When Fireflies Cluster; Enhancing Automatic Clustering via Centroid-Guided Firefly Optimization

This work presents a novel variant of the Firefly Algorithm (FA) for data clustering, addressing limitations of traditional methods like K-Means that struggle with non-uniform cluster shapes, densities, and the need for pre-defining the number of clusters. The proposed algorithm introduces a centroid movement strategy and a multi-objective fitness function that balances compactness, separation, and a novel TSP-based navigation penalty. It automatically estimates the optimal number of clusters and dynamically adjusts cluster boundaries. Application to robotic sensor networks highlights its practical value, with experiments showing improved clustering quality and reduced intra-cluster path distances compared to K-Means. These results confirm the algorithm's robustness in complex spatial clustering tasks, with potential for future extensions to higher-dimensional and adaptive scenarios.

SerendibCoins: Exploring The Sri Lankan Coins Dataset

The recognition and classification of coins are essential in numerous financial and automated systems. This study introduces a comprehensive Sri Lankan coin image dataset and evaluates its impact on machine learning model accuracy for coin classification. We experiment with traditional machine learning classifiers K-Nearest Neighbors (KNN), Support Vector Machines (SVM), and Random Forest as well as a custom Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) to benchmark performance at different levels of classification. Our results show that SVM outperforms KNN and Random Forest in traditional classification approaches, while the CNN model achieves near-perfect classification accuracy with minimal misclassifications. The dataset demonstrates significant potential in enhancing automated coin recognition systems, offering a robust foundation for future research in regional currency classification and deep learning applications.