The sand cat swarm optimization algorithm (SCSO) is a recently proposed metaheuristic optimization algorithm. It stimulates the hunting behavior of the sand cat, which attacks or searches for prey according to the sound frequency; each sand cat aims to catch better prey. Therefore, the sand cat will search for a better location to catch better prey. In the SCSO algorithm, each sand cat will gradually approach its prey, which makes the algorithm a strong exploitation ability. However, in the later stage of the SCSO algorithm, each sand cat is prone to fall into the local optimum, making it unable to find a better position. In order to improve the mobility of the sand cat and the exploration ability of the algorithm. In this paper, a modified sand cat swarm optimization (MSCSO) algorithm is proposed. The MSCSO algorithm adds a wandering strategy. When attacking or searching for prey, the sand cat will walk to find a better position. The MSCSO algorithm with a wandering strategy enhances the mobility of the sand cat and makes the algorithm have stronger global exploration ability. After that, the lens opposition-based learning strategy is added to enhance the global property of the algorithm so that the algorithm can converge faster. To evaluate the optimization effect of the MSCSO algorithm, we used 23 standard benchmark functions and CEC2014 benchmark functions to evaluate the optimization performance of the MSCSO algorithm. In the experiment, we analyzed the data statistics, convergence curve, Wilcoxon rank sum test, and box graph. Experiments show that the MSCSO algorithm with a walking strategy and a lens position-based learning strategy had a stronger exploration ability. Finally, the MSCSO algorithm was used to test seven engineering problems, which also verified the engineering practicability of the proposed algorithm.

Wild horse optimizer (WHO) is a recently proposed metaheuristic algorithm that simulates the social behavior of wild horses in nature. Although WHO shows competitive performance compared to some algorithms, it suffers from low exploitation capability and stagnation in local optima. This paper presents an improved wild horse optimizer (IWHO), which incorporates three improvements to enhance optimizing capability. The main innovation of this paper is to put forward the random running strategy (RRS) and the competition for waterhole mechanism (CWHM). The random running strategy is employed to balance exploration and exploitation, and the competition for waterhole mechanism is proposed to boost exploitation behavior. Moreover, the dynamic inertia weight strategy (DIWS) is utilized to optimize the global solution. The proposed IWHO is evaluated using twenty-three classical benchmark functions, ten CEC 2021 test functions, and five real-world optimization problems. High-dimensional cases (D = 200, 500, 1000) are also tested. Comparing nine well-known algorithms, the experimental results of test functions demonstrate that the IWHO is very competitive in terms of convergence speed, precision, accuracy, and stability. Further, the practical capability of the proposed method is verified by the results of engineering design problems.

Remora Optimization Algorithm (ROA) is a metaheuristic optimization algorithm, proposed in 2021, which simulates the parasitic attachment, experiential attack, and host feeding behavior of remora in the ocean. However, the performance of ROA is not very good. Considering the habits of the remora that rely on the host to find food, and in order to improve the performance of the ROA, we designed a new host-switching mechanism. By adding new a host-switching mechanism, joint opposite selection, and restart strategy, a modified remora optimization algorithm (MROA) is proposed. We use 23 standard benchmark and CEC2020 functions to test the performance of MROA and compare them with eight state-of-art optimization algorithms. The experimental results show that MROA has better-optimized performance and robustness. Finally, the ability of MROA to solve practical problems is demonstrated by five classical engineering problems.

Feature selection is an effective method to reduce the number of data features, which boosts classification performance in machine learning. This paper uses the Tsallis-entropy-based feature selection to detect the significant feature. Support Vector Machine (SVM) is adopted as the classifier for classification purposes in this paper. We proposed an enhanced Teaching-Learning-Based Optimization (ETLBO) to optimize the SVM and Tsallis entropy parameters to improve classification accuracy. The adaptive weight strategy and Kent chaotic map are used to enhance the optimal ability of the traditional TLBO. The proposed method aims to avoid the main weaknesses of the original TLBO, which is trapped in local optimal and unbalance between the search mechanisms. Experiments based on 16 classical datasets are selected to test the performance of the ETLBO, and the results are compared with other well-established optimization algorithms. The obtained results illustrate that the proposed method has better performance in classification accuracy.

The group teaching optimization algorithm (GTOA) is a meta heuristic optimization algorithm simulating the group teaching mechanism. The inspiration of GTOA comes from the group teaching mechanism. Each student will learn the knowledge obtained in the teacher phase, but each student’s autonomy is weak. This paper considers that each student has different learning motivations. Elite students have strong self-learning ability, while ordinary students have general self-learning motivation. To solve this problem, this paper proposes a learning motivation strategy and adds random opposition-based learning and restart strategy to enhance the global performance of the optimization algorithm (MGTOA). In order to verify the optimization effect of MGTOA, 23 standard benchmark functions and 30 test functions of IEEE Evolutionary Computation 2014 (CEC2014) are adopted to verify the performance of the proposed MGTOA. In addition, MGTOA is also applied to six engineering problems for practical testing and achieved good results.

The Gorilla Troops Optimizer (GTO) is a novel Metaheuristic Algorithm that was proposed in 2021. Its design was inspired by the lifestyle characteristics of gorillas, including migration to a known position, migration to an undiscovered position, moving toward the other gorillas, following silverback gorillas and competing with silverback gorillas for females. However, like other Metaheuristic Algorithms, the GTO still suffers from local optimum, low diversity, imbalanced utilization, etc. In order to improve the performance of the GTO, this paper proposes a modified Gorilla Troops Optimizer (MGTO). The improvement strategies include three parts: Beetle-Antennae Search Based on Quadratic Interpolation (QIBAS), Teaching–Learning-Based Optimization (TLBO) and Quasi-Reflection-Based Learning (QRBL). Firstly, QIBAS is utilized to enhance the diversity of the position of the silverback. Secondly, the teacher phase of TLBO is introduced to the update the behavior of following the silverback with 50% probability. Finally, the quasi-reflection position of the silverback is generated by QRBL. The optimal solution can be updated by comparing these fitness values. The performance of the proposed MGTO is comprehensively evaluated by 23 classical benchmark functions, 30 CEC2014 benchmark functions, 10 CEC2020 benchmark functions and 7 engineering problems. The experimental results show that MGTO has competitive performance and promising prospects in real-world optimization tasks.