A New Cooperative Algorithm Based on PSO and K-Means for Data Clustering

Problem statement: Data clustering has been applied in multiple fields such as machine learning, data mining, wireless sensor networks and pattern recognition. One of the most famous clustering approaches is K-means which effectively has been used in many clustering problems, but this algorithm has some drawbacks such as local optimal convergence and sensitivity to initial points. Approach: Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithm is one of the swarm intelligence algorithms, which is applied in determining the optimal cluster centers. In this study, a cooperative algorithm based on PSO and k-means is presented. Result: The proposed algorithm utilizes both global search ability of PSO and local search ability of k-means. The proposed algorithm and also PSO, PSO with Contraction Factor (CF-PSO), k-means algorithms and KPSO hybrid algorithm have been used for clustering six datasets and their efficiencies are compared with each other. Conclusion: Experimental results show that the proposed algorithm has an acceptable efficiency and robustness.