neuron-request@HPLMS2.HPL.HP.COM ("Neuron-Digest Moderator Peter Marvit") (04/06/91)
Neuron Digest Friday, 5 Apr 1991 Volume 7 : Issue 18 Today's Topics: simulator announcement Yugoslavian Summer School Send submissions, questions, address maintenance and requests for old issues to "neuron-request@hplabs.hp.com" or "{any backbone,uunet}!hplabs!neuron-request" Use "ftp" to get old issues from hplpm.hpl.hp.com (15.255.176.205). ------------------------------------------------------------ Subject: simulator announcement From: Russell Leighton <russ@dash.mitre.org> Date: Wed, 06 Mar 91 08:20:35 -0500 The following describes a neural network simulation environment made available free from the MITRE Corporation. The software contains a neural network simulation code generator which generates high performance C code implementations for backpropagation networks. Also included is a graphical interface for visualization. PUBLIC DOMAIN NEURAL NETWORK SIMULATOR AND GRAPHICS ENVIRONMENT AVAILABLE Aspirin for MIGRAINES Version 4.0 The Mitre Corporation is making available free to the public a neural network simulation environment called Aspirin for MIGRAINES. The software consists of a code generator that builds neural network simulations by reading a network description (written in a language called "Aspirin") and generates a C simulation. A graphical interface (called "MIGRAINES") is provided for platforms that support the Sun window system NeWS1.1. For platforms that do not support NeWS1.1 no graphics are currently available. The system has been ported to a number of platforms: Sun3/4 Silicon Graphics Iris IBM RS/6000 DecStation Cray YMP Included with the software are "config" files for these platforms. Porting to other platforms may be done by choosing the "closest" platform currently supported and adapting the config files. Aspirin 4.15 =------------ The software that we are releasing now is principally for creating, and evaluating, feed-forward networks such as those used with the backpropagation learning algorithm. The software is aimed both at the expert programmer/neural network researcher who may wish to tailor significant portions of the system to his/her precise needs, as well as at casual users who will wish to use the system with an absolute minimum of effort. Aspirin was originally conceived as ``a way of dealing with MIGRAINES.'' Our goal was to create an underlying system that would exist behind the graphics and provide the network modeling facilities. The system had to be flexible enough to allow research, that is, make it easy for a user to make frequent, possibly substantial, changes to network designs and learning algorithms. At the same time it had to be efficient enough to allow large ``real-world'' neural network systems to be developed. Aspirin uses a front-end parser and code generators to realize this goal. A high level declarative language has been developed to describe a network. This language was designed to make commonly used network constructs simple to describe, but to allow any network to be described. The Aspirin file defines the type of network, the size and topology of the network, and descriptions of the network's input and output. This file may also include information such as initial values of weights, names of user defined functions, and hints for the MIGRAINES graphics system. The Aspirin language is based around the concept of a "black box". A black box is a module that (optionally) receives input and (necessarily) produces output. Black boxes are autonomous units that are used to construct neural network systems. Black boxes may be connected arbitrarily to create large possibly heterogeneous network systems. As a simple example, pre or post-processing stages of a neural network can be considered black boxes that do not learn. The output of the Aspirin parser is sent to the appropriate code generator that implements the desired neural network paradigm. The goal of Aspirin is to provide a common extendible front-end language and parser for different network paradigms. The publicly available software will include a backpropagation code generator that supports several variations of the backpropagation learning algorithm. For backpropagation networks and their variations, Aspirin supports a wide variety of capabilities: 1. feed-forward layered networks with arbitrary connections 2. ``skip level'' connections 3. one and two-dimensional tessellations 4. a few node transfer functions (as well as user defined) 5. connections to layers/inputs at arbitrary delays, also "Waibel style" time-delay neural networks The file describing a network is processed by the Aspirin parser and files containing C functions to implement that network are generated. This code can then be linked with an application which uses these routines to control the network. Optionally, a complete simulation may be automatically generated which is integrated with the graphics and can read data in a variety of file formats. Currently supported file formats are: Ascii Type1, Type2, Type3 (simple floating point file formats) ProMatlab Examples =-------- A set of examples comes with the distribution: xor: from RumelHart and McClelland, et al, "Parallel Distributed Processing, Vol 1: Foundations", MIT Press, 1986, pp. 330-334. encode: from RumelHart and McClelland, et al, "Parallel Distributed Processing, Vol 1: Foundations", MIT Press, 1986, pp. 335-339. detect: Detecting a sine wave in noise. characters: Learing to recognize 4 characters independent of rotation. sonar: from Gorman, R. P., and Sejnowski, T. J. (1988). "Analysis of Hidden Units in a Layered Network Trained to Classify Sonar Targets" in Neural Networks, Vol. 1, pp. 75-89. spiral: from Kevin J. Lang and Michael J, Witbrock, "Learning to Tell Two Spirals Apart", in Proceedings of the 1988 Connectionist Models Summer School, Morgan Kaufmann, 1988. ntalk: from Sejnowski, T.J., and Rosenberg, C.R. (1987). "Parallel networks that learn to pronounce English text" in Complex Systems, 1, 145-168. perf: A large network used only for performance testing. Performance of Aspirin simulations =---------------------------------- The backpropagation code generator produces simulations that run very efficiently. Aspirin simulations do best on vector machines when the networks are large, as exemplified by the Cray's performance. All simulations were done using the Unix "time" function and include all simulation overhead. The connections per second rating was calculated by multiplying the number of iterations by the total number of connections in the network and dividing by the "user" time provided by the Unix time function. Two tests were performed. In the first, the network was simply run "forward" 100,000 times and timed. In the second, the network was timed in learning mode and run until convergence. Under both tests the "user" time included the time to read in the data and initialize the network. Sonar: This network is a two layer fully connected network with 60 inputs: 2-34-60. Millions of Connections per Second Forward: SparcStation1: 1 IBM RS/6000 320: 2.8 Cray YMP: 15.7 Backward: SparcStation1: 0.3 IBM RS/6000 320: 0.8 Cray YMP: 7 Gorman, R. P., and Sejnowski, T. J. (1988). "Analysis of Hidden Units in a Layered Network Trained to Classify Sonar Targets" in Neural Networks, Vol. 1, pp. 75-89. Nettalk: This network is a two layer fully connected network with [29 x 7] inputs: 26-[15 x 8]-[29 x 7] Millions of Connections per Second Forward: SparcStation1: 1 IBM RS/6000 320: 3.5 Cray YMP: 64 Backward: SparcStation1: 0.4 IBM RS/6000 320: 1.3 Cray YMP: 24.8 Sejnowski, T.J., and Rosenberg, C.R. (1987). "Parallel networks that learn to pronounce English text" in Complex Systems, 1, 145-168. Perf: This network was only run on the Cray. It is very large with very long vectors. The performance on this network is in some sense a peak performance for a machine. This network is a two layer fully connected network with 2048 inputs: 128-512-2048 Millions of Connections per Second Forward: Cray YMP: 96.3 Backward: Cray YMP: 18.9 Note: The cray benchmarks are courtesy of the Center for High Performance Computing at the University of Texas. Aspirin 5.0 =----------- The next release of the software *may* include: 1. 2nd order (quadratic) connections 2. Auto-regressive nodes (this a form of limited recurrence) 3. Code generators for other (not backprop) neural network learning algorithms. 4. More supported file formats 5. More config files for other platforms. MIGRAINES 4.0 =------------- MIGRAINES is a graphics system for visualizing neural network systems. The graphics that are currently being released are exclusively for feed-forward networks. They provide the ability to display networks, arc weights, node values, network inputs, network outputs, and target outputs in a wide variety of formats. There are many different representations that may be used to display arcs weights and node values, including pseudo-color (or grayscale) arrays (with user modifiable colors and value-to-color mappings), various plots, bar charts and other pictorial representations. MIGRAINES is not necessary for the execution of the Aspirin system. Networks may be designed, executed, tested, and saved entirely apart from any graphic interface. The more exotic the network being considered, the smaller the amount of graphics that will be useful. However, the graphics offer such a degree of creative and analytic power for neural network research that even the most jaded researcher will find them useful. Although the graphics were developed for the NeWS1.1 window system, it can be run under Sun's OpenWindows which supports NeWS applications. Note: OpenWindows is not 100% backward compatible with NeWS1.1 so some features of the graphics may not work well. MIGRAINES 5.0 =------------- The next release will replace the NeWS1.1 graphics with an X based system as well extending the graphical capabilities. An interface to the scientific visualization system apE2.0 *may* be available. How to get the software =----------------------- The software is available from two FTP sites, CMU's simulator collection and UCLA's cognitive science machines. The compressed tar file is a little more than 2 megabytes. The software is currently only available via anonymous FTP. > To get the software from CMU's simulator collection: 1. Create an FTP connection from wherever you are to machine "pt.cs.cmu.edu" (128.2.254.155). 2. Log in as user "anonymous" with password your username. 3. Change remote directory to "/afs/cs/project/connect/code". Any subdirectories of this one should also be accessible. Parent directories should not be. 4. At this point FTP should be able to get a listing of files in this directory and fetch the ones you want. Problems? - contact us at "connectionists-request@cs.cmu.edu". 5. Set binary mode by typing the command "binary" ** THIS IS IMPORTANT ** 6. Get the file "am4.tar.Z" > To get the software from UCLA's cognitive science machines: 1. Create an FTP connection to "polaris.cognet.ucla.edu" (128.97.50.3) (typically with the command "ftp 128.97.50.3") 2. Log in as user "anonymous" with password your username. 3. Change remote directory to "alexis", by typing the command "cd alexis" 4. Set binary mode by typing the command "binary" ** THIS IS IMPORTANT ** 5. Get the file by typing the command "get am4.tar.Z" How to unpack the software =-------------------------- After ftp'ing the file make the directory you wish to install the software. Go to that directory and type: zcat am4.tar.Z | tar xvf - How to print the manual =----------------------- The user manual is located in ./doc in a few compressed PostScript files. To print each file on a PostScript printer type: zcat <file.ps.Z> | lpr Thanks -=----- Thanks to the folks at CMU and UCLA for the ftp site. Thanks to the folks at the Center for High Performance Computing at the University of Texas for the use of their computers. Copyright and license agreement =------------------------------- Since the Aspirin/MIGRAINES system is licensed free of charge, the MITRE Corporation provides absolutely no warranty. Should the Aspirin/MIGRAINES system prove defective, you must assume the cost of all necessary servicing, repair or correction. In no way will the MITRE Corporation be liable to you for damages, including any lost profits, lost monies, or other special, incidental or consequential damages arising out of the use or in ability to use the Aspirin/MIGRAINES system. This software is the copyright of The MITRE Corporation. It may be freely used and modified for research and development purposes. We require a brief acknowledgement in any research paper or other publication where this software has made a significant contribution. If you wish to use it for commercial gain you must contact The MITRE Corporation for conditions of use. The MITRE Corporation provides absolutely NO WARRANTY for this software. February, 1991 Russell Leighton Alexis Wieland The MITRE Corporation 7525 Colshire Dr. McLean, Va. 22102-3481 ------------------------------ Subject: Yugoslavian Summer School From: Drago Indjic <indjic%sig.ee.ic.ac.uk@pucc.PRINCETON.EDU> Date: Wed, 27 Mar 91 18:45:25 +0000 Dear Peter, would you be so kind to include following announcement in the Neuron Digest? Despite recent riots against ruling Communist party in Belgrade, we are working very hard to make this Summer School successful. Thank you in advance, Drago Indjic =------------------------------------------------------------------------ Dear sirs, I have great pleasure to inform you that Advanced Summer School on Modern Computer Design and Neurocomputing in Belgrade will take place as scheduled. The Proceedings of previous Summer Schools on Neurocomputing, held in Genoa (1989) and Dubrovnik (1990) are published in Prentice Hall series "Neural Networks: Concepts, Applications, and Implementations", vol. 1-4. We welcome contributions from participants and all registered participants will be given opportunity to present their research results in highly interactive environment of our Summer School. Special note for UK participants: You might be interested to know that Yugoslav Airlines (JAT) is offering special Consol K1M instant purchase fare Heathrow-Belgrade for only 165.00 GBP return if booking is made prior to 15 April 1991. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you need any additional information. I look forward to welcoming you in Belgrade, Drago Indjic International Advisor e-mail: indjic@sig.ee.ic.ac.uk phone: + 71 (44) 589 5111 Ext 5154 Address: Department of Electrical Engineering, Imperial College, London SW7 2BT, UK =---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sava Center B E L G R A D E YUGOSLAVIA in cooperation with R & D CENTER FOR NEUROCOMPUTING SCHOOL OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING UNIVERSITY OF BELGRADE YUGOSLAVIA ********************************************************************** ADVANCED SUMMER SCHOOL on N E U R O C O M P U T I N G with a special emphasis on HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE IMPLEMENTATION OF NEUROCOMPUTERS May 12-18, 1991. Sava Congress Center Belgrade, Yugoslavia ********************************************************************** INTRODUCTION The stress of this summer school is real implementations of neurocomputers, and the emphasis is on RISC and VLSI implementation approaches which can be easily accomplished with relatively modest tools in typical university environments. Speakers of this Summer School are well known experts in the field, and they come from the World's leading schools in the field. The presentations are predominantly educational, and are oriented to engineers that plan im- plementations of neuroprocessors or neurocomputers. Needed background is B.Sc. in electrical engineering, with some basic knowledge of computer engineering. The School is ideal for practitioners and managers from industry, as well as students and researchers form academia. A number of new research results ( of which some represent possible break- throughts in the field ) will be represented to the scientific community for the first time during this Summer School. An exhibition of hardware and software will take place during the School, as well. All registered attendees will be given an opportunity to talk at least 30 minutes on their own research. This summer school is organized directed by : Paolo Antognetti Jozo Dujmovic University of Genova University of Belgrade Italy Yugoslavia Veljko Milutinovic University of Belgrade Yugoslavia For all questions related to the program and the logistics, please refer to : Ms Natalija Jurosevic Fax: + 38 (11) 455 785 Kongresne Delatnosti Phone: + 38 (11) 605 750 Sava Center E-mail: EARN_007@YUBGEF51.BITNET Milentija Popovica 9 11000 Belgrade Yugoslavia =--------------------------------------------------------------------------- SCHOOL SECRETARIAT : ADVISORY COMMITTEE : Drago Indjic, International Andrzej Janicki, Poland Advisor Nikola Jejina Aleksandar Krukov, USSR Petar Markovic Keinosuke Mori, Japan Djordje Senicic Daniel Tabak, USA Dejan Stojanovic Ferenc Vajda, Hungary =--------------------------------------------------------------------------- This summer school takes place in the modern congress center SAVA, on the bank of the river Sava, located between the hotels Intercontinental and Hyatt. Belgrade is just about half-hour-by-plane away from the beauti- ful Montenegro coast of the Adriatic sea, and relatively short driving distance from a number of World-famous medieval monasteries of Serbia. P R O G R A M : Morning sessions have one speaker, and they go from 9:00am to 12:30pm (with a cash-bar break from 10:30am to 11:00am ). Afternoon sessions have several speakers and they go from 2:00pm to at least 5:30pm ( with cash-bar break from 3:30pm to 4:00pm). This schedule will be strictly respected. Special meetings will be organized with the representatives of the local industry and trade. * MONDAY, MAY 13, 1991: Opening: Djordje PAUNOVIC, Dean School of Electrical Engineering University of Belgrade Morning: Neal GALLAGHER - Introduction to neural nets Purdue University, USA Afternoon: Rajko TOMOVIC, member, Academy of Sciences of Vojvodina Srdjan Stankovic Milan Milosavljevic Dragos Cvetkovic,associate member, Serbian Academy of Sciences Dejan Todorovic Mirko Milic, associate member, Serbian Academy of Sciences * TUESDAY, MAY 14, 1991: Morning: Michael WEINFELD "Case study of a fully connected digital network with internal learning", Ecole Politechnique de Paris, France Afternoon: Jozo Dujmovic Dejan Popovic Silja Matausek Lilja Milic Djordje Senicic Predrag Markovic * WEDNESDAY, MAY 15, 1991: Morning: Philip TRELEAVEN "Case study of a neural MIMD machine" University College of London, UK Afternoon: Georgije Lukatela Milan Savic Dejan Ostojic Dejan Rakovic Djuro Koruga - to be announced- * THURSDAY, MAY 16, 1991: Morning : Fausto Distante "Case study of a neural VLSI machine" Politechnic of Milano, Italy Afternoon: Veljko Milutinovic "A survey of neural machines" University of Belgrade * FRIDAY, MAY 17, 1991: Morning: Informal discussions Afternoon: Sightseeings =-------------------------------------------------------------------------- REGISTRATION FEE: Full fee US$ 995 (on before April 7,1991) US$ 1195 (on or after April 8,1991) Reduced fee for participants from East Europe: US$ 295 (on before April 7,1991) US$ 395 (on or after April 8,1991) Reduced fee for students: 50% of the full fee The registration is accomplished by sending two separate pieces of mail: a) The enclosed registraton form, appropriately felled- in and signed. b) Some proof that the payment is made, before the desired deadline. The payment is either by cheques payable to "SAVA CENTER ( for SSNN-91 )", or by a bank transfer to account No. 60811-620-16-101-257300-02424 (any major currency), BEOBANKA , Belgrade, Yugoslavia. LOGISTICS: All morning speakers and full fee attendees receive the following: 1. Copies of all transparencies used in the morning talks. 2. A copy of the Prentice-Hall book entitled "Neural Networks: Concepts, Applications, and Implementations ", for which the forward was written by Nobel Laureate Leon Cooper. 3. Free airport transportation, on condition that they fax the exact plane arrival and departure time at least 7 days prior to the start of the school. 4. Special discount for a room in hotel Hyatt, on the same condition as above. 5. Free attendance to the scool. Reduced fee participation receive only the free attendance to the school. This reduction is accomplished through the special young talents and science development programs of the SAVA Center. NOTE: On a special request , SAVA CENTER can help the attendees to organeze pre-shool or post-school sightseeing trips to the Adriatic Coast, or the Medieval monasteries of Serbia. For foreigh attendees, this summer school will be a unique opportunity to get in touch with Yugoslavian businesses and industries in the field. Show-and-tell tours will include major research and business centers of Belgrade. ************************************************************************ Registration form: Name: .................................. Initial: ...... Title: ......... Student: (Yes or No) Company/University: ..................................................... Address: ................................................................ ......................................................................... City: ............................. Zip code: ............................ Country: .......................... Phone: ............................ Fax: ................................. E-mail: ........................... Date: ............................. Signature: ........................... (Attendees take care about accomodation. Please attach some proof of payment). ------------------------------ End of Neuron Digest [Volume 7 Issue 18] ****************************************