Dynamic niching genetic algorithm with data attraction for automatic clustering

A genetic clustering algorithm was developed based on dynamic niching with data attraction. The algorithm uses the concept of Coulomb attraction to model the attraction between data points. Then, the niches with data attraction are dynamically identified in each generation to automatically evolve the optimal number of clusters as well as the cluster centers of the data set without using cluster validity functions or a variance-covariance matrix. Therefore, this clustering scheme does not need to pre-specify the number of clusters as in existing methods. Several data sets with widely varying characteristics are used to demonstrate the superiority of this algorithm. Experimental results show that the performance of this clustering algorithm is high, effective, and flexible.