37,653 research outputs found
Metaheuristic design of feedforward neural networks: a review of two decades of research
Over the past two decades, the feedforward neural network (FNN) optimization has been a key interest among the researchers and practitioners of multiple disciplines. The FNN optimization is often viewed from the various perspectives: the optimization of weights, network architecture, activation nodes, learning parameters, learning environment, etc. Researchers adopted such different viewpoints mainly to improve the FNN's generalization ability. The gradient-descent algorithm such as backpropagation has been widely applied to optimize the FNNs. Its success is evident from the FNN's application to numerous real-world problems. However, due to the limitations of the gradient-based optimization methods, the metaheuristic algorithms including the evolutionary algorithms, swarm intelligence, etc., are still being widely explored by the researchers aiming to obtain generalized FNN for a given problem. This article attempts to summarize a broad spectrum of FNN optimization methodologies including conventional and metaheuristic approaches. This article also tries to connect various research directions emerged out of the FNN optimization practices, such as evolving neural network (NN), cooperative coevolution NN, complex-valued NN, deep learning, extreme learning machine, quantum NN, etc. Additionally, it provides interesting research challenges for future research to cope-up with the present information processing era
An Overview on Application of Machine Learning Techniques in Optical Networks
Today's telecommunication networks have become sources of enormous amounts of
widely heterogeneous data. This information can be retrieved from network
traffic traces, network alarms, signal quality indicators, users' behavioral
data, etc. Advanced mathematical tools are required to extract meaningful
information from these data and take decisions pertaining to the proper
functioning of the networks from the network-generated data. Among these
mathematical tools, Machine Learning (ML) is regarded as one of the most
promising methodological approaches to perform network-data analysis and enable
automated network self-configuration and fault management. The adoption of ML
techniques in the field of optical communication networks is motivated by the
unprecedented growth of network complexity faced by optical networks in the
last few years. Such complexity increase is due to the introduction of a huge
number of adjustable and interdependent system parameters (e.g., routing
configurations, modulation format, symbol rate, coding schemes, etc.) that are
enabled by the usage of coherent transmission/reception technologies, advanced
digital signal processing and compensation of nonlinear effects in optical
fiber propagation. In this paper we provide an overview of the application of
ML to optical communications and networking. We classify and survey relevant
literature dealing with the topic, and we also provide an introductory tutorial
on ML for researchers and practitioners interested in this field. Although a
good number of research papers have recently appeared, the application of ML to
optical networks is still in its infancy: to stimulate further work in this
area, we conclude the paper proposing new possible research directions
Integrated Inference and Learning of Neural Factors in Structural Support Vector Machines
Tackling pattern recognition problems in areas such as computer vision,
bioinformatics, speech or text recognition is often done best by taking into
account task-specific statistical relations between output variables. In
structured prediction, this internal structure is used to predict multiple
outputs simultaneously, leading to more accurate and coherent predictions.
Structural support vector machines (SSVMs) are nonprobabilistic models that
optimize a joint input-output function through margin-based learning. Because
SSVMs generally disregard the interplay between unary and interaction factors
during the training phase, final parameters are suboptimal. Moreover, its
factors are often restricted to linear combinations of input features, limiting
its generalization power. To improve prediction accuracy, this paper proposes:
(i) Joint inference and learning by integration of back-propagation and
loss-augmented inference in SSVM subgradient descent; (ii) Extending SSVM
factors to neural networks that form highly nonlinear functions of input
features. Image segmentation benchmark results demonstrate improvements over
conventional SSVM training methods in terms of accuracy, highlighting the
feasibility of end-to-end SSVM training with neural factors
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