Functional Data Analysis (FDA) is an extension of traditional data analysis
to functional data, for example spectra, temporal series, spatio-temporal
images, gesture recognition data, etc. Functional data are rarely known in
practice; usually a regular or irregular sampling is known. For this reason,
some processing is needed in order to benefit from the smooth character of
functional data in the analysis methods. This paper shows how to extend the
Radial-Basis Function Networks (RBFN) and Multi-Layer Perceptron (MLP) models
to functional data inputs, in particular when the latter are known through
lists of input-output pairs. Various possibilities for functional processing
are discussed, including the projection on smooth bases, Functional Principal
Component Analysis, functional centering and reduction, and the use of
differential operators. It is shown how to incorporate these functional
processing into the RBFN and MLP models. The functional approach is illustrated
on a benchmark of spectrometric data analysis.Comment: Also available online from:
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/0925231