neuron-request@HPLABS.HPL.HP.COM ("Neuron-Digest Moderator Peter Marvit") (02/12/90)
Neuron Digest Sunday, 11 Feb 1990 Volume 6 : Issue 12 Today's Topics: New list and contact point for: neural networks and transputers Call for Papers on Combined symbolic and numeric processing Preprint Available (excerpts are given below) Summer Course in Computational Neurobiology Call for Papers - Progess in Neural Nets Conference on Intelligent Control 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: New list and contact point for: neural networks and transputers From: INMOS/ST Neurocomputer Lab <DUDZIAK@isnet.inmos.COM> Date: Fri, 09 Feb 90 13:41:28 -0700 Two announcements: (1) Proposal for New List / Request for Moderator I would like to establish a new list focusing on transputer-based neurocomputing research and applications. From my perspective there is enough interest and activity in this area to merit a list on its own. However, while I am perfectly willing to moderate and coordinate this list, I am not physically located at a network site and have only a 2400 baud link to the machine which serves as the INMOS USA network site. Is there anyone who would like to moderate this list? The situation will hopefully change within a year, but with the volume of activity in this area I would like to get things moving. This is my description of the proposed news list NEURTRAN: Purpose: neurtran is focused upon the development of neural network architectures using transputers and transputer-based hardware platforms, including ASIC transputers and transputer modules (trams). Discussion is unmoderated and open to all facets of discussion. Submissions should be on a non-proprietary nature. Welcome topics for submission include: - on-going R&D, including applications and products - parallelization of neural algorithms - integrating neural and symbolic AI processes/programs - transputers and specialized neural chips - ASIC transputer designs for neural applications Interested parties please respond to dudziak@isnet.inmos.com or use voice/fax as indicated below. (2) Establishment of information clearinghouse on same subject, via my personal email address (dudziak@isnet.inmos.com). For those wanting more individualized discussion/problem-solving on these topics, and for all other interested parties until the above mail list is in place, anyone should feel free to make contact with me through my personal address. In my present capacity of directing neurocomputing R&D and application efforts within INMOS (maker of the transputer, surprise, surprise), I have been running an informal 'clearinghouse' of sorts for some time. I realize that while a mail list will serve nicely for a lot of info exchange, there seems to be a need for more personal tech/theory dialogue. I would like people 'out there' to know that they can call on me and through me reach other people, resources, & references that I know about pertaining to research on these topics. Martin J. Dudziak Voice: (301) 995-6964 Fax: (301) 290-7047 Please note: I will be out of town from 2/10 until 2/18 N.B. This message is also being sent to the following news lists: NEURON@HPLABS.HP.COM TRANSPUTER@TCGOULD.TN.CORNELL.EDU ------------------------------ Subject: Call for Papers on Combined symbolic and numeric processing From: P.Refenes@Cs.Ucl.AC.UK Date: Fri, 09 Feb 90 15:12:42 +0000 The Knowledge Engineering Review is planning a special issue on "Combined Symbolic & Numeric Processing Systems". Is there anyone out there with an interest in "theories and techniques for mixed symbolic/numeric processing systems" who is willing to write a comprehensive review paper? ========================================================== The Knowledge Engineering Review Published by Cambridge University Press Special Issue on: Combined Symbolic & numeric processing Systems NOTES FOR CONTRIBUTORS Editor: Apostolos N. REFENES Department of Computer Science BITNET: refenes%uk.ac.ucl.cs@ukacrl University College London UUCP: {...mcvax!ukc!}ucl.cs!refenes Gower Street, London, WC 1 6BT, UK. ARPANet: refenes@cs.ucl.ac.uk THE KNOWLEDGE ENGINEERING REVIEW - SPECIAL ISSUE ON Inferences and Algorithms: co-operating in computation or (Symbols and Numbers: co-operating in computation) THEME The theme of this special issue of KER is to review developments in the subject of integrated symbolic and numeric computation. The subject area of combined symbolic and numeric computation is a prominent emerging subject. In Europe, ESPRIT is already funding a $15m project to investigate the integration of symbolic and numeric computation and is planning to issue a further call for a $20m type A project in Autumn this year. In the USA, various funding agencies, like the DoD and NSF, have been heavily involved in supporting research into the integration of symbolic and numeric computing systems over the last few years. Algorithmic (or numeric) computational methods are mostly used for low-level, data driven computations to achieve problem solutions by exhaustive evaluation, and are based on static, hardwired decision making procedures. The statisticity and regularity of the knowledge, data, and control structures that are employed by such algorithmic methods permits their efficient mapping and execution on conventional supercomputers. However, the scale of the computation increases often non-linearly with the problem size, and the strength of the data inter-dependencies. Symbolic (or inference) computational methods have the capability to drastically reduce the required computations by using high-level, model-driven knowledge, and hypothesis-and-test techniques about the application domain. However, the irregularity, uncertainty, and dynamicity of the knowledge, data, and control structures that are employed by symbolic methods presents a major obstacle to their efficient mapping and execution on conventional parallel computers. This has led many researchers to propose the development of integrated numeric and symbolic computation systems, which have the potential to achieve optimal solutions for large classes of problems, in which algorithmic and symbolic component are engaged in close co-operation. The need for such interaction is particularly obvious in such applications as image understanding, speech recognition, weather forecasting, financial forecasting, the solution of partial differential equations etc. In these applications, numeric software components are tightly coupled with their symbolic counterparts, which in turn, have the power to feed- back adjustable algorithm parameters, and hence, support a "hypothesis-and-test" capability required to validate the numeric data. It is this application domain that provided the motivation for developing theoretical frameworks, techniques, programming languages, and computer architectures to efficiently support both symbolic and numeric computation. The special issue of The Knowledge Engineering Review KER aims to provide a comprehensive and timely review of the state of the art in integrated symbolic and numeric knowledge engineering systems. The special issue will cover the topics outlined in the next section. TOPICS There are four important topics that are related to the subject area of integrated symbolic and numeric computation. This special issue will have one comprehensive review paper in each of the topics, and a general overview article (or editorial) to link them together. 1. Theory and Techniques Traditional theoretical frameworks for decision making are are generally considered to be too restrictive for developing practical knowledge based systems. The principal set of restrictions is that classical algorithmic decision theories and techniques do not address the need to reason about the decision process itself. Classical techniques cannot reflect on what the decision is, what the options are, what methods should be (or have been) used in making decision and so forth. Approaches that accommodate numerical methods but extend them with non-monotonic inference techniques are described extensively in the literature e.g [Coguen, Eberbach, Vanneschi, Fox et al, etc]. What is needed is an in-depth analysis, taxonomy and evaluation of these techniques. This review of the theoretical approaches and background into integrated symbolic and numeric computation should be highly valuable to those involved in symbolic, numeric, and integrated symbolic plus numeric computation. 2. Applications Here there would be a review of the applications which provide the stimulus, and demonstrate techniques for integrating symbolic and numeric computing components. Effectiveness considerations and performance gains should also be included where appropriate. Model applications may include: image understanding, weather forecasting, financial forecasting, expert systems for PDE solving, simulation, real-time process control,etc. The review article should expose the common ground that these applications share, the potential improvement in reasoning and computation efficiency, the requirements that they impose on the theoretical frameworks, programming languages, and computer architecture. 3. Programming Languages This would be a review of the programming languages which provide the means for integrating symbolic and numeric computations. The article(s) should describe the competing approaches, i.e. integration through homogenisation, and integration through interfacing heterogeneous systems. Language design issues, features for parallelism, etc. Possible languages that might be considered are: Spinlog, Orient84K, LOOPS , Cornerstone, Solve, Parle, etc. A comparative analysis of the involved languages should be included. 4. Computer Architecture This review should give a comprehensive review of the novel computer architectures that are involved, their basic operating principles, their internal structure, a comparative analysis, etc. Possible architectures that might be considered are: PADMAVATI, SPRINT, ... DEADLINES March 15th - Extended Abstract. April 30th - Full Manuscript. ------------------------------ Subject: Preprint Available (excerpts are given below) From: jannaron@midway.ece.scarolina.edu Date: Fri, 09 Feb 90 11:19:47 -0500 EXTENDED CONJUNCTOID THEORY AND IMPLEMENTATION: A GENERAL MODEL FOR MACHINE COGNITION BASED ON CATEGORICAL DATA (a preliminary report) Robert J. Jannarone, Keping Ma, Kai Yu, and John W. Gorman University of South Carolina Abstract An extended and completely formulated conjunctoid framework is presented for a variety of noniterative and separable learning and performance procedures that can be applied in supervised and unsupervised settings. Several complete examples are given based on realistic application settings, along with two examples from learning theory for describing key concepts. Related derivations and simulation results are provided as well. KEY WORDS: back propagation, conditioning, conjunc- toids, control, machine cognition, machine learning, neural networks, parallel distributed processing, supervised and unsupervised learning, visual pattern recognition, voice recognition and synthesis. Introduction [Instead of specifying design constraints (such as only only linear associations among inputs and outputs) at the outset and then learning within such constraints, back- propagation carries the added potential of learning design constraints, that is learning the actual MODEL as well. Such devices are thus very powerful because then have the flexi- bility to learn in all possible settings in a way that is very easy to implement.] The devices to be described here are much less ambi- tious. Although they offer a broad range of design blue- prints for machine learning and performance, they have the distinct disadvantage of requiring that one such blueprint be chosen at the outset. On the positive side, each such blueprint can be made flexible enough to fit the needs of many specific settings. Also, by carefully selecting the blueprints optimal learning and performance can be achieved. This article focuses on neurocomputing modules called conjunctoids. Although conjunctoids were introduced in an earlier paper, some key features had not yet been developed including: sufficiently general extended versions to cover a variety of supervised and unsupervised learning and perfor- mance settings; completely specified learning and perfor- mance algorithms that are both noniterative, hence fast, and separable, hence easy to implement on parallel computers; and a representative sample of possible applications. The purpose of this article is to introduce an extended conjunctoid cognitive theory, some new real-time conjunctoid learning and performance algorithms, and some related appli- cations. Although the material includes new results to sup- plement earlier reports, it will be presented with an eye toward demonstrating simple solutions to practical problems. Toward that end major conjunctoid features will first be introduced through a variety of examples after which general implementation formulas will be provided. Conjunctoids will next be contrasted with more "traditional" neural networks and other related work will be reviewed. Finally, technical details will be provided and key results will be summarized. Key Concepts INSTRUMENTAL CONDITIONING. Instrumental conditioning theory is concerned with learning and performance based on stimulus/response pairs that are either "positively rein- forced" or "negatively reinforced". . . . CLASSICAL CONDITIONING . . . SIMILARITY-BASED REASONING. A pattern recognition example will be used next to illustrate different modes of learning and performance in pattern recognition settings along with different modes of similarity-based reasoning. [. . .] FULL-BLOWN CONJUNCTOIDS FOR SMALL SCALE PROBLEMS. Now that basic psychological, statistical, and neurocomputing ideas have been introduced some complete conjunctoid exam- ples will be given. The first example will feature a full- blown conjunctoid, that is one having the most possible parameters for a given [number of neurons, K] . . . To sum up the third example, a small scale pattern com- pletion problem has been used to show how full-blown con- junctoids can be used to fill in missing information, detect and correct errors, and provide similarity measures for unsupervised learning. The model, estimation, similarity, and performance formulas have also been completely specified . . . so that readers can formulate full-blown conjunctoids for similar problems. . . . The remaining examples require alternatives to full- blown conjunctoids because they involve large [K values]. The alternative devices and/or example settings will be called MEDIUM SCALE if the number of required parameters is of fixed degree in K and LARGE SCALE if the number of required parameters is fixed for any K value. PATTERN COMPLETION AND RECOGNITION IN MEDIUM SCALE SETTINGS: NEAREST-NEIGHBOR CONJUNCTOIDS IN THE ONE-DIMENSION- AL CASE. . . . To sum up the third example, a completely specified conjunctoid has been described for learning and performance in nonstationary, one-dimensional nearest neighbor settings. The device includes learning and performance algorithms that can be simply and quickly implemented. Of more practical importance, these algorithms may be extended to more useful stationary extensions for large scale problems, as will be seen in the final examples . . . CATEGORICAL DECISION MAKING IN MEDIUM SCALE SETTINGS: N-TH DEGREE CONJUNCTOIDS. The devices to be described next might be used in applications ranging from pain treatment diagnosis to chemical tank control. . . . To sum up the fourth example, N-th degree conjunctoids can be used in a variety of medium scale settings where dif- ferent categorical variables have distinct meanings. They can be used as (a) expert systems that are taught simply by being programmed how to perform under a variety of condi- tions, and/or (b) learning devices that modify their perfor- mance rules as a function of learning trial variables and "reinforcements"--reinforcement in this case appears in the form of subjective ratings and/or objective measures that are translated into learning/unlearning weight values. Finally, as with all other conjunctoids, N-th order devices can be programmed to learn and perform quickly even when the involved coefficients number in the thousands. PATTERN COMPLETION AND RECOGNITION IN LARGE SCALE SETTINGS: . . . final examples involve settings where K can number in the thousands. The first example may be applied in settings where a device must learn and perform at any point on a long chain, as in certain speech synthesis and modem error detection/correction applications. The second example may be applied in settings where a device must learn and perform at any point on a dense multidimensional grid, as in the airplane pattern recognition and completion case that was introduced earlier. In both examples the key assumptions leading to viable conjunctoids are that: (a) associations among variables are spatially LOCALIZED, that is associa- tions among all [neurons] can be explained by [neurons] that are near each other, and (b) the variables are spatially STATIONARY, that is the relation between any two pairs of variables that are equidistant is the same no matter where they are located (in probability terms both examples are based on stationary Markov processes). CONJUNCTOID MODEL SYNOPSIS. In this section all neces- sary formulas for implementation will be presented but not derived--all derivations will be given later. . . . CONJUNCTOID OPTIMALITY CHARACTERISTICS. Only a brief outline of performance that may be expected of ... conjunctoids will be given here. A more detailed discussion will be given later. Conjunctoids are probability models that belong in the so-called exponential family (JYT, Leh- mann, 1983). Exponential family membership, in turn, means that slow learning and performance algorithms are guaranteed to be both consistent and efficient (in cases where parame- ters for a given conjunctoid exist that can explain its input data). Consistent performance means that after a suf- ficiently large number of learning trials conjunctoid per- formance based on estimated parameters becomes as good as if the true parameters were used. Efficient performance means that after any given number of trials expected conjunctoid performance will be as good as that from any other possible learning algorithm. Besides being efficient and consistent, conjunctoids that use slow learning algorithms use search procedures based on convex likelihood functions, hence they will always converge to global optimum (so-called maximum likelihood) solutions. Such optimality properties do not hold for conjunctoids that employ fast learning and performance algorithms (although they do hold for faster versions in some specific instances). However, since fast conjunctoid procedures are based on reasonable approximations to their optimal counter- parts, it seems likely that fast algorithm conjunctoid per- formance will typically be about the same as optimal perfor- mance. Also, simulation results that are given below for some specific instances provide evidence toward that end . . . Since the complete paper includes 11 figures and over 50 formulas, sending it by electronic mail would be awkward. For hard copies please contact Robert Jannarone Center for Machine Intelligence Electrical and Computer Eng. Dept. Univ. of South Carolina Columbia SC, 29208 (803) 777-7930 jannaron@midway.ece.scarolina.edu ------------------------------ Subject: Summer Course in Computational Neurobiology From: Jim Bower <jbower@smaug.cns.caltech.edu> Date: Fri, 09 Feb 90 11:28:47 -0800 Summer Course Announcement Methods in Computational Neurobiology August 5th - September 1st Marine Biological Laboratory Woods Hole, MA This course is for advanced graduate students and postdoctoral fellows in neurobiology, physics, electrical engineering, computer science and psychology with an interest in "Computational Neuroscience." A background in programming (preferably in C or PASCAL) is highly desirable and basic knowledge of neurobiology is required. Limited to 20 students. This four-week course presents the basic techniques necessary to study single cells and neural networks from a computational point of view, emphasizing their possible function in information processing. The aim is to enable participants to simulate the functional properties of their particular system of study and to appreciate the advantages and pitfalls of this approach to understanding the nervous system. The first section of the course focuses on simulating the electrical properties of single neurons (compartmental models, active currents, interactions between synapses, calcium dynamics). The second section deals with the numerical and graphical techniques necessary for modeling biological neuronal networks. Examples are drawn from the invertebrate and vertebrate literature (visual system of the fly, learning in Hermissenda, mammalian olfactory and visual cortex). In the final section, connectionist neural networks relevant to perception and learning in the mammalian cortex, as well as network learning algorithms will be analyzed and discussed from a neurobiological point of view. The course includes lectures each morning and a computer laboratory in the afternoons and evenings. The laboratory section is organized around GENESIS, the Neuronal Network simulator developed at the California Institute of Technology, running on 20 state-of-the-art, single-user, graphic color workstations. Students initially work with GENESIS-based tutorials and then are expected to work on a simulation project of their own choosing. Co-Directors: James M. Bower and Christof Koch, Computation and Neural Systems Program, California Institute of Technology 1990 summer faculty: Ken Miller UCSF Paul Adams Stony Brook Idan Segev Jerusalem David Rumelhart Stanford John Rinzel NIH Richard Andersen MIT David Van Essen Caltech Kevin Martin Oxford Al Selverston UCSD Nancy Kopell Boston U. Avis Cohen Cornell Rudolfo Llinas NYU Tom Brown* Yale Norberto Grzywacz* MIT Terry Sejnowski UCSD/Salk Ted Adelson MIT *tentative Application deadline: May 15, 1990 Applications are evaluated by an admissions committee and individuals are notified of acceptance or non-acceptance by June 1. Tuition: $1,000 (includes room & board). Financial aid is available to qualified applicants. For further information contact: Admissions Coordinator Marine Biological Laboratory Woods Hole, MA 02543 (508) 548-3705, ext. 216 ------------------------------ Subject: Call for Papers - Progess in Neural Nets From: <OOMIDVAR%UDCVAX.BITNET@CORNELLC.cit.cornell.edu> Date: Fri, 09 Feb 90 15:49:00 -0400 PROGRESS IN NEURAL NETWORKS CALL FOR PAPER This is a call for papers for the Third Volume of the Progress In Neural Networks Series. The first two volumes will be available this year. These volumes contain original contributions from leading national and international research institutions. If you like to receive more information please contact the editor or Ablex Publishing Corporation. This series will review the state-of-the-art research in neural networks, natural and synthetic. Contributions from leading researchers and experts will be sought. This series will help shape and define academic and professional programs in this area. This series is intended for a wide audience, those professionally involved in neural network research, such as lecturers and primary investigators in neural computing, neural modeling, neural learning, neural memory, and neurocomputers. The initial introductory volumes will draw papers from a broad area of topics, while later volumes will focus upon more specific topics. Authors are invited to submit an abstract, extended summary, or manuscripts describing the recent progress in theoretical analysis, modeling, design, or application developments in the area of neural networks. The manuscripts should be self contained and of a tutorial nature. Suggested topics include, but are not limited to: * Neural modeling: physiologically based and synthetic * Neural learning: supervised, unsupervised * Neural networks: connectionist, random, goal seeking * Neural and associative memory * Neurocomputers: electronic implementation * Self organization and control: adaptive systems * Cognitive information processing: parallel and distributed * Mathematical modeling * Fuzzy set theory * Vision: neural image processing * Speech: natural language understanding * Pattern recognition * Robotics control Ablex and the progress Series editor invite you to submit an abstract, extended summary, or manuscript proposal or abstracts for consideration. Please contact the series editor directly. ABSTRACT DEADLINE : For Third Volume is March 30th, 1990. ***You may use fax or email to send your abstract*** Dr. Omid M. Omidvar, Associate Professor Progress Series Editor University of the District of Columbia Computer Science Department, MB4204 4200 Connecticut Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20008 Tel:(202)282-7345, Fax:(202)282-3677 Email: OOMIDVAR@UDCVAX.BITNET ------------------------------ Subject: Conference on Intelligent Control From: KOKAR@northeastern.edu Date: Fri, 09 Feb 90 14:58:00 -0500 The 5-th IEEE International Symposium on Intelligent Control Penn Tower Hotel, Philadelphia September 5 - 7, 1990 Sponsored by IEEE Control Society The IEEE International Symposium on Intelligent Control is the Annual Meeting dedicated to the problems of Control Systems associated with combined Control/Artificial Intelligence theoretical paradigm. This particular meeting is dedicated to the Perception - Representation - Action Triad. The Symposium will consist of three mini-conferences: Perception as a Source of Knowledge for Control (Chair - H.Wechsler) Knowledge as a Core of Perception-Control Activities (Chair - S.Navathe) Decision and Control via Perception and Knowledge (Chair - H.Kwatny) intersected by Three Plenary 2-hour Panel Discussions: I. On Perception in the Loop II. On Action in the Loop III. On Knowledge Representation in the Loop. Suggested Topics of Papers are not limited to the following list: - - Intractable Control Problems in the Perception-Representation-Action Loop - - Control with Perception Driven Representation - - Multiple Modalities of Perception, and Their Use for Control - - Control of Movements Required by Perception - - Control of Systems with Complicated Dynamics - - Intelligent Control for Interpretation in Biology and Psychology - - Actively Building-up Representation Systems - - Identification and Estimation of Complex Events in Unstructured Environment - - Explanatory Procedures for Constructing Representations - - Perception for Control of Goals, Subgoals, Tasks, Assignments - - Mobility and Manipulation - - Reconfigurable Systems - - Intelligent Control of Power Systems - - Intelligent Control in Automated Manufacturing - - Perception Driven Actuation - - Representations for Intelligent Controllers (geometry, physics, processes) - - Robust Estimation in Intelligent Control - - Decision Making Under Uncertainty - - Discrete Event Systems - - Computer-Aided Design of Intelligent Controllers - - Dealing with Unstructured Environment - - Learning and Adaptive Control Systems - - Autonomous Systems - - Intelligent Material Processing: Perception Based Reasoning D E A D L I N E S Extended abstracts (5 - 6 pages) should be submitted to: H. Kwatny, MEM Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA 19104 - CONTROL AREA S. Navathe, Comp. Sci., University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32911 - KNOWLEDGE REPRESENTATION AREA H. Wechsler, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA 22030 - PERCEPTION AREA NO LATER THAN MARCH 1, 1990. Papers that are difficult to categorize, and/or related to all of these areas, as well as proposals for tutorials, invited sessions, demonstrations, etc., should be submitted to A. Meystel, ECE, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA 19104, (215) 895-2220 before March 1, 1990. REGISTRATION FEES: On/before Aug.5, 1990 After Aug.5, 1990 Student $ 50 $ 70 IEEE Member $ 200 $ 220 Other $ 230 $ 275 Cancellation fee: $ 20. Payment in US dollars only, by check. Payable to: IC 90. Send check and registration form to: Intelligent Control - 1990, Department of ECE, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA 19104. ------------------------------ End of Neuron Digest [Volume 6 Issue 12] ****************************************