Learning Translation Invariant Recognition in Massively Parallel Networks

One major goal of research on massively parallel networks of neuron-like processing elements is to discover efficient methods for recognizing patterns. Another goal is to discover general learning procedures that allow networks to construct the internal representations that are required for complex tasks. This paper describes a recently developed procedure that can learn to perform a recognition task. The network is trained on examples in which the input vector represents an instance of a pattern in a particular position and the required output vector represents its name. After prolonged training, the network develops canonical internal representations of the patterns and it uses these canonical representations to identify familiar patterns in novel positions.