Search

For the first time, this paper addresses the problem of adaptive output-feedback control for a class of uncertain stochastic nonlinear strict-feedback systems with time-varying delays using neural networks (NNs). The circle criterion is applied to designing a nonlinear observer, and no linear growth condition is imposed on nonlinear functions depending on system states. Under the assumption that time-varying delays exist in the system output, only an NN is employed to compensate for all unknown nonlinear terms depending on the delayed output, and thus, the proposed control algorithm is more simple even than the existing NN backstepping control schemes for uncertain systems described by ordinary differential equations. Three examples are given to demonstrate the effectiveness of the control scheme proposed in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the joint-structured-sparsity-based methods for transient acoustic signal classification with multiple measurements. By joint structured sparsity, we not only use the sparsity prior for each measurement but we also exploit the structural information across the sparse representation vectors of multiple measurements. Several different sparse prior models are investigated in this paper to exploit the correlations among the multiple measurements with the notion of the joint structured sparsity for improving the classification accuracy. Specifically, we propose models with the joint structured sparsity under different assumptions: same sparse code model, common sparse pattern model, and a newly proposed joint dynamic sparse model. For the joint dynamic sparse model, we also develop an efficient greedy algorithm to solve it. Extensive experiments are carried out on real acoustic data sets, and the results are compared with the conventional discriminative classifiers in order to verify the effectiveness of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this paper, the robust global asymptotic stability (RGAS) of generalized static neural networks (SNNs) with linear fractional uncertainties and a constant or time-varying delay is concerned within a novel input–output framework. The activation functions in the model are assumed to satisfy a more general condition than the usually used Lipschitz-type ones. First, by four steps of technical transformations, the original generalized SNN model is equivalently converted into the interconnection of two subsystems, where the forward one is a linear time-invariant system with a constant delay while the feedback one bears the norm-bounded property. Then, based on the scaled small gain theorem, delay-dependent sufficient conditions for the RGAS of generalized SNNs are derived via combining a complete Lyapunov functional and the celebrated discretization scheme. All the results are given in terms of linear matrix inequalities so that the RGAS problem of generalized SNNs is projected into the feasibility of convex optimization problems that can be readily solved by effective numerical algorithms. The effectiveness and superiority of our results over the existing ones are demonstrated by two numerical examples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is concerned with the robust exponential synchronization problem of a class of chaotic delayed neural networks with different parametric uncertainties. A novel impulsive control scheme (so-called dual-stage impulsive control) is proposed. Based on the theory of impulsive functional differential equations, a global exponential synchronization error bound together with some new sufficient conditions expressed in the form of linear matrix inequalities (LMIs) is derived in order to guarantee that the synchronization error dynamics can converge to a predetermined level. Furthermore, to estimate the stable region, a novel optimization control algorithm is established, which can deal with the minimum problem with two nonlinear terms coexisting in LMIs effectively. The idea and approach developed in this paper can provide a more practical framework for the synchronization of multiperturbation delayed chaotic systems. Simulation results finally demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a possibly pioneering endeavor to tackle the Microaggregation Techniques (MATs) in secure statistical databases by resorting to the principles of associative neural networks (NNs). The prior art has improved the available solutions to the MAT by incorporating proximity information, and this approach is done by recursively reducing the size of the data set by excluding points that are farthest from the centroid and points that are closest to these farthest points. Thus, although the method is extremely effective, arguably, it uses only the proximity information while -ignoring the mutual interaction between the records. In this paper, we argue that interrecord relationships can be quantified in terms of the following two entities: 1) their "association" and 2) their "interaction." This case means that records that are not necessarily close to each other may still be "grouped," because their mutual interaction, which is quantified by invoking transitive-closure-like operations on the latter entity, could be significant, as suggested by the theoretically sound principles of NNs. By repeatedly invoking the interrecord associations and interactions, the records are grouped into sizes of cardinality "k," where k is the security parameter in the algorithm. Our experimental results, which are done on artificial data and benchmark real-life data sets, demonstrate that the newly proposed method is superior to the state of the art not only based on the Information Loss (IL) perspective but also when it concerns a criterion that involves a combination of the IL and the Disclosure Risk (DR). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The application of neural networks to solve a problem involves tasks with a high computational cost until a suitable network is found, and these tasks mainly involve the selection of the network topology and the training step. We usually select the network structure by means of a trial-and-error procedure, and we then train the network. In the case of recurrent neural networks (RNNs), the lack of suitable training algorithms sometimes hampers these procedures due to vanishing gradient problems. This paper addresses the simultaneous training and topology optimization of RNNs using multiobjective hybrid procedures. The proposal is based on the SPEA2 and NSGA2 algorithms for making hybrid methods using the Baldwinian hybridization strategy. We also study the effects of the selection of the objectives, crossover, and mutation in the diversity during evolution. The proposals are tested in the experimental section to train and optimize the networks in the competition on artificial time-series (CATS) benchmark. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a hybrid evolutionary algorithm (EA) to solve nonlinear-regression problems. Although EAs have proven their ability to explore large search spaces, they are comparatively inefficient in fine tuning the solution. This drawback is usually avoided by means of local optimization algorithms that are applied to the individuals of the population. The algorithms that use local optimization procedures are usually called hybrid algorithms. On the other hand, it is well known that the clustering process enables the creation of groups (clusters) with mutually close points that hopefully correspond to relevant regions of attraction. Local-search procedures can then be started once in every such region. This paper proposes the combination of an EA, a clustering process, and a local-search procedure to the evolutionary design of product-units neural networks. In the methodology presented, only a few individuals are subject to local optimization. Moreover, the local optimization algorithm is only applied at specific stages of the evolutionary process. Our results show a favorable performance when the regression method proposed is compared to other standard methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A fast target maneuver detecting and highly accurate tracking technique using a neural fuzzy network based on Kalman filter is proposed in this paper. In the automatic target tracking system, there exists an important and difficult problem: how to detect the target maneuvers and fast response to avoid miss-tracking? The traditional maneuver detection algorithms, such as variable dimension filter (VDF) and input estimation (IE) etc., are computation intensive and difficult to implement in real time. To solve this problem, neural network algorithms have been issued recently. However, the normal neural networks such as backpropagation networks usually produce the extra problems of low convergence speed and/or large network size. Furthermore, the way to decide the network structure is heuristic. To overcome these defects and to make use of neural learning ability, a developed standard Kalman filter with a self-constructing neural fuzzy inference network (KF-SONFIN) algorithm for target tracking is presented in this paper. By generating possible target trajectories including maneuver information to train the SONFIN, the trained SONFIN can detect when the maneuver occurred, the magnitude of maneuver values and when the maneuver disappeared. Without having to change the structure of Kalman filter nor modeling the maneuvering target, this new algorithm, SONFIN, can always find itself an economic network size with a fast learning process. Simulation results show that the KF-SONFIN is superior to the traditional IE and VDF methods in estimation accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes the implementation of fuzzy motion control based on reinforcement learning (RL) and Lagrange polynomial interpolation (LPI) for gait synthesis of biped robots. First, the procedure of a walking gait is redefined into three states, and the parameters of this designed walking gait are determined. Then, the machine learning approach applied to adjusting the walking parameters is policy gradient RL (PGRL), which can execute real-time performance and directly modify the policy without calculating the dynamic function. Given a parameterized walking motion designed for biped robots, the PGRL algorithm automatically searches the set of possible parameters and finds the fastest possible walking motion. The reward function mainly considered is first the walking speed, which can be estimated from the vision system. However, the experiment illustrates that there are some stability problems in this kind of learning process. To solve these problems, the desired zero moment point trajectory is added to the reward function. The results show that the robot not only has more stable walking but also increases its walking speed after learning. This is more effective and attractive than manual trial-and-error tuning. LPI, moreover, is employed to transform the existing motions to the motion which has a revised angle determined by the fuzzy motion controller. Then, the biped robot can continuously walk in any desired direction through this fuzzy motion control. Finally, the fuzzy-based gait synthesis control is demonstrated by tasks and point- and line-target tracking. The experiments show the feasibility and effectiveness of gait learning with PGRL and the practicability of the proposed fuzzy motion control scheme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Differential evolution (DE) is a simple, yet efficient, evolutionary algorithm for global numerical optimization, which has been widely used in many areas. However, the choice of the best mutation strategy is difficult for a specific problem. To alleviate this drawback and enhance the performance of DE, in this paper, we present a family of improved DE that attempts to adaptively choose a more suitable strategy for a problem at hand. In addition, in our proposed strategy adaptation mechanism (SaM), different parameter adaptation methods of DE can be used for different strategies. In order to test the efficiency of our approach, we combine our proposed SaM with JADE, which is a recently proposed DE variant, for numerical optimization. Twenty widely used scalable benchmark problems are chosen from the literature as the test suit. Experimental results verify our expectation that the SaM is able to adaptively determine a more suitable strategy for a specific problem. Compared with other state-of-the-art DE variants, our approach performs better, or at least comparably, in terms of the quality of the final solutions and the convergence rate. Finally, we validate the powerful capability of our approach by solving two real-world optimization problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A dual neural-network method for the coordination of kinematically redundant robots is proposed in this paper. The performance criteria for single robots provided by Nedungadi and Kazerounian are generalized to a multicriteria form for the coordinated-manipulation system composed of multiple serial manipulators. By optimizing the local joint torques and generalized forces applied on the object/workpiece using a designed weighting matrix, the proposed method achieves the global stability during the coordinated-manipulation process. Moreover, the proposed algorithm has an explicit physical meaning, i.e., both the global kinetic energy of the coordination system and the two-norm of the generalized forces applied on the object are minimized simultaneously. In addition, the physical limits of both joint torques and the generalized forces applied on the object are considered, which makes the original coordination problem become a complicated optimization problem subject to both equality and inequality constraints. Compared with numerical optimization algorithms used in existing literatures, the dual neural-network method has better computational capability to deal with the complicated optimization problem. Finally, illustrative examples are given to show that the proposed method is effective and efficient for the multirobot coordinated-manipulation system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a discrete competitive Hopfield neural network (HNN) (DCHNN) based on the estimation of distribution algorithm (EDA) for the maximum diversity problem. In order to overcome the local minimum problem of DCHNN, the idea of EDA is combined with DCHNN. Once the network is trapped in local minima, the perturbation based on EDA can generate a new starting point for DCHNN for further search. It is expected that the further search is guided to a promising area by the probability model. Thus, the proposed algorithm can escape from local minima and further search better results. The proposed algorithm is tested on 120 benchmark problems with the size ranging from 100 to 5000. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithm is better than the other improved DCHNN such as multistart DCHNN and DCHNN with random flips and is better than or competitive with metaheuristic algorithms such as tabu-search-based algorithms and greedy randomized adaptive search procedure algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Artificial neural networks (ANNs) are a powerful and widely used pattern recognition technique. However, they remain "black boxes" giving no explanation for the decisions they make. This paper presents a new algorithm for extracting a logistic model tree (LMT) from a neural network, which gives a symbolic representation of the knowledge hidden within the ANN. Landwehr's LMTs are based on standard decision trees, but the terminal nodes are replaced with logistic regression functions. This paper reports the results of an empirical evaluation that compares the new decision tree extraction algorithm with Quinlan's C4.5 and ExTree. The evaluation used 12 standard benchmark datasets from the University of California, Irvine machine-learning repository. The results of this evaluation demonstrate that the new algorithm produces decision trees that have higher accuracy and higher fidelity than decision trees created by both C4.5 and ExTree. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The process of learning the behavior of a given pro- gram by using machine-learning techniques (based on system-call audit data) is effective to detect intrusions. Rule learning, neural networks, statistics, and hidden Markov models (HMMs) are some of the kinds of representative methods for intrusion detection. Among them, neural networks are known for good performance in learning system-call sequences. In order to apply this knowledge to real-world problems successfully, it is important to determine the structures and weights of these call sequences. However, finding the appropriate structures requires very long time periods be- cause there are no suitable analytical solutions. In this paper, a novel intrusion-detection technique based on evolutionary neural networks (ENNs) is proposed. One advantage of using ENNs is that it takes less time to obtain superior neural networks than when using conventional approaches. This is because they discover the structures and weights of the neural networks simultaneously. Experimental results with the 1999 Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Intrusion Detection Evaluation (IDEVAL) data confirm that ENNs are promising tools for intrusion detection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are numerous combinations of neural networks (NNs) and evolutionary algorithms (EAs) used in classification problems. EAs have been used to train the networks, design their architecture, and select feature subsets. However, most of these combinations have been tested on only a few data sets and many comparisons are done inappropriately measuring the performance on training data or without using proper statistical tests to support the conclusions. This paper presents an empirical evaluation of eight combinations of EAs and NNs on 15 public-domain and artificial data sets. Our objective is to identify the methods that consistently produce accurate classifiers that generalize well. In most cases, the combinations of EAs and NNs perform equally well on the data sets we tried and were not more accurate than hand-designed neural networks trained with simple backpropagation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we study the notion of k-reversibility and k-testability when regular tree languages are involved. We present an inference algorithm for learning a k-testable tree language that runs in polynomial time with respect to the size of the sample used. We also study the tree language classes in relation to other well known ones, and some properties of these languages are proven. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Activity understanding in visual surveillance has attracted much attention in recent years. In this paper, we present a new method for learning patterns of object activities in image sequences for anomaly detection and activity prediction. The activity patterns are constructed using unsupervised learning of motion trajectories and object features. Based on the learned activity patterns, anomaly detection and activity prediction can be achieved. Unlike existing neural network based methods, our method uses a whole trajectory as an input to the network. This makes the network structure much simpler. Furthermore, the fuzzy set theory based method and the batch learning method are introduced into the network learning process, and make the learning process much more efficient. Two set of data acquired, respectively, from a model scene and a campus scene are both used to test the proposed algorithms. Experimental results show that the fuzzy self-organizing neutral network (fuzzy SOM) is much more efficient than the Kohonen self-organizing feature map (SOFM) and vector quantization in both speed and accuracy, and the anomaly detection and activity prediction algorithms have encouraging performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Type-2 fuzzy logic system (FLS) cascaded with neural network, type-2 fuzzy neural network (T2FNN), is presented in this paper to handle uncertainty with dynamical optimal learning. A T2FNN consists of a type-2 fuzzy linguistic process as the antecedent part, and the two-layer interval neural network as the consequent part A general T2FNN is computational-intensive due to the complexity of type 2 to type 1 reduction. Therefore, the interval T2FNN is adopted in this paper to simplify the computational process. The dynamical optimal training algorithm for the two-layer consequent part of interval T2FNN is first developed. The stable and optimal left and right learning rates for the interval neural network, in the sense of maximum error reduction, can be derived for each iteration in the training process (back propagation). It can also be shown both learning rates cannot be both negative. Further, due to variation of the initial MF parameters, i.e., the spread level of uncertain means or deviations of interval Gaussian MFs, the performance of back propagation trailing process may be affected. To achieve better total performance, a genetic algorithm (GA) is designed to search optimal spread rate for uncertain means and optimal learning for the antecedent part. Several examples are fully illustrated. Excellent results are obtained for the truck backing-up control and the identification of nonlinear system, which yield more improved performance than those using type-i FNN. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Complete coverage path planning requires the robot path to cover every part of the workspace, which is an essential issue in cleaning robots and many other robotic applications such as vacuum robots, painter robots, land mine detectors, lawn mowers, automated harvesters, and window cleaners. In this paper, a novel neural network approach is proposed for complete coverage path planning with obstacle avoidance of cleaning robots in nonstationary environments. The dynamics of each neuron in the topologically organized neural network is characterized by a shunting equation derived from Hodgkin and Huxley's (1952) membrane equation. There are only local lateral connections among neurons. The robot path is autonomously generated from the dynamic activity landscape of the neural network and the previous robot location. The proposed model algorithm is computationally simple. Simulation results show that the proposed model is capable of planning collision-free complete coverage robot paths. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fuzzy production rules (FPRs) have been used for years to capture and represent fuzzy, vague, imprecise and uncertain domain knowledge in many fuzzy systems. There have been a lot of researches on how to generate or obtain FPRs. There exist two methods to obtain FPRs. One is by painstakingly, repeatedly and time-consuming interviewing domain experts to extract the domain knowledge. The other is by using some machine learning techniques to generate and extract FPRs from some training samples. These extracted rules, however, are found to be nonoptimal and sometimes redundant. Furthermore, these generated rules suffer from the problem of low accuracy of classifying or recognizing unseen examples. The reasons for having these problems are 1) the FPRs generated are not powerful enough to represent the domain knowledge, 2) the techniques used to generate FPRs are pre-matured, ad-hoc or may not be suitable for the problem, and 3) further refinement of the extracted rules has not been done. In this paper we look into the solutions of the above problems by 1) enhancing the representation power of FPRs by including local and global weights, 2) developing a fuzzy neural network (FNN) with enhanced learning algorithm, and 3) using this FNN to refine the local and global weights of FPRs. By experimenting our method with some existing benchmark examples, the proposed method is found to have high accuracy in classifying unseen samples without increasing the number of the FPRs extracted and the time required to consult with domain experts is greatly reduced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract-This paper presents a new algorithm, called adaptive merging and growing algorithm (AMGA), in designing artificial neural networks (ANNs). This algorithm merges and adds hidden neurons during the training process of ANNs. The merge operation introduced in AMGA is a kind of a mixed mode operation, which is equivalent to pruning two neurons and adding one neuron. Unlike most previous studies, AMGA puts emphasis on autonomous functioning in the design process of ANNs. This is the main reason why AGMA uses an adaptive strategy merges or adds hidden neurons based on the learning ability of hidden neurons or the training progress of ANNs. In order to reduce the amout of retraining after modifying ANN architectures, AGMA prunes hidden neurons by merging correlated hidden neurons and adds hidden neurons by splitting existing hidden neurons. The proposed AMGA has been tested on a number of benchmark problems in machine learning and ANNs, including breast cancer, Australian credit card assessment, and diabetes, gene, glass, heart, iris and thyroid problems. The experimental results show that AMGA can design compact ANN architectures with good generalization ability compared to other algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we propose two cooperative ensemble learning algorithms, i.e., NegBagg and NegBoost, for designing neural network (NN) ensembles. The proposed algorithms incrementally train different individual NNs in an ensemble using the negative correlation learning algorithm. Bagging and boosting algorithms are used in NegBagg and NegBoost, respectively, to create different training sets for different NNs in the ensemble. The idea behind using negative correlation learning in conjunction with the bagging/boosting algorithm is to facilitate interaction and cooperation among NNs during their training. Both NegBagg and NegBoost use a constructive approach to automatically determine the number of hidden neurons for NNs. NegBoost also uses the constructive approach to automatically determine the number of NNs for the ensemble. The two algorithms have been tested on a number of benchmark problems in machine learning and NNs, including Australian credit card assessment, breast cancer, diabetes, glass, heart disease, letter recognition, satellite, soybean, and waveform problems. The experimental results show that NegBagg and NegBoost require a small number of training epochs to produce compact NN ensembles with good generalization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a novel constructive-optimizer neural network (CONN) is proposed for the traveling salesman problem (TSP). CONN uses a feedback structure similar to Hopfield-type neural networks and a competitive training algorithm similar to the Kohonen-type self-organizing maps (K-SOMs). Consequently, CONN is composed of a constructive part, which grows the tour and an optimizer part to optimize it. In the training algorithm, an initial tour is created first and introduced to CONN. Then, it is trained in the constructive phase for adding a number of cities to the tour. Next, the training algorithm switches to the optimizer phase for optimizing the current tour by displacing the tour cities. After convergence in this phase, the training algorithm switches to the constructive phase anew and is continued until all cities are added to the tour. Furthermore, we investigate a relationship between the number of TSP cities and the number of cities to be added in each constructive phase. CONN was tested on nine sets of benchmark TSPs from TSPLIB to demonstrate its performance and efficiency. It performed better than several typical Neural networks (NNs), including KNIES̱TSP̱Local, KNIES̱TSP̱Global, Budinich's SOM, Co-Adaptive Net, and multivalued Hopfield network as wall as computationally comparable variants of the simulated annealing algorithm, in terms of both CPU time and accuracy. Furthermore, CONN converged considerably faster than expanding SOM and evolved integrated SOM and generated shorter tours compared to KNIES̱DECOMPOSE. Although CONN is not yet comparable in terms of accuracy with some sophisticated computationally intensive algorithms, it converges significantly faster than they do. Generally speaking, CONN provides the best compromise between CPU time and accuracy among currently reported NNs for TSP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the design and stability analysis of a sampled-data neural-network-based control system. A continuous-time nonlinear plant and a sampled-data three-layer fully connected feedforward neural-network-based controller are connected in a closed loop to perform the control task. Stability conditions will be derived to guarantee the closed-loop system stability. Linear-matrix-inequality- and genetic-algorithm-based approaches will be employed to obtain the largest sampling period and the connection weights of the neural network subject to the considerations of the system stability and performance. An application example will be given to illustrate the design procedure and effectiveness of the proposed approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An NNC-Tree is a decision tree (DT) with each nonterminal node containing a nearest neighbor classifier (NNC). Compared with the conventional axis-parallel DTs (APDTs), the NNC-Trees can be more efficient, because the decision boundary made by an NNC is more complex than an axis- parallel hyperplane. Compared with single-layer NNCs, the NNC-Trees can classify given data in a hierarchical structure that is often useful for many applications. This paper proposes an algorithm for inducing NNC-Trees based on the R4-rule, which was proposed by the author for finding the smallest nearest neighbor based multilayer perceptrons (NN-MLPs). There are mainly two contributions here. 1) A heuristic but effective method is given to define the teacher signals (group labels) for the data assigned to each nonterminal node. 2) The R4-rule is modified so that an NNC with proper size can be designed automatically in each nonterminal node. Experiments with several public databases show that the proposed algorithm can produce NNC-Trees effectively and efficiently. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses the problem of designing adaptive fuzzy-based (or neural network-based) robust controls for a large class of uncertain nonlinear time-varying systems. This class of systems can be perturbed by plant uncertainties, unmodeled perturbations, and external disturbances. Nonlinear H∞ control technique incorporated with adaptive control technique and VSC technique is employed to construct the intelligent robust stabilization controller such that an H∞ control is achieved. The problem of the robust tracking control design for uncertain robotic systems is employed to demonstrate the effectiveness of the developed robust stabilization control scheme. Therefore, an intelligent robust tracking controller for uncertain robotic systems in the presence of high-degree uncertainties can easily be implemented. Its solution requires only to solve a linear algebraic matrix inequality and a satisfactorily transient and asymptotical tracking performance is guaranteed. A simulation example is made to confirm the performance of the developed control algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many image recognition algorithms based on data-learning perform dimensionality reduction before the actual leaning and classification because the high dimensionality of raw imagery would require enormous training sets to achieve satisfactory performance. A potential problem with this approach is that most dimensionality reduction techniques, such as principal component analysis (PCA), seek to maximize the representation of data variation into a small number of PCA components, without considering interclass discriminability This paper presents a neural-network-based transformation that simultaneously seeks to provide dimensionality reduction and a high degree of discriminability by combining together the learning mechanism of a neural-network-based PCA and a backpropagation learning algorithm. The joint discrimination-compression algorithm is applied to infrared imagery to detect military vehicles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper describes a neuro-fuzzy identification approach, which uses numerical data as a starting point. The proposed method generates a Takagi-Sugeno fuzzy model, characterized with transparency, high accuracy and a small number of rules. The process of self-organizing of the identification model consists of three phases: clustering of the input-output space using a self-organized neural network; determination of the parameters of the consequent part of a rule from over-determined batch least- squares formulation of the problem, using singular value decomposition algorithm; and on-line adaptation of these parameters using recursive least-squares method. The verification of the proposed identification approach is provided using four different problems: two benchmark identification problems, speed estimation for a dc motor drive, and estimation of the temperature in a tunnel furnace for clay baking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a fingerprint classification algorithm in this paper. This algorithm classifies a fingerprint image into one of the five classes: Arch, Left loop, Right loop, Whorl, and Tented arch. We use a new Low-dimensional feature vector obtained from the output of a novel oriented line detector presented here. Our line detector is a co-operative dynamical system that gives oriented lines and preserves multiple orientations at points where differently oriented lines meet. Our feature extraction process is based on characterizing the distribution of orientations around the fingerprint. We discuss three different classifiers: support vector machines, nearest-neighbor classifier, and neural network classifier. We present results obtained on a National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) fingerprint database and compare with other published results on NIST databases. All our classifiers perform equally well, and this suggests that our novel line detection and feature extraction process indeed captures all the crucial information needed for classification in this problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract-A robust adaptive control approach is proposed to solve the consensus problem of multiagent systems. Compared with the previous work, the agent's dynamics includes the uncertainties and external disturbances, which is more practical in real-world applications. Due to the approximation capability of neural networks, the uncertain dynamics is compensated by the adaptive neural network scheme. The effects of the approximation error and external disturbances are counteracted by employing the robustness signal. The proposed algorithm is decentralized because the controller for each agent only utilizes the information of its neighbor agents. By the theoretical analysis, it is proved that the consensus error can be reduced as small as desired. The proposed method is then extended to two cases: Agents form a prescribed formation, and agents have the higher order dynamics. Finally, simulation examples are given to demonstrate the satisfactory performance of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Provides information on the time adaptive self-organizing map (TASOM) network which is a modified network with adaptive learning rates and neighborhood sizes as its learning parameters. Main feature of TASOM networks; Adaptation rules of the learning rates and neighborhood sizes; Time complexity of the TASOM algorithm.

Presents features of an adaptive neurocontrol scheme for nonlinear plants similar to a personal identification device. Description of the neuro-adaptive control scheme; Plant predictive model using neural network; Application of the sliding mode learning algorithm.

Comments on the mathematical foundations of the proposed discrete time neural networks synthesis using input and output functions. Views on the first proposition; Reasons for a signum function in the test phase; Position on the whole algorithm.

Presents a self-creating neural network in which a conservation principle is incorporated with the competitive learning algorithm to harmonize equi-probable and equi-distortion criteria. Principle of vitality conservation; Algorithm of codebook search; Performance comparison of with other networks in matching input density and image coding.

In this correspondence, an online sequential fuzzy extreme learning machine (OS-Fuzzy-ELM) has been developed for function approximation and classification problems. The equivalence of a Takagi- Sugeno-Kang (TSK) fuzzy inference system (FIS) to a generalized single hidden-layer feedforward network is shown first, which is then used to develop the OS-Fuzzy-ELM algorithm. This results in a FIS that can handle any bounded nonconstant piecewise continuous membership function. Furthermore, the learning in OS-Fuzzy-ELM can be done with the input data coming in a one-by-one mode or a chunk-by-chunk (a block of data) mode with fixed or varying chunk size. In OS-Fuzzy-ELM, all the antecedent parameters of membership functions are randomly assigned first, and then, the corresponding consequent parameters are determined analytically. Performance comparisons of OS-Fuzzy-ELM with other existing algorithms are presented using real-world benchmark problems in the areas of nonlinear system identification, regression, and classification. The results show that the proposed OS-Fuzzy-ELM produces similar or better accuracies with at least an order-of-magnitude reduction in the training time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract-An orthogonal forward selection (OFS) algorithm based on leave-one-out (LOO) criteria is proposed for the construction of radial basis function (RBF) networks with tunable nodes. Each stage of the construction process determines an RBF node, namely, its center vector and diagonal covariance matrix, by minimizing the LOO statistics. For regression application, the LOO criterion is chosen to be the LOO mean-square error, while the LOO misclassification rate is adopted in two-class classification application. This OFS-LOO algorithm is computationally efficient, and it is capable of constructing parsimonious RBF networks that generalize well. Moreover, the proposed algorithm is fully automatic, and the user does not need to specify a termination criterion for the construction process. The effectiveness of the proposed RBF network construction procedure is demonstrated using examples taken from both regression and classification applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

his correspondence presents a coarse-to-fine binary-image-thinning algorithm by proposing a template-based pulse-coupled neural-network model. Under the control of coupled templates, this algorithm iteratively skeletonizes a binary image by changing the load signals of pulse neurons. A direction-constraining scheme for avoiding fingerprint ridge spikes has been discussed. Experiments show that this algorithm is effective for fingerprint thinning, as well as other common images. Moreover, this algorithm can be coupled with a fingerprint identification system to improve the recognition performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Estimation of the dynamic spinal forces from kinematics data is very complicated because it involves the handling, of the relationship between kinematic variables and electromyography (EMG) signals, as well as the relationship between EMG signals and the forces. A recurrent fuzzy neural network (RFNN) model is proposed to establish the kinematics-EMG—force relationship and model the dynamics of muscular activities. The EMG signals are used as an intermediate output and are fed back to the input layer. Since EMG is a direct reflection of muscular activities, the feedback of this model has a physical meaning. It expresses the dynamics of muscular activities in a straightforward way and takes advantage from the recurrent property. The trained model can then have the forces predicted directly from kinematic variables while bypassing the costly procedure of measuring EMG signals and avoiding the use of a biomechanics model. A learning algorithm is derived for the RFNN model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the critical aspects of clustering algorithms is the correct identification of the dissimilarity measure used to drive the partitioning of the data set The dissimilarity measure induces the cluster shape and therefore determines the success of clustering algorithms. As cluster shapes change from a data set to another, dissimilarity measures should be extracted from data. To this aim, we exploit some pairs of points with known dissimilarity value to teach a dissimilarity relation to a feed-forward neural network. Then, we use the neural dissimilarity measure to guide an unsupervised relational clustering algorithm. Experiments on synthetic data sets and on the Iris data set show that the relational clustering algorithm based on the neural dissimilarity outperforms some popular clustering algorithms (with possible partial supervision) based on spatial dissimilarity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neural fuzzy networks proposed in the literature can be broadly classified into two groups. The first group is essentially fuzzy systems with self-tuning capabilities and requires an initial rule base to be specified prior to training, [7]. The second group of neural fuzzy networks, on the other hand, is able to automatically formulate the fuzzy rules from the numerical training data. Examples are the Falcon-ART, [12] and the POPFNN family of networks, [14]. A cluster analysis is first performed on the training data and the fuzzy rules are subsequently derived through the proper connections of these computed clusters. This correspondence proposes two new networks: Falcon-FKP and Falcon-PFKP. They are extensions of the Falcon-ART network, [12] and aimed to overcome the shortcomings faced by the Falcon-ART network itself, i.e., poor classification ability when the classes of input data are very similar to each other, termination of training cycle depends heavily on a preset error parameter, the fuzzy rule base of the Falcon-ART network may not be consistent Nauck, [13], there is no control over the number of fuzzy rules generated, and learning efficiency may deteriorate by using complementarily coded training data. These deficiencies are essentially inherent to the fuzzy ART, [3] clustering technique employed by the Falcon-ART network. Hence, two clustering techniques--Fuzzy Kohonen Partitioning (FKP) and its pseudo variant PFKP, [1] are synthesized with the basic Falcon structure to compute the fuzzy sets and to automatically derive the fuzzy rules from the training data. The resultant neural fuzzy networks are Falcon-FKP and Falcon-PFKP, respectively. These two proposed networks have a lean and efficient training algorithm and consistent fuzzy rule bases. Extensive simulations are conducted using the two networks and their performances are encouraging when benchmarked against other neural and neural fuzzy systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents a study that applied a kappa-nearest-neighbor-based data condensing algorithm to the training set of multilayer perceptron (MLP) neural networks. Discussion on neural networks; Application of the method to a synthetic spiral problem; Use of the method for a two-dimensional synthetic problem.

Studies dynamic collision-free trajectory generation in a nonstationary environment using biologically inspired neural network approaches. Dynamic characteristics of each neuron in the neural network; Description of the model algorithm; Application of variations of the proposed model to a mobile robot; Effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed approaches.

Presents information on a study which proposed an improved modified cerebellar articulation controller (MCMAC) neural control algorithm with better learning and recall processes using momentum and neighborhood learning. Information on artificial neural networks; Improved MCMAC learning rule; Proposed use of averaged trapezoidal output; Conclusions.

Presents a study which proposed a novel robust learning algorithm for function approximation to optimize fuzzy neural networks (FNN). Applications of function approximation; Structure of an FNN; Robust learning algorithm of an FNN; Simulation results; Conclusion of the study.

Presents a study which reviewed the approximation of radial basis function (RBF) neural networks. Construction of activation function of RBF networks; Algorithm for RBF; Results; Conclusions.

Considers the problem of learning the dependence of one random variable on another, from a finite string of copies of the pair. Description of learning algorithm for the proposed randomized neural networks; Simulation and results for the continuous state-space Markov chains; Conclusion.

Presents a novel algorithm for generating oblique decision trees that capitalizes on the strength of neural networks and decision tree (NN-DT) methods. Algorithm components; Steps of NN-DT algorithm; Experimental results.