Multi-Objective Evolutionary Semi-Supervised Learning for Resource-Aware Smart City Classification

Abstract

Smart-city applications often combine scarce labeled data with abundant unlabeled observations. Semi-supervised learning (SSL) exploits both labeled and unlabeled data to improve classification under limited supervision. This article presents MOEA-SSL, a multi-objective evolutionary approach for lightweight semi-supervised tabular classification that jointly optimizes predictive quality and feature usage. Experimental evaluation on three Smart City classification datasets, considering 1\%, 5\%, and 10\% labeled data, shows that MOEA-SSL achieves competitive predictive performance compared with established lightweight SSL methods while significantly reducing feature usage relative to EA-SSL in all evaluated conditions. The computed Pareto fronts also provide lower-feature-use alternatives with limited degradation in classification performance.