A modified grey wolf optimizer with multi-solution crossover integration algorithm for feature selection

Feature selection helps eradicate redundant features which is essential to mitigate the curse of dimensionality when a machine-learning model deals with high-dimensional datasets. Grey Wolf Optimizer (GWO) is a swarm-based algorithm that simulates the wolves’ hunting behavior. Although very efficient, GWO faces some limitations which may cause premature convergence and/or local optima trapping. Moreover, GWO relies mainly on the three best wolves, limiting its potential for diverse exploration and exploitation. This work proposes an improved version of GWO namely, a modified grey wolf optimizer with multi-solution crossover integration (MGWO-MCI) algorithm. MGWO-MCI algorithm incorporates a multi-solution strategy that evolves new potential solutions in the optimization process. A crossover operation is performed between the new wolves and the existing hierarchy, reforming the position-updating process. MGWO-MCI utilizes this position-updating process using two different approaches. The first approach named MGWO-MCI-I expands the additional wolves’ role to both exploration and exploitation whereas the second approach named MGWO-MCI-II incorporates their role to exploration only. These approaches are evaluated and tested using 18 datasets and an Intrusion detection dataset NSL-KDD for feature selection. Statistically, the results are analyzed through the Wilcoxon test, which shows the superiority of MGWO-MCI-II. MGWO-MCI-II outperforms others with an accuracy of 98.6% on NSL-KDD and achieves 55.5% overall best outcomes on other datasets. Moreover, the MGWO-MCI was evaluated on two constrained optimization problems, the pressure vessel and welded beam design validating its effectiveness and adaptability in solving different optimization problems. © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2025.