Computers, Materials & Continua Tech Science Press

DOI:10.32604/cmc.2021.016097
Article

Flower Pollination Heuristics for Parameter Estimation of

Electromagnetic Plane Waves
Sadiq Akbar1 , Muhammad Asif Zahoor Raja2, * , Naveed Ishtiaq Chaudhary3,
Fawad Zaman4 and Hani Alquhayz5

1
Department of Electronics, University of Peshawar, Peshawar, 25120, Pakistan
2
Future Technology Research Center, National Yunlin University of Science and Technology, Douliou, 64002, Taiwan
3
Department of Electrical Engineering, International Islamic University, Islamabad, 44000, Pakistan
4
Department of Electrical Engineering, COMSATS University Islamabad, Islamabad, 44000, Pakistan
5
Department of Computer Science and Information, College of Science in Zulfi, Majmaah University,
Al-Majmaah, 11952, Saudi Arabia
*
Corresponding Author: Muhammad Asif Zahoor Raja. Email: [email protected]
Received: 22 December 2020; Accepted: 02 February 2021

Abstract: For the last few decades, the parameter estimation of electromag-
netic plane waves i.e., far field sources, impinging on antenna array geometries
has attracted a lot of researchers due to their use in radar, sonar and under
water acoustic environments. In this work, nature inspired heuristics based on
the flower pollination algorithm (FPA) is designed for the estimation problem
of amplitude and direction of arrival of far field sources impinging on uniform
linear array (ULA). Using the approximation in mean squared error sense, a
fitness function of the problem is developed and the strength of the FPA is
utilized for optimization of the cost function representing scenarios for various
number of sources non-coherent located in the far field. The worth of the pro-
posed FPA based nature inspired computing heuristic is established through
assessment studies on fitness, histograms, cumulative distribution function and
box plots analysis. The other worthy perks of the proposed scheme include
simplicity of concept, ease in the implementation, extendibility and wide range
of applicability to solve complex optimization problems. These salient features
make the proposed approach as an attractive alternative to be exploited for
solving different parameter estimation problems arising in nonlinear systems,
power signal modelling, image processing and fault diagnosis.

Keywords: Direction of arrival; flower pollination algorithm; plane waves;

parameter estimation

1 Introduction
Parameter estimation specially direction of arrival (DOA) estimation of plane waves plays
a vital role in the areas of wireless communication, earthquake, medicine, tracking, navigation,
and radio astronomy [1–4]. In this regard, incorporation of beamforming being adaptive in
smart antennas systems gives opportunities to reduce the interferences effects and without using

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License,
which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided
the original work is properly cited.
2530 CMC, 2021, vol.68, no.2

the higher frequency bandwidths, data is transmitted at higher rates. This essential requirement
stimulates for the development of algorithms being efficient to estimate DOA. This helps in the
determination of complex weights required in beamsteering for preferred direction. Traditional
techniques used for estimation of DOA employed the method of periodogram which was based on
Fourier transformation. A few of them are conventional beamforming (CBF), Minimum Variance
Distortion less Response (MVDR) and dual beamformer. Bartlett, Capon and Lacoss are their
developers [5–7]. The problem with the traditional method was low resolution and further, noise
due to Rayleigh limit affected it badly.
To overcome these problems adaptive algorithms were used and methods of maximum likeli-
hood were developed. Stochastic maximum likelihood and deterministic maximum likelihood i.e.,
SML and DML methods were a few to mention [8,9]. Technique of spatial-temporal processing
further improved the accuracy of DML [10]. These methods were having better resolution due
to using data model of the received signals completely. Also, these were robust and efficient.
But their computational cost is too high due to the multidimensional search and are therefore
used occasionally [10,11]. The spectrum-based methods developed in 1980s, were Multiple Signal
Classification (MUSIC), Estimation of Signal Parameters via Rotational Invariance Technique
(ESPRIT) [12,13]. But the problem with these methods was their computational cost that kept
increasing with the increase in the number of array element as they required snapshots at least
double in number of the total number of elements in the array. Also, in case of correlated signals,
their performance becomes poor. Unitary-ESPRIT method was introduced that was based on
unitary transformation and its purpose was to reduce computing cost of ESPRIT method. Con-
version of complex covariance matrix into real one reduced its complexity of computation [14].
To rectify the problems in covariance based methods, Direct Data Domain Methods (DDDMs)
were developed in mid-nineties. They were based on Matrix Pencil Method (PM) [15]. They
were efficient and they required one snapshot in case of DOA to be estimated in real time
dynamic conditions.
Techniques, being metaheuristic, have been exploited for the determination of DOA unlike
adaptive techniques namely Least Mean Square, MUSIC, ESPRIT and Recursive Least Square
etc. due to their effective strength in optimization [16–19]. To address numerous non-linear
problems of constrained optimization in different areas such as optimal energy management,
combustion theory fuel ignition model, Magneto-hydrodynamics problems, electromagnetic the-
ory, nano-technology and fractional order systems of non-linear nature [20–25], techniques of
evolution and swarm intelligence have been applied to them recently.
In this paper, an effective optimization mechanism of flower pollination algorithm (FPA) is
employed as a newly introduced algorithm for the parameter estimation of electromagnetic waves
of the far field. FPA mimics the process of pollination in flowering plants. FPA is proposed
by Yang [26] and is recently employed in several fields. FPA has impressive nature. Due to
this, it has attracted many researchers’ attention in several fields of optimization. Swarm-based
optimization technique is used in the FPA with few parameters. The employment of the FPA
in various optimization problems has shown a robust performance. Further, FPA being simple
optimization method is a flexible, adaptable, and scalable algorithm. FPA gives very beneficial
results in solving various optimization problems as compared with other metaheuristic algorithms.
These problems are from different areas such as signal and image processing, clustering and
classification, electrical systems, wireless networks, computer gaming, travelling salesman problem
and others many more [27–48]. In the present work collective estimation of DOA as well as
amplitudes of plane wave (electromagnetic) falling on ULA is considered. To minimize error
CMC, 2021, vol.68, no.2 2531

between desired and actual responses, mean squared error (MSE) is used as a fitness criterion.
A single snapshot is required by this fitness function and works well, particularly in the existence
of local optima. For substantial statistical analysis of FPA, Monte Carlo simulations (in a large
number) are done using MATLAB. For this analysis two, three, and four sources are considered
and are investigated for fitness, robustness, MSE, and complexity (computational). Main properties
of the proposed mechanism are as follows:
• Exploitation of pollination based optimization technique FPA for the novel study of
DOA estimation
• Augmented power of FPA is built for the parameter estimation (effectively) of plane waves
of sources.
• The design mechanism is validated for different scenarios of far field sources.
• The accuracy, robustness, and reliability of the algorithm are proven via results of the
statistics in terms of parameters fitness.
• Ease of implementation, simple in concept, extendibility, handling complex models and wide
range of applicability are further advantages of the scheme.
The paper is arranged as follows: In Section 2, plane waves incident on a ULA is given
as general data model for parameter estimation, while details about proposed scheme that has
foundation on FPA are given in Section 3. Section 4 provides results and discussion on the results.
The last section presents the conclusion and future work.

2 General System Model for Parameters Amplitude and DOA Estimation

For model development, consider narrow band sources of EM plane waves P in number. The
plane waves are falling on ULA. The ULA has “N” elements. The inter-element spacing is “d”
which is uniform between any two consecutive elements. It is portrayed in Fig. 1. For P ≤ N, the
output of the nth element of ULA is given as:

P
yn (t) = il (t) exp (−j (ξl n)) + ηn (t) . (1)
l=1

for n = 1, 2, . . . , N. For single snapshot, Eq. (1) becomes


P
yn = il exp (−j (ξl n)) + ηn (2)
l=1

In Eq. (2), the value of ξ is kdcos θl which is delay due to propagation between the reference
and nth element. Likewise, value of k is 2π/λ and is termed as wave number. Eq. (2) in a vector
form is given as,
⎛ ⎞ ⎛ ⎞⎛ ⎞ ⎛ ⎞
y0 1 ... 1 i1 η0
⎜ ⎟ ⎜ −jkd cos θ1 ⎟⎜ ⎟ ⎜
⎟ ⎜i2 ⎟ ⎜η1 ⎟
⎜y 1 ⎟ ⎜ ⎜ e . . . e−jkd cos θ p ⎟⎜ ⎟ ⎜ ⎟
⎜ ⎟ ⎜ ⎟ ⎟
⎜. ⎟ = ⎜. .. ⎟⎜ .. ⎟ + ⎜. ⎟ (3)
⎜.. ⎟ ⎜.. ··· . ⎜ ⎟
⎟ ⎝. ⎠ ⎝.. ⎜ ⎟
⎝ ⎠ ⎝ ⎠ ⎠
yN−1 e −jkd(N−1) cos θ 1 ··· e −jkd(N−1) cos θ P iP ηN−1
2532 CMC, 2021, vol.68, no.2

Here θ in above matrix and i in the vector denote angle (elevation) and amplitude of plane
waves respectively. The angle “θ” is with respect to broad side. Eq. (3) can be given in compact
form as:
y = Si + η (4)

S is the symbol used here for the steering matrix. It has got steering vectors of P sources.
AWGN introduced in each antenna element is symbolized here as η. It does not depend upon
source waves. The parameters DOA (θ) and amplitudes (i) in Eq. (3) are unknown for the lth
source where l ranges from 1 to P.

Figure 1: Plane waves falling on ULA antenna

3 Methodology
A new meta heuristic technique called FPA was originally proposed by Yang [26] in 2012. This
algorithm uses the concept of pollination in plants. Pollination is prerequisite of the fertilization
in plant species. In this process pollens migrate, meet the pollens of another flower or other plants.
The flower may be of the same plant. Likewise, the other plants may be of same species. This
results in fruitful fertilization. In biotic pollination, pollinators (insects/birds etc.) are carriers of
the pollens from one flower to another. The same are transferred via wind or simple diffusion
in abiotic pollination. Most of the part is played by the biotic pollination in nature. Flower
constancy for pollination is another responsible factor. In this, pollinators limit themselves with
plants of particular type. [49]. The mathematical expression for FPA is written as [49]:
xt+1
i = xti + L xti − gbest (5)

In Eq. (5), L = step size. It is always positive and nonzero and it determines the pollination
strength. Step size “L” represents “Levy Flights.” The further necessary details of Eq. (5) can be
seen in [45–47].
CMC, 2021, vol.68, no.2 2533

In this work, FPA is developed for parameter estimation of electromagnetic plane waves. The
flow chart of FPA is portrayed in Fig. 2. While, the pseudo-code is given as follows:

Figure 2: Flow chart of FPA

2534 CMC, 2021, vol.68, no.2

Step 1 Population Initialization

“M” individuals are generated randomly with entries equal to decision variable of optimiza-
tion problem, i.e., DOA estimation of plane waves. The Jth individual representation of FPA is
mathematically given as:
⎛ ⎞ ⎛ ⎞
f1 î1 θ̂1
⎧  
⎜ ⎟ ⎜ ⎜
⎟
⎟ ⎪
∧ ⎜ f2 ⎟ ⎜ î2 θ̂2 ⎟ ⎨î = î1 , î2 , . . . , îP ,
⎜ ⎟
F j = ⎜. ⎟ = ⎜ ⎟ for any   (6)
⎜.. ⎟ ⎜⎜ .. .. ⎟ ⎪
⎝ ⎠ ⎝. . ⎟⎠
⎩θ̂ = θ̂1+P , θ̂2+P , . . . , θ̂2P .
fM îM θ̂M j

For the current optimization problem, the constraints associated with are:
⎧
⎨î ∈ R : lb ≤ îk ≤ ub
⎩
θ̂ ∈ R : 0 ≤ θ̂k+P ≤ π

Amplitude bounds (lower and upper) are symbolized here as lb and ub respectively, and
k = 1, 2, . . . , P. Settings for FPA parameters are done, i.e., number of individuals in population,
number of iterations, probability switch, bounds etc.
Step 2 Computation of Fitness
The fitness function is expressed in terms of mean squared error. For noiseless environment
it is given as:
⎧
⎪ 1  
N
⎪ 2
⎪
⎪ y (n) − ŷ (n) ,
⎪
⎪N
⎨ n=1
ε=  P  (7)
⎪
⎪ N  
P   2
⎪
⎪ 1  
⎪
⎪  il exp −j kdn cos θP+l − îl exp −j kdn cos θ̂P+l 
⎩N  
n=1 l=1 l=1

Fitness is computed for each individual of population F using Eq. (7) and are
ranked accordingly.
Step 3 Determine g∗ , the initial best solution
Step 4 Defines a probability switch psw ∈ [0, 1].
Step 5 Compute fitness value of all n members/solution/flowers.
Step 6 if rand < psw, then
Step 7 Draw a step vector L (d-dimensional) obeying Levy Distribution
Step 8 Carry out global pollination via xt+1
i = xti + L xti − gbest
Else
Step 9 Draw a uniform distribution ε ∈ [0, 1]
Step 10 Randomly choose j and k among all solutions
CMC, 2021, vol.68, no.2 2535

 
Step 11 Do local pollination via xt+1
i = xt + ε xt − xt
i j k

Step 12 Evaluate the new best solution

Step 13 If the new solution < g∗
Step 14 xt = xt+1
Step 15 Find the current best solution g∗ among all xti
Step 16 For global best solution, store the parameters, and its fitness for each run.
Step 17 For reliability, Steps 1–16 are repeated for sufficiently huge runs to have a huge set
of data.
Step 18 For FPA performance evaluation, the fitness as in Eq. (7) and norm of the absolute
error (NAE), also called the Euclidean length, as defined below are used:

N

v =  |vk |2 (8)
k=1

where N is index of element in vector v.

4 Results and Discussion

In this section, work is presented in terms of simulations for three scenarios. In each scenario
we have two sources model (2SM), three sources model (3SM) and four sources model (4SM).
The EM plane wave sources are P where P = 2, 3 and 4 respectively. ULA has 4, 6 and 8 elements
respectively. The optimization strength of FPA is exploited for parameter estimation of these far
field sources. The true 2-D parameters of the sources are written as follows:
S = [i1 i2 ] = [0.5, 1] and θ = [θ1 θ2 ] = [0.87266, 1.4835] , S = [i1 i2 i3 ] = [3, 1, 5] and
θ = [θ1 θ2 θ3 ] = [1.8326, 2.7053, 0.87266] ,
S = [i1 i2 i3 i4 ] = [1, 1.5, 2, 2.5] and θ = [θ1 θ2 θ3 θ4 ] = [2.618, 0.34907, 1.0472, 1.9199]

The scheme designed (based on FPA) is utilized for parameter estimation. It is employed
for both situations (noisy as well as noiseless) as given in the section of methodology. For each
scenario, five cases are worked out as: Case 1: 2 SM with no noise and given noise is added for
rest of the four cases namely Case 2: 2 SM having 65 dB, Case 3: 2 SM having 55 dB, Case 4:
2 SM having 45dB and Case 5: 2 SM having 35 dB. The results are obtained for 100 independent
runs of the FPA. Objective function for any of the scenario is formulated as:
 P   2
1   
N P
−jkd(n−1) cos θ̃l 
ε=  il exp−jkd(n−1) cos(θl ) +ηn − ĩl exp  (9)
N  
n=1 l=1 l=1

Eq. (9) denotes fitness function. In this ηn denotes noise and its value is 0, 65, 55, 45, and
35dB. The settings of FPA are chosen as: Population size = 10, Probability switch = 0.8, No. of
iterations = 10,000, lower bounds of amplitude = 0, lower bounds of angle = 0, upper bounds of
amplitude = 10 and upper bounds of angle = pi, dimension size (dim) = 2 ∗ P.
For this data, the algorithm was run 100 times independently. The best estimated parameters
are given in Tabs. 1–3 for all the three scenarios. Analysis of the data was done in terms of
2536 CMC, 2021, vol.68, no.2

fitness, histogram, CDF and Box Plots for two different types. In type1 analysis, different number
of sources were taken, and same level of noise was added to them. Five such cases were examined
namely no noise, 35 dB noise, 45 dB noise, 55 dB noise and 65 dB noise. In the 2nd type, same
number of sources were taken, and different noise was added to it. Again, same five levels of noise
were added in steps. Two of the graphs of type 1 analysis with no noise and with 65 dB noise
are provided for fitness, histogram, CDF and Box Plot respectively in Figs. 3–6. The graphs of
the 2nd type analysis are shown in Figs. 7–10. Fig. 3a shows that the best fitness of two sources
is about 10−29 in 85 runs. Three sources reach to a fitness of about 10−28 in 96 runs. Likewise,
four sources have about 10−7 fitness in 100 runs. Remaining graphs of the 1st case can also be
shown. Likewise, Fig. 3b shows that even though 65 dB noise has been added but still the same
two sources get a fitness of about 10−31 in about 88 runs. The same three sources get a fitness of
about 10−30 in about 97 runs and the same four sources get a fitness of about 10−8 in 100 runs.

Table 1: Outcomes of FPA for scenario 1 of two far field sources

Noise Amplitudes DOAs Fitness NAE/error values
i1 i2 θ1 θ2
0 0.5 1 0.87266 1.4835 0.E+00 0.E+00
65 dB 0.4993 0.99953 0.8724 1.4834 0.E+00 8.93E−04
55 dB 0.49909 1.0035 0.87375 1.4824 0.E+00 0.E+00
45 dB 0.49351 1.005 0.87786 1.4878 0.E+00 0.E+00
35 dB 0.51367 0.99537 0.84826 1.4984 0.E+00 1.E−16

Table 2: Outcomes of FPA for scenario 2 of three far field sources

Noise Amplitudes DOAs Fitness NAE/error values
i1 i2 i3 θ1 θ2 θ3
0 3 1 5 1.8326 2.7053 0.87266 0.E+00 0.E+00
65 dB 3 0.99983 4.9999 1.8325 2.7046 0.87231 0.E+00 0.E+00
55 dB 2.9998 1.001 5.0018 1.8342 2.7077 0.8722 0.E+00 0.E+00
45 dB 3.0004 1.0046 4.9965 1.8413 2.703 0.87028 0.E+00 0.E+00
35 dB 3.0179 0.98696 5.0066 1.8064 2.6689 0.87465 0.E+00 0.E+00

Table 3: Outcomes of FPA for scenario 3 of four far field sources

Noise Amplitudes DOAs Fitness NAE/error values
i1 i2 i3 i4 θ1 θ2 θ3 θ4
0 0.99973 1.5001 2 2.5 8.9012 0.34907 1.0472 1.9199 1.E−07 6.E+00
65dB 1.0004 1.5002 1.9993 2.5014 2.6173 0.34871 1.0466 1.9201 1.E−08 9.E−05
55dB 0.99744 1.497 2.0016 2.4983 3.6609 0.34731 1.0483 1.9175 7.E−11 1.E+00
45dB 0.99791 1.506 1.9866 2.5054 8.897 0.35053 1.0449 1.921 6.E−09 6.E+00
35dB 1.0033 1.4633 2.0245 2.4645 9.9539 0.37401 1.0512 1.9301 1.E−09 7.E+00
CMC, 2021, vol.68, no.2 2537

(a) (b)

Figure 3: Fitness with and without noise. (a) No noise case, (b) 65 dB noise case

(a) (b)

Figure 4: Histogram with and without noise. (a) No noise case, (b) 65 dB noise case

(a) (b)

Figure 5: CDF with and without noise. (a) No noise case, (b) 65 dB noise case
2538 CMC, 2021, vol.68, no.2

Fig. 4 shows the histogram analysis of the same two cases namely noise free and with 65 dB
noise. Fig. 4a shows that about 16 runs give a fitness in the range of 10−30 to 10−25 for two
sources, and about 2 runs give the same fitness for three sources while the same two runs give a
fitness in the range 10−20 to 10−15 for four sources. Fig. 4b shows that 2 runs give a fitness in
the range of 10−35 to 10−30 for two sources, 4 runs give a fitness in the range of 10−30 to 10−25
for three sources, and about 2 runs give a fitness of 10−6 to 10−5 for four sources in the presence
of 65 dB noise respectively. Fig. 5 shows the CDF analysis of the same two cases namely noise
free and with 65 dB noise. Fig. 5a shows that about 17% of the runs give a fitness of 10−29 for
two sources, about 5% of runs give a fitness of more than 10−27 for three sources and about a
fraction of one run gives a fitness of about 10−7 for four sources. Fig. 5b shows a fitness of about
10−31 for about 12% of the runs for two sources, a fitness of more than 10−29 for 4% of runs
for three sources, and a fitness of about 10−8 for about a fraction of 1% runs for four sources in
presence of 65dB noise. Fig. 6 shows the box plot analysis for the same two cases namely noise
free and with 65 dB noise. Fig. 6a shows that worst fitness is about 10−6 for two sources, more
than 10−2 for three sources and more than 10−1 for four sources. Likewise, the best fitness is
more than 10−28 for two sources, about 10−16 for three sources and about 10−7 for four sources.
75% of fitness is about 10−6 for two sources, less than 10−3 for three sources and about 10−1 for
four sources. Exactly half of the fitness is about 10−8 for two sources, 10−4 for three sources and
less than 10−1 for four sources. Fig. 6b shows that worst fitness is less than 10−4 for two sources,
less than 10−2 for three sources, and less than 10−1 for four sources. Likewise, the best fitness is
more than 10−28 for two sources, about 10−7 for three sources, and 10−8 for four sources. 75%
of the fitness is about 10−6 for two sources, 10−2 for three sources and 10−1 for four sources.
Exactly half of the fitness is about 10−8 for two sources, 10−3 for three sources, and less than
10−1 for four sources in the presence of 65 dB noise.

(a) (b)

Figure 6: Box Plots with and without noise. (a) No noise, case (b) 65 dB noise case

Likewise, all Figs. 7–10 results show that even in low SNR situation, the proposed algorithm
performed well. With low estimation accuracy, particularly in case of two and three sources, it
has produced fair enough results. However, its performance is degraded in case of four imping-
ing sources. The reason is clear that as number of sources increases, problem of identification
becomes harder.
CMC, 2021, vol.68, no.2 2539

(a) (b) (c)

Figure 7: Fitness of same source with different noise. (a) 2 sources (b) 3 sources (c) 4 sources

(a) (b) (c)

Figure 8: Histogram of same source with different noise. (a) 2 sources (b) 3 sources (c) 4 sources

(a) (b) (c)

Figure 9: CDF of same source with different noise. (a) 2 sources (b) 3 sources (c) 4 sources
2540 CMC, 2021, vol.68, no.2

(a) (b) (c)

Figure 10: Box plot of same source with different noise. (a) 2 sources (b) 3 sources (c) 4 sources

5 Conclusion
An innovative application of flower pollination heuristic is introduced for reliable parameter
estimation of electromagnetic plane waves impinging on antenna array geometries. The accuracy,
stability and robustness of the proposed flower pollination heuristic is verified from actual value
of system parameter for single and multiple autonomous runs. The worth of the proposed FPA is
further established through statistical assessments based on fitness, histograms, cumulative distri-
bution function and box plots analysis for two, three and four source model of DOA parameter
estimation in noisy and noiseless environments.
In future, one may exploit the proposed methodology for different optimization problems
including power signal estimation [50], Hammerstein nonlinear system identification [51–53], fault
diagnosis [54], travelling salesman problem [55], second order boundary value problems [56] and
image processing [57].

Funding Statement: The authors would like to thank the Deanship of Scientific Research at
Majmaah University for supporting this work under Project Number No. R-2021-27.

Conflicts of Interest: All the authors of the manuscript declared that there are no potential conflicts
of interest.

References
[1] T. E. Tuncer and B. Friedlander, Classical and Modern Direction of Arrival Estimation. Burlington, MA:
Elsevier Inc., 2009.
[2] C. L. Meng, S. W. Chen and A. C. Chang, “Direction-of-arrival estimation based on particle swarm
optimization searching approaches for CDMA signals,” Wireless Personal Communications, vol. 81,
no. 1, pp. 343–357, 2015.
[3] R. Cao, C. Wang and X. Zhang, “Two-dimensional direction of arrival estimation using generalized
ESPRIT algorithm with non-uniform L-shaped array,” Wireless Personal Communications, vol. 84, no. 1,
pp. 321–339, 2015.
[4] Z. Chen, G. K. Gokeda and Y. Yu, Introduction to Direction-of-Arrival Estimation. Norwood: Artech
House, 2010.
[5] M. S. Bartlett, “Smoothing periodograms from time series with continuous spectra,” Nature, vol. 161,
no. 4096, pp. 686–687, 1948.
CMC, 2021, vol.68, no.2 2541

[6] J. Capon, “High resolution frequency-wavenumber spectrum analysis,” Proceedings of the IEEE, vol. 57,
no. 8, pp. 1408–1418, 1969.
[7] R. T. Lacoss, “Data adaptive spectral analysis methods,” Geophysics, vol. 36, no. 4, pp. 661–675, 1971.
[8] P. Stoica and K. C. Sharman, “Maximum likelihood methods for direction-of-arrival estimation,” IEEE
Transactions on Acoustics, Speech, and Signal Processing, vol. 38, no. 7, pp. 1132–1143, 1990.
[9] M. I. Miller and D. R. Fuhrmann, “Maximum-likelihood narrow-band direction finding and the EM
algorithm,” IEEE Transactions on Acoustics, Speech, and Signal Processing, vol. 38, no. 9, pp. 1560–
1577, 1990.
[10] L. C. Godara, “Application of antenna arrays to mobile communications. II. Beam-forming and
direction-of-arrival considerations,” Proc. of the IEEE, vol. 85, no. 8, pp. 1195–1245, 1997.
[11] Z. Ariela and B. Friedlander, “Direction of arrival estimation using parametric signal models,” IEEE
Transactions on Signal Processing, vol. 44, no. 2, pp. 339–350, 1996.
[12] F. Richard, “Analysis of min-norm and MUSIC with arbitrary array geometry,” IEEE Transactions on
Aerospace and Electronic Systems, vol. 26, no. 6, pp. 976–985, 1990.
[13] M. Haardt and M. E. Ali-Hackl, “Unitary ESPRIT: How to exploit additional information inherent
in the rotational invariance structure,” in ICASSP Proc., Adelaide, Australia, pp. 229–232, 1994.
[14] H. Krim and J. G. Proakis, “Smoothed eigenspace-based parameter estimation,” Automatica, vol. 30,
no. 1, pp. 27–38, 1994.
[15] Y. Hua and T. K. Sarkar, “Matrix pencil method for estimating parameters of exponentially damped-
undamped sinusoids in noise,” IEEE Transactions on Acoustics, Speech, and Signal Processing, vol. 38,
no. 5, pp. 814–824, 1990.
[16] M. Li and Y. Lu, “A refined genetic algorithm for accurate and reliable DOA estimation with a sensor
array,” Wireless Personal Communications, vol. 43, no. 2, pp. 533–547, 2007.
[17] L. Boccato, R. Krummenauer, R. Attux and A. Lopes, “Application of natural computing algorithms
to maximum likelihood estimation of direction of arrival,” Signal Processing, vol. 92, no. 5, pp. 1338–
1352, 2012.
[18] L. Boccato, R. Krummenauer, R. Attux and A. Lopes, “Improving the efficiency of natural computing
algorithms in DOA estimation using a noise filtering approach,” Circuits, Systems, and Signal Processing,
vol. 32, no. 4, pp. 1991–2001, 2013.
[19] Z. Zhang, J. Lin and Y. Shi, “Application of artificial bee colony algorithm to maximum likelihood
DOA estimation,” Journal of Bionic Engineering, vol. 10, no. 1, pp. 100–109, 2013.
[20] J. A. Khan, M. A. Z. Raja, M. M. Rashidi, M. I. Syam and A. M. Wazwaz, “Nature-inspired
computing approach for solving non-linear singular Emden–Fowler problem arising in electromagnetic
theory,” Connection Sciences, vol. 27, no. 4, pp. 377–396, 2015.
[21] M. A. Z. Raja, “Solution of the one-dimensional Bratu equation arising in the fuel ignition model
using ANN optimised with PSO and SQP,” Connection Science, vol. 26, no. 3, pp. 195–214, 2014.
[22] M. A. Z. Raja and R. Samar, “Numerical treatment for nonlinear MHD Jeffery-Hamel problem using
neural networks optimized with interior point algorithm,” Neurocomputing, vol. 124, no. 29, pp. 178–
193, 2014.
[23] H. Xia, H. Chen, Z. Yang, F. Lin and B. Wang, “Optimal energy management, location and size for
stationary energy storage system in a metro line based on genetic algorithm,” Energies, vol. 8, no. 10,
pp. 11618–11640, 2015.
[24] M. A. Z. Raja, U. Farooq, N. I. Chaudhary and A. M. Wazwaz, “Stochastic numerical solver for
nanofluidic problems containing multi-walled carbon nanotubes,” Applied Soft Computing, vol. 38,
no. 6348, pp. 561–586, 2015.
[25] M. A. Z. Raja, M. A. Manzar and R. Samar, “An efficient computational intelligence approach
for solving fractional order Riccati equations using ANN and SQP,” Applied Mathematical Modeling,
vol. 39, no. 10,11, pp. 3075–3093, 2015.
[26] X. S. Yang, “Flower pollination algorithm for global optimization,” in UCNC Lecture Notes in Computer
Science, vol. 7445. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer, pp. 240–249, 2012. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-
32894-7_27.
2542 CMC, 2021, vol.68, no.2

[27] A. Abdelaziz, E. Ali and S. A. Elazim, “Combined economic and emission dispatch solution using
flower pollination algorithm,” International Journal of Electrical Power & Energy Systems, vol. 80, no. 4,
pp. 264–274, 2016.
[28] U. Singh and R. Salgotra, “Synthesis of linear antenna array using flower pollination Algorithm,”
Neural Computing and Applications, vol. 29, no. 2, pp. 435–445, 2018.
[29] A. Abdelaziz, E. Ali and S. A. Elazim, “Implementation of flower pollination algorithm for solving
economic load dispatch and combined economic emission dispatch problems in power systems,” Energy,
vol. 101, no. 1, pp. 506–518, 2016.
[30] W. Zhang, Z. Qu, K. Zhang, W. Mao, Y. Ma et al., “A combined model based on CEEMDAN and
modified flower pollination algorithm for wind speed forecasting,” Energy Conversion and Management,
vol. 136, no. 995, pp. 439–451, 2017.
[31] T. T. Nguyen, J. S. Pan and T. K. Dao, “An improved flower pollination algorithm for optimizing
layouts of nodes in wireless sensor network,” IEEE Access, vol. 7, pp. 75985–75998, 2019.
[32] D. Rodrigues, G. F. Silva, J. P. Papa, A. N. Marana and X.-S. Yang, “Eeg-based person identification
through binary flower pollination algorithm,” Expert Systems with Applications, vol. 62, no. 4, pp. 81–
90, 2016.
[33] E. Emary, H. M. Zawbaa, A. E. Hassanien and B. Parv, “Multi-objective retinal vessel localiza-
tion using flower pollination search algorithm with pattern search,” Advances in Data Analysis and
Classification, vol. 11, no. 3, pp. 611–627, 2017.
[34] S. Ouadfel and A. Taleb-Ahmed, “Social spiders optimization and flower pollination algorithm for
multilevel image thresholding: A performance study,” Expert Systems with Applications, vol. 55, no. 2,
pp. 566–584, 2016.
[35] M. Sharawi, E. Emary, I. A. Saroit and H. El-Mahdy, “Flower pollination optimization algorithm
for wireless sensor network lifetime global optimization,” International Journal of Soft Computing and
Engineering, vol. 4, no. 3, pp. 54–59, 2014.
[36] T. Shankar, T. James, R. Mageshvaran and A. Rajesh, “Lifetime improvement in wsn using flower pol-
lination meta heuristic algorithm based localization approach,” Indian Journal of Science and Technology,
vol. 9, no. 37, pp. 1–10, 2016.
[37] T. Adithiyaa, D. Chandramohan and T. Sathish, “Flower Pollination Algorithm for the optimization of
stair casting parameter for the preparation of AMC,” Materials Today: Proc., vol. 21, no. 6, pp. 882–
886, 2020.
[38] H. Chiroma, A. Khan, A. I. Abubakar, Y. Saadi, M. F. Hamza et al., “A new approach for forecasting
opec petroleum consumption based on neural network train by using flower pollination algorithm,”
Applied Soft Computing, vol. 48, no. 12, pp. 50–58, 2016.
[39] P. Agarwal and S. Mehta, “Enhanced flower pollination algorithm on data clustering,” International
Journal of Computers and Applications, vol. 38, no. 2, 3, pp. 144–155, 2016.
[40] E. Nabil, “A modified flower pollination algorithm for global optimization,” Expert Systems with
Applications, vol. 57, pp. 192–203, 2016.
[41] K. Priya and N. Rajasekar, “Application of flower pollination algorithm for enhanced proton exchange
membrane fuel cell modelling,” International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, vol. 44, no. 33, pp. 18438–
18449, 2019.
[42] K. Wang, X. Li and L. Gao, “A multi-objective discrete flower pollination algorithm for stochastic
two-sided partial disassembly line balancing problem,” Computers & Industrial Engineering, vol. 130,
no. 6, pp. 634–649, 2019.
[43] Y. Zhou, R. Wang and Q. Luo, “Elite opposition-based flower pollination algorithm,” Neurocomputing,
vol. 188, no. 3, pp. 294–310, 2016.
[44] L. Shen, C. Fan and X. Huang, “Multi-level image thresholding using modified flower pollination
algorithm,” IEEE Access, vol. 6, pp. 30508–30519, 2018.
[45] M. Abdel-Basset and L. A. Shawky, “Flower pollination algorithm: A comprehensive review,” Artificial
Intelligence Review, vol. 52, no. 4, pp. 2533–2557, 2019.
CMC, 2021, vol.68, no.2 2543

[46] S. Xu and Y. Wang, “Parameter estimation of photovoltaic modules using a hybrid flower pollination
algorithm,” Energy Conversion and Management, vol. 144, pp. 53–68, 2017.
[47] Z. A. A. Alyasseri, A. T. Khader, M. A. Al-Betar, M. A. Awadallah and X. S. Yang, “Variants of the
flower pollination algorithm: A review,” Dimensions, vol. 744, pp. 91–118, 2018.
[48] F. Zaman, I. M. Qureshi, A. Naveed and Z. U. Khan, “Joint estimation of amplitude, direction of
arrival and range of near field sources using memetic computing,” Progress in Electromagnetics Research
C, vol. 31, pp. 199–213, 2012.
[49] X. S. Yang, M. Karamanoglu and X. He, “Flower pollination algorithm: a novel approach for
multiobjective optimization,” Engineering Optimization, vol. 46, no. 9, pp. 1222–1237, 2014.
[50] N. I. Chaudhary, R. Latif, M. A. Z. Raja and J. A. T. Machado, “An innovative fractional order
LMS algorithm for power signal parameter estimation,” Applied Mathematical Modelling, vol. 83, no. 6,
pp. 703–718, 2020.
[51] N. I. Chaudhary, M. Ahmed, N. Dedovic and M. A. Z. Raja, “Momentum least mean square paradigm
for the measurement of nonlinear CARAR system parameters,” Journal of Computational and Nonlinear
Dynamics, vol. 15, no. 3, pp. 31004, 2020.
[52] N. I. Chaudhary, S. Zubair, M. S. Aslam, M. A. Z. Raja and J. A. T. Machado, “Design of momen-
tum fractional LMS for Hammerstein nonlinear system identification with application to electrically
stimulated muscle model,” European Physical Journal Plus, vol. 134, no. 8, pp. 407, 2019.
[53] N. I. Chaudhary, M. S. Aslam, D. Baleanu and M. A. Z. Raja, “Design of sign fractional optimiza-
tion paradigms for parameter estimation of nonlinear Hammerstein systems,” Neural Computing and
Applications, vol. 32, no. 12, pp. 8381–8399, 2020.
[54] K. Zhu, S. Ying, N. Zhang, R. Wang, Y. Wu et al., “A performance fault diagnosis method for SaaS
software based on GBDT algorithm,” Computers, Materials and Continua, vol. 62, no. 3, pp. 1161–
1185, 2020.
[55] Y. Ruan, S. Marsh, X. Xue, Z. Liu and J. Wang, “The quantum approximate algorithm for solving
traveling salesman problem,” Computers, Materials and Continua, vol. 63, no. 3, pp. 1237–1247, 2020.
[56] C. Anitescu, E. Atroshchenko, N. Alajlan and T. Rabczuk, “Artificial neural network methods for the
solution of second order boundary value problems,” Computers, Materials and Continua, vol. 59, no. 1,
pp. 345–359, 2019.
[57] F. Li, C. Ou, Y. Gui and L. Xiang, “Instant edit propagation on images based on bilateral grid,”
Computers, Materials and Continua, vol. 61, no. 2, pp. 643–656, 2019.