On careful selection of initial centers for K-means algorithm

Abstract

K-means clustering algorithm is rich in literature and its success stems from simplicity and computational efficiency. The key limitation of K-means is that its convergence depends on the initial partition. Improper selection of initial centroids may lead to poor results. This paper proposes a method known as Deterministic Initialization using Constrained Recursive Bi-partitioning (DICRB) for the careful selection of initial centers. First, a set of probable centers are identified using recursive binary partitioning. Then, the initial centers for K-means algorithm are determined by applying a graph clustering on the probable centers. Experimental results demonstrate the efficacy and deterministic nature of the proposed method.