A hybrid genetic-fuzzy ant colony optimization algorithm for automatic K-means clustering in urban global positioning system

This paper introduces an innovative automatic K-means clustering algorithm, namely HGA-FACO, which seamlessly integrates the noise algorithm, Genetic Algorithm (GA), Ant Colony Optimization (ACO), and Adaptive Fuzzy System (AFS). The rationale behind the HGA-FACO algorithm is to mitigate the shortcomings of traditional K-means, particularly the reliance on pre-determined cluster centers and the need for specifying the number of clusters in advance. By optimizing the search strategy, HGA-FACO efficiently circumvents local optima and effectively explores the global optimal solution, resulting in more accurate and stable clustering outcomes. To validate the superiority of the HGA-FACO over conventional K-Means Clustering (KMeans) and other intelligent clustering approaches such as ACO-KMeans, GA-KMeans (GAK), particle swarm optimization KMeans (PSOK), and ACO-GAK, we conducted comprehensive experiments on taxi Global Positioning System (GPS) datasets sourced from four distinct cities. Employing rigorous evaluation metrics including Silhouette Coefficient (SC), Partition Coefficient (PBM), Davies-Bouldin Index (DBI), and Sum of Squared Errors (SSE), the experimental results convincingly demonstrate that the HGA-FACO significantly outperforms its counterparts across all metrics, highlighting its exceptional performance in clustering effectiveness and compactness. While the HGAFACO faces challenges related to computational complexity and the necessity for initial parameter tuning, its performance limitations on small-sized or unevenly distributed datasets are acknowledged. Nevertheless, the algorithm's advancements in the field of clustering algorithms are undeniable and hold immense potential for practical applications, notably in city hotspot identification.