I love BP. But your time is over. (News from Japan).

[Hideki KAWAHARA]

I love BP. But, your time is over.

I presented our new method for designing feedforward artificial
neural networks, which can approximate arbitrary continuous
mapping from n-dimensional hyper-cube to m-dimensional space,
at the IEICE-Japan technical meeting on 16/Sept./1988.
The method SPAN (Saturated Projection Algorithm for 
Neural network design) can incorporate a-priori
knowledge on the mapping to be approximated.
Computational steps required for training a specific network are
several hundredth or thousandth of those required by 
conventional BP procedures.

SPAN, I hope, will replace considerable amount of 
thoughtless applications of BP, which usually found 
in this feverish atmosphere of Neuro-computing in Japan.
And I also hope this will let researchers to change their attentions
to the more essential problems (representations, dynamics,
associative memory, inference....and so on).

This doesn't mean that SPAN covers BP completely.
Instead, SPAN is cooperative with BP, LVQ by Kohonen, 
and many other neural algorithms.
Only thoughtless applications will be discouraged.

The IEICE technical report is already available on your request.
However, it is written in Japanese.
The elaborated English version will be available by the end
of this year.
If you interested in our report, please mail to the 
address given at the end of this mail.

References:

[1]Kawahara, H. and Irino, T.: "A Procedure for Designing 
3-Layer Neural Networks Which Approximate Arbitrary Continuous
Mapping: Applications to Pattern Processing," PRU88-54 IEICE
Technical Report, Vol.88, No.177,pp.47-54, (Sept.1988). (in Japanese)

This is the report mentioned above. Sorry for using ambiguous
term, 3-Layer. Networks designed by SPAN have one hidden layer
with two adjustable weight-layers.

[2]Irie, B. and Miyake. S.: "Capabilities of Three-layered
Perceptrons," ICNN88, pp.I-641-648, (1988).

[3]Funahashi, K.: "On the Capabilities of Neural Networks,"
MBE88-52 IEICE Technical Report, pp.127-134, (July 1988).
(in Japanese).

These are useful for understanding SPAN. [2] gives an explicit
algorithm for designing neural networks, which can approximate
arbitrary continuous mapping. [3] provides mathematical proof of
statements given in [2]. However, these results provide no practical
implementations. [3] is submitted to the INNS journal.

----------------------------------------------------------------
Reports presented at the IECE technical meeting on
Pattern Recognition and Understanding 16/Sept./1988, Tokyo, Japan.

--excerpts -------
Special session on Pattern Recognition and Neural Networks

(3)PRU88-50:"On the Learning Network, Stochastic Vector Machine,"
  Saito, H. and Ejima, T., Nagaoka University of Technology.

(4)PRU88-51:"An Order Estimation of Stochastic Process Model
 using Neural Networks," Ohtsuki, N., Kushiro National College of
 Technology, Miyanaga, Y. and Tochinai, K., Faculty of Engineering,
 Hokkaido University, and Ito, H., Kushiro National College of
 Technology.

(5)PRU88-52:"Selection of High-Accurate Spectra using Neural Model,"
 Hiroshige, M., Miyanaga, Y. and Tochinai, K., Faculty of Engineering,
 Hokkaido University.

(6)PRU88-53:"Stereo Disparity Detection with Neural Network Model,"
 Maeda, E. and Okudaira, M., NTT Human Interface Laboratories.

(7)PRU88-54:"A Procedure for Designing 3-Layer Neural Networks
 which Approximate Arbitrary Continuous Mapping: Applications to 
 Pattern Processing, Kawahara, H. and Irino, T., NTT Basic Research
 Laboratories.

(8)PRU88-55:"Speaker-Independent Word Recognition using Dynamic
 Programming Neural Networks," Isotani, R. Yoshida, K. Iso, K.
 Watanabe, T. and Sakoe, H., C&C Information Technology Res. Labs. 
 NEC Corporation.

(9)PRU88-56:"Character Recognition by Neuro Pattern Matching,"
 Tsukui, Y. and Hirai, Y., Univ. of Tsukuba.

(10)PRU88-57:"Recognition of Hand-written Alphanumeric Characters
 by Artificial Neural Network," Koda, T. Takagi, H. and Shimeki, Y.,
 Central Research Laboratories Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.

(11)PRU88-58:"Character Recognition using Neural Network,"
 Yamada, K. Kami, H. Mizoguchi, M. and Temma, T., C&C Information Technology
 Research Laboratories, NEC Corporation.

(12)PRU88-59:"Aiming at a Large Scale Neural Network," Mori, Y.,
 ATR Auditory and Visual Perception Research Laboratories.

These are all written in Japanese.
If you can read Japanese, you can order these technical reports to
the following address.

--------
The Institute of Electronics, Information and Communication Engineers
Kikai-shinko-Kaikan Bldg.,
5-8, Shibakoen 3 chome,
Minato-ku, TOKYO, 105 JAPAN.
-------

The price will be about $8.00 (please add postage (about $5.00 ??)).

You can also find some of the authors listed above at the NIPS
meeting in Denver. (Speaking for myself, I'd like to attend it.
However the budgetary conditions.......)

Next month, we have several annual meetings with
special sessions on neural networks.
I'll report them in the near future.

Hideki Kawahara

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e-mail: kawahara%nttlab.ntt.JP at RELAY.CS.NET  (from ARPA)
s-mail:
Hideki Kawahara
Information Science Research Laboratory
NTT Basic Research Laboratories
3-9-11, Midori-cho,
Musashino, TOKYO, 180 JAPAN.
tel: +81 422 59 2276        fax: +81 422 59 3016
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