Multi-Strategy Improved Connected Banking System Optimizer for Numerical Optimization and Real Problems

This paper proposes a Multi-Strategy Improved Connected Banking System Optimizer, named MICBSO, for numerical optimization and three-dimensional UAV path planning. MICBSO enhances the original CBSO through three coordinated strategies. First, a chaos–opposition learning initialization strategy is introduced to improve initial population quality and search coverage. Second, a Gaussian perturbation-based multi-elite guidance mechanism is designed to reduce dependence on a single best solution and strengthen the balance between exploration and exploitation. Third, a hybrid boundary control strategy combining reflective correction and random reinitialization is developed to improve solution feasibility and maintain population diversity. The proposed algorithm is evaluated on the CEC2017 benchmark suite and compared with 11 representative algorithms. Experimental results show that MICBSO achieves competitive convergence accuracy, stability, and robustness across different dimensional settings. In addition, MICBSO is applied to three-dimensional UAV path planning in four complex terrain scenarios. The results demonstrate that MICBSO can generate feasible and safe flight paths with lower comprehensive cost. Overall, the proposed method provides an effective optimization framework for both benchmark optimization and constrained UAV path planning tasks.