Modified cuckoo search: A new gradient free optimisation algorithm

A new robust optimisation algorithm, which can be regarded as a modification of the recently developed cuckoo search, is presented. The modification involves the addition of information exchange between the top eggs, or the best solutions. Standard optimisation benchmarking functions are used to test the effects of these modifications and it is demonstrated that, in most cases, the modified cuckoo search performs as well as, or better than, the standard cuckoo search, a particle swarm optimiser, and a differential evolution strategy. In particular the modified cuckoo search shows a high convergence rate to the true global minimum even at high numbers of dimensions.

► Modified cuckoo search (MCS) is a new gradient free optimisation algorithm.
► MCS shows a high convergence rate, able to outperform other optimisers.
► MCS is particularly strong at high dimension objective functions.
► MCS performs well when applied to engineering problems.