Which classifiers are connected to others? An optimal connection framework for multi-layer ensemble systems

Truong Dang, Tien Thanh Nguyen, Alan Wee-Chung Liew, Eyad Elyan, John A. W. McCall

Abstract: Highlights•A multi-layer ensemble connects each classifier to multiple ones in prior layer.•Connections signify the use of previous-layer-classifiers’ outputs as new inputs.•A binary encoding scheme is proposed to encode the topology of proposed ensemble.•The optimal topology of proposed ensemble is found by using Differential Evolution.•Our ensemble performs better than benchmark algorithms on experimental datasets.