DRIME: A Distributed Data-Guided RIME Algorithm for Numerical Optimization Problems

To address the shortcomings of the RIME algorithm’s weak global exploration ability, insufficient information exchange among populations, and limited population diversity, this work proposes a distributed data-guided RIME algorithm called DRIME. First, this paper proposes a data-distribution-driven guided learning strategy that enhances information exchange among populations and dynamically guides populations to exploit or explore. Then, a soft-rime search phase based on weighted averaging is proposed, which balances the development and exploration of RIME by alternating with the original strategy. Finally, a candidate pool is utilized to replace the optimal reference point of the hard-rime puncture mechanism to enrich the diversity of the population and reduce the risk of falling into local optima. To evaluate the performance of the DRIME algorithm, parameter sensitivity analysis, policy effectiveness analysis, and two comparative analyses are performed on the CEC-2017 test set and the CEC-2022 test set. The parameter sensitivity analysis identifies the optimal parameter settings for the DRIME algorithm. The strategy effectiveness analysis confirms the effectiveness of the improved strategies. In comparison with ACGRIME, TERIME, IRIME, DNMRIME, GLSRIME, and HERIME on the CEC-2017 test set, the DRIME algorithm achieves Friedman rankings of 1.517, 1.069, 1.138, and 1.069 in different dimensions. In comparison with EOSMA, GLS-MPA, ISGTOA, EMTLBO, LSHADE-SPACMA, and APSM-jSO on the CEC-2022 test set, the DRIME algorithm achieves Friedman rankings of 2.167 and 1.917 in 10 and 30 dimensions, respectively. In addition, the DRIME algorithm achieved an average ranking of 1.23 in engineering constraint optimization problems, far surpassing other comparison algorithms. In conclusion, the numerical optimization experiments successfully illustrate that the DRIME algorithm has excellent search capability and can provide satisfactory solutions to a wide range of optimization problems.