New approach for near-infrared wavelength selection using a combination of MIC and firefly evolution

Full-length spectral data analysis has a big problem that the variables are highly in collinearity and correlation. Spectral wavelength selection is a continuing hot topic in quantitative or qualitative analysis. In this paper, we propose a new approach for near-infrared (NIR) wavelength selection. The novel strategy mainly refers to the modification of maximum information coefficient (MIC) method and an improvement of firefly evolutionary algorithm. We introduce the orthogonal decomposition to modify the MIC method, so as to search the informative signals conceived in projection vectors. We also raise the common firefly algorithm (FA) as in the discretized mode, and design a novel adaptive mapping function to improve its intelligent computing effect. In experiment, the modified MIC (MIC_m) method and the adaptive discrete FA algorithm (DFA_adp) are joint together for combined optimization of the NIR calibration model. The proposed combined modeling strategy is applied for quantitative analysis of the fishmeal samples, in the concern to select their informative variables/wavelengths. Experimental results indicate that the combination of MIC_m and DFA_adp perform better than traditional MIC method and common DFA. We conclude that the proposed combined optimization strategy is beneficial for wavelength selection in NIR spectral analysis. It is anticipated to be validated for further applications in a wide range.