Abstract
Abstract This paper presents a unique hybrid classifier that combines deep neural networks with a type-III fuzzy system for decision-making. The ensemble incorporates ResNet-18, Efficient Capsule neural network, ResNet-50, the Histogram of Oriented Gradients (HOG) for feature extraction, neighborhood component analysis (NCA) for feature selection, and Support Vector Machine (SVM) for classification. The innovative inputs fed into the type-III fuzzy system come from the outputs of the mentioned neural networks. The system’s rule parameters are fine-tuned using the Improved Chaos Game Optimization algorithm (ICGO). The conventional CGO’s simple random mutation is substituted with wavelet mutation to enhance the CGO algorithm while preserving non-parametricity and computational complexity. The ICGO was evaluated using 126 benchmark functions and 5 engineering problems, comparing its performance with well-known algorithms. It achieved the best results across all functions except for 2 benchmark functions. The introduced classifier is applied to seven malware datasets and consistently outperforms notable networks like AlexNet, ResNet-18, GoogleNet, and Efficient Capsule neural network in 35 separate runs, achieving over 96% accuracy. Additionally, the classifier’s performance is tested on the MNIST and Fashion-MNIST in 10 separate runs. The results show that the new classifier excels in accuracy, precision, sensitivity, specificity, and F1-score compared to other recent classifiers. Based on the statistical analysis, it has been concluded that the ICGO and propose method exhibit significant superiority compared to the examined algorithms and methods. The source code for ICGO is available publicly at https://nimakhodadadi.com/algorithms-%2B-codes . Graphical abstract