|
NeuroSolutions is a highly graphical neural network development tool for
Windows 95/98/NT/2000/XP. This leading edge software combines a modular, icon-based
network design interface with an implementation of advanced learning procedures
and genetic optimization. The result is a virtually unconstrained environment
for designing neural networks for research and for solving real-world problems.
The Latest in Neural Network Technologies
Our strong ties with the world-renowned Computational Neural Engineering Lab
at the University of Florida enable us to keep up with the state-of-the-art in
neural network technology and incorporate it into the software. Here are some of
the most recent additions to NeuroSolutions:
- Neuro-Fuzzy - The coactive neuro-fuzzy inference system (CANFIS)
model integrates fuzzy inputs with a neural network to quickly solve poorly
defined problems. Fuzzy inference systems are also valuable as they combine
the explanatory nature of rules (membership functions) with the power of
neural networks.
- Support Vector Machine - The Support Vector Machine (SVM) model
maps inputs to a high-dimensional feature space, and then optimally
separates data into their respective classes by isolating those inputs that
fall close to the data boundaries. They are especially effective in
separating sets of data that share complex boundaries.
- Conjugate Gradient - Conjugate gradient learning is a second-order
training method that provides an excellent trade-off between complexity and
performance. Typically it trains faster and better (lower MSE) than standard
backpropagation. In addition, it is completely parameterless -- no learning
rates or momentum terms to adjust.
- Teacher Forcing / Iterative Prediction - There are some
time-series prediction problems that are best modeled using a method called
teacher forcing. This specialized training algorithm feeds the predicted
output back into the input in order to improve the accuracy of multi-step
prediction. The predicted output of networks trained with teacher forcing is
then obtained using iterative prediction.
Temporal Neural Networks
NeuroSolutions is one of the few neural network development tools to fully
support backpropagation through time (BPTT). Instead of mapping a static input
to a static output, BPTT maps a series of inputs to a series of outputs. This
provides the ability to solve temporal problems by extracting how data changes
over time. Examples of temporal problems are digital signal processing, speech
recognition, and time-series prediction.
User-defined Neural Topologies
NeuroSolutions is based on the concept that neural networks can be broken
down into a fundamental set of neural components. Individually these components
are relatively simplistic, but several components connected together can result
in networks capable of solving very complex problems. The network construction
wizards will connect these components for you based on your specifications.
However, once the network is built you can arbitrarily change interconnections
and/or add in new components. In other words, a virtually infinite number of
neural models are possible!
User-defined Neural Components
The Developers and Developers Lite levels allow you to integrate your own
algorithms into NeuroSolutions through dynamic link libraries (DLLs). Every
NeuroSolutions component implements a function conforming to a simple protocol
in C. To add a new component you simply modify the template function for the
base component and compile the code into a DLL -- all directly from
NeuroSolutions! Note: this feature requires that Microsoft Visual C++ (version
5.0 or higher) be installed on the same machine.
C++ Code Generation
An application developer can integrate a NeuroSolutions neural network into
their application by generating a DLL with the Custom Solution Wizard or by
generating the C++ source code for the network using the Professional or
Developers level of NeuroSolutions. The source code generation facility of
NeuroSolutions is as robust as its object-oriented design environment. No matter
how simple or complex of a network you create within the graphical user
interface, NeuroSolutions will generate the equivalent neural network in ANSI
C++ source code -- even those networks that contain your own algorithms
implemented with DLLs! The generated network can be trained beforehand within
the graphical design environment of NeuroSolutions or from within your C++
application.
The generated code links with a pre-compiled object library, which contains
all of the neural component algorithms provided by NeuroSolutions.
NeuroSolutions ships with the libraries for the Microsoft Visual C++ (5.0 and
above) and Borland Builder (3.0 and above) compilers. However, some developers
may wish to use a different Windows compiler, or a compiler on a different
operating system entirely, such as UNIX. For this reason, NeuroDimension makes
the source code for the entire object library available as a separate product
called the Source Code License. This license also gives you the ultimate level
of flexibility in that you can modify the component library code to meet your
unique needs.
The license for the object library, as well as the Source Code License,
entitles the licensee to distribute recall networks royalty-free. Learning
networks are restricted to one machine per license, although royalty agreements
for distribution can be formulated on a case-by-case basis. Note that learning
DLLs generated with the Custom Solution Wizard are not subject to royalties.
Extensive Probing Capabilities
Neural networks are often criticized as being a "black box" technology. With
NeuroSolutions' extensive and versatile set of probing tools, this is no longer
the case. Probes provide you with real-time access to all internal network
variables, such as:
- Inputs/Outputs
- Weights
- Errors
- Hidden States
- Gradients
- Sensitivities
Probing is an important step in the neural network design process, therefore
we have made it an integral part of NeuroSolutions. As with the neural
components, the probe components are inherently modular; the way you view the
data is independent of what the data represents. All network data are reported
through a common protocol, and all NeuroSolutions probes understand this
protocol. This provides you with access to all internal variables, along with a
variety of ways to visualize them.
Genetic Optimization
The Users level of NeuroSolutions and above include Genetic Optimization.
Genetic Optimization allows you to optimize virtually any parameter in a neural
network to produce the lowest error. For example, the number of hidden units,
the learning rates, and the input selection can all be optimized to improve the
network performance. Individual weights used in the neural network can even be
updated through Genetic Optimization as an alternative to traditional training
methods.
Sensitivity Analysis
After training a neural network, you may want to know the effect that each of
the network inputs is having on the network output. The sensitivity analysis
feature of NeuroSolutions can be used to perform this function. Sensitivity
analysis is a method for extracting the cause and effect relationship between
the inputs and outputs of the network. The basic idea is that each input channel
to the network is offset slightly and the corresponding change in the output(s)
is reported. The input channels that produce low sensitivity values can be
considered insignificant and can most often be removed from the network. This
will reduce the size of the network, which in turn reduces the complexity and
the training time. Furthermore, this will likely also improve the network
performance for the out-of-sample testing data.
Exemplar Weighting
Classification problems often do not have an equal number of training
exemplars (samples) for each class. For example, you may have a neural network
application that detects the occurrence of cancer from clinical test data. The
training data for this problem may contain 99 exemplars classified as non-cancerous
for every one exemplar classified as cancerous. A standard neural network would
most often train itself to classify all exemplars as non-cancerous so that it
would be 99% correct. Since the goal is to detect the existence of cancer, this
is a problem.
One way to overcome this problem would be to throw away most of the training
exemplars so that there would be an equal number for each class. This would
drastically reduce the amount of training data, and likely result in a network
with poor generalization.
NeuroSolutions provides a better solution using a method called exemplar
weighting. For the example above, each of the cancerous training exemplars would
have 99 times more weight during the backpropagation procedure than the non
cancerous exemplars. This balancing of the training data will most likely result
in a system that does a much better job of detecting the cancerous cases.
Macros
NeuroSolutions has a comprehensive macro language, which allows the user to
record a sequence of operations and store them as a program. Any action that can
be performed using the mouse and keyboard can be duplicated with a macro
statement. This powerful feature gives the user unprecedented flexibility in
constructing, editing, and running neural networks. When running the demos of
the evaluation version of NeuroSolutions, keep in mind that they were
constructed entirely with macros.
OLE Automation
NeuroSolutions is a fully compliant OLE Automation Server. This means that
NeuroSolutions can receive control messages from OLE Automation Controllers,
such as Visual C++, Visual Basic, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Access, and Delphi.
Writing a fully-functioning VB program is as simple as recording a
NeuroSolutions macro, clicking the "Convert to VB" button, and pasting the
converted VB code into the desired VB application. A VB application might be
written to set a network?s parameters, run the network, then retrieve the
network?s output. When running the demos of the evaluation version of
NeuroSolutions, be sure to run the OLE Automation demo which shows a sample VB
application that communicates with NeuroSolutions via OLE.
Network Construction Wizards
NeuroSolutions has two separate wizards that you can use to automatically
build a neural network to your design specifications:
- NeuralExpert
The NeuralExpert centers the design specifications around the type of
problem you wish the neural network to solve (Classification, Prediction,
Function Approximation or Clustering). Given this problem type and the size
of your data set, the NeuralExpert intelligently selects the neural network
size and architecture that will most likely produce a good solution. There
is an optional beginner level that hides some of the more advanced
operations such as cross validation and genetic optimization.
- NeuralBuilder
The NeuralBuilder centers the design specifications around the specific
neural network architecture you wish to have built. Some of the most common
architectures include:
- Multilayer Perceptron (MLP)
- Generalized Feedforward
- Modular
- Jordan/Elman
- Principal Component Analysis (PCA)
- Radial Basis Function (RBF)
- General Regression Neural Network (GRNN)
|
- Probabilistic Neural Network (PNN)
- Self-Organizing Map (SOM)
- Time-Lag Recurrent Network (TLRN)
- Recurrent Network
- CANFIS Network (Fuzzy Logic)
- Support Vector Machine (SVM)
|
Once you select the architecture you can customize parameters such as the
number of hidden layers, the number of processing elements and the learning
algorithm. If you don't know what a parameter should be set to, you can
specify that a genetic algorithm be used to optimize the setting for you.
System Requirements:
- Windows 95/98/ME/2000/NT/XP
- 16MB RAM
- 40MB free disk space
|
