title: Decision manifolds--a supervised learning algorithm based on self-organization.
abstract: In this paper, we present a neural classifier algorithm that locally approximates the decision surface of labeled data by a patchwork of separating hyperplanes, which are arranged under certain topological constraints similar to those of self-organizing maps (SOMs). We take advantage of the fact that these boundaries can often be represented by linear ones connected by a low-dimensional nonlinear manifold, thus influencing the placement of the separators. The resulting classifier allows for a voting scheme that averages over the classification results of neighboring hyperplanes. Our algorithm is computationally efficient both in terms of training and classification. Further, we present a model selection method to estimate the topology of the classification boundary. We demonstrate the algorithm's usefulness on several artificial and real-world data sets and compare it to the state-of-the-art supervised learning algorithms.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Software Technology and Interactive Systems, Vienna University of Technology, Vienna 1040, Austria. poelzlbauer@ifs.tuwien.ac.at
authors.forename: Georg
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Polzlbauer
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Lidy
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rauber
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D001185:Artificial Intelligence; D003198:Computer Simulation; D003661:Decision Support Techniques; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D016571:Neural Networks, Computer; D010363:Pattern Recognition, Automated / Q000379:methods*