Method and apparatus for input classification using a neuron- based voting scheme

摘要

The present invention is a classification method and apparatus for classifying an input into one of a plurality of possible outputs. The invention generates a feature vector representative of the input. The invention then calculates a distance measure from the feature vector to the center of each neuron of a plurality of neurons, where each neuron is associated with one of the possible outputs. The invention then selects each neuron that encompasses the feature vector in accordance with the distance measure. The invention then determines a vote for each possible output, where the vote is the number of selected neurons that are associated with each possible output. If the vote for one of the possible outputs is greater than all other votes for all other possible outputs, then the invention selects that possible output as corresponding to the input. Otherwise, if the vote for one of the possible outputs is not greater than all other votes for all other possible outputs, then the invention identifies the neuron that has the smallest distance measure of all other neurons. If that smallest distance measure is less than a specified value, then the invention selects the possible output associated with that identified neuron as corresponding to the input.