Social interaction in particle swarm optimization, the ranked FIPS, and adaptive multi-swarms

The interaction among particles is a vital aspect of Particle Swarm Optimization. As such, it has a strong influence on the swarm's success. In this study various approaches regarding the particles' communication behavior and their relationship are examined, as well as possibilities to combine the approaches. A new variant of the popular FIPS algorithm, the so-called Ranked FIPS, is introduced, which resolves specific shortcomings of the traditional FIPS. As all tested PSO variants feature distinct strengths and weaknesses, a new adaptive strategy is proposed which operates on dissimiliarly configured subswarms. The exchange between these subswarms is solely based on particle migration. The combination of the Ranked FIPS and other strategies within the so called Particle Swarm Optimizer with Migration achieves a very good, yet remarkably reliable performance over a wide range of recognized benchmark problems.