An improved gravitational search algorithm based on neighbor search

The gravitational search algorithm (GSA) is a new meta-heuristic optimization method based on the law of gravity and mass interactions. An improved GSA (IGSA) is proposed in this paper where a neighbor search is employed to enhance the performance of GSA. The IGSA can obtain a better or best solution in a neighbor space through one or more times random neighbor search. Two different search methods are designed for the proposed improved gravitational search algorithm. In addition, the effect of the gravitational constant to the performance of the IGSA is discussed. Extensive computational experiments are carried out using well-known benchmark functions. Computational results and comparisons show the efficiency and effectiveness of the proposed IGSA.