Evolutionary Algorithms for Model-Based Clustering

Abstract

Cluster analysis is used to detect underlying group structure in data. Model-based clustering is the process of performing cluster analysis which involves the fitting of finite mixture models. However, parameter estimation in mixture model-based approaches to clustering is notoriously difficult. To this end, this thesis focuses on the development of evolutionary computation as an alternative technique for parameter estimation in mixture models. An evolutionary algorithm is proposed and illustrated on the well-established Gaussian mixture model with missing values. Next, the family of Gaussian parsimonious clustering models is considered, and an evolutionary algorithm is developed to estimate the parameters. Next, an evolutionary algorithm is developed for latent Gaussian mixture models and to facilitate the flexible clustering of high-dimensional data. For all models and families of models considered in this thesis, the proposed algorithms used for model-fitting and parameter estimation are presented and the performance illustrated using real and simulated data sets to assess the clustering ability of all models. This thesis concludes with a discussion and suggestions for future work.