies update positions guided by two elite male individuals, effectively leveraging historical search information to improve exploitation capability. The performance is evaluated on 23 numerical functions, 30 CEC 2017 benchmark functions and an automatic test data generation problem. The experiment comparison results with six FA variants and ten popular meta heuristic algorithms confirm its enhanced search capability and significantly higher optimization precision, validating its effectiveness in balancing exploration and exploitation.
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institution Kabale University
issn 2045-2322
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spelling doaj-art-838e5686abac4fc9b03b5cd94441c8452025-08-20T03:42:45ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222025-08-0115113110.1038/s41598-025-09523-9Firefly algorithm with multiple learning ability based on gender differenceWenning Zhang0Chongyang Jiao1Qinglei Zhou2Zhongyuan University of TechnologyState Key Laboratory of Mathematical Engineering and Advanced ComputingZhengzhou UniversityAbstract The Firefly Algorithm (FA), while effective for complex optimization, suffers from inherent limitations such as search oscillation and low convergence precision. To address these issues, a firefly algorithm with multiple learning ability based on gender difference (MLFA-GD) is proposed. Firstly, the algorithm evenly divides the randomly initialized population into male and female subgroups. Then a male firefly learning strategy which incorporated a partial attraction model combining with an escape mechanism, and a female firefly learning strategy guided by both the generalized centroid of the male subgroup and the global optimal individual are designed separately. Additionally, a random walk strategy is further incorporated to refine the optimization accuracy. Different from existing gender-based FA variants, male fireflies either fly toward brighter female fireflies or move away from weaker individuals to enhance exploration capability. Meanwhile, female fireflies update positions guided by two elite male individuals, effectively leveraging historical search information to improve exploitation capability. The performance is evaluated on 23 numerical functions, 30 CEC 2017 benchmark functions and an automatic test data generation problem. The experiment comparison results with six FA variants and ten popular meta heuristic algorithms confirm its enhanced search capability and significantly higher optimization precision, validating its effectiveness in balancing exploration and exploitation.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-09523-9Firefly algorithmGender differencePartial attraction modelGeneralized centroidRandom walk
spellingShingle Wenning Zhang
Chongyang Jiao
Qinglei Zhou
Firefly algorithm with multiple learning ability based on gender difference
Scientific Reports
Firefly algorithm
Gender difference
Partial attraction model
Generalized centroid
Random walk
title Firefly algorithm with multiple learning ability based on gender difference
title_full Firefly algorithm with multiple learning ability based on gender difference
title_fullStr Firefly algorithm with multiple learning ability based on gender difference
title_full_unstemmed Firefly algorithm with multiple learning ability based on gender difference
title_short Firefly algorithm with multiple learning ability based on gender difference
title_sort firefly algorithm with multiple learning ability based on gender difference
topic Firefly algorithm
Gender difference
Partial attraction model
Generalized centroid
Random walk
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-09523-9
work_keys_str_mv AT wenningzhang fireflyalgorithmwithmultiplelearningabilitybasedongenderdifference
AT chongyangjiao fireflyalgorithmwithmultiplelearningabilitybasedongenderdifference
AT qingleizhou fireflyalgorithmwithmultiplelearningabilitybasedongenderdifference