A new classifier is presented for text-independent speaker recognition. The new classifier is called the modified neural tree network (MNTN). The NTN is a hierarchical classifier that combines the properties of decision trees and feed-forward neural networks. The MNTN differs from the standard NTN in that a new learning rule based on discriminant learning is used, which minimizes the classification error as opposed to a norm of the approximation error. The MNTN also uses leaf probability measures in addition to the class labels.

We propose a trajectory planning and control theory for continuous movements such as connected cursive handwriting and continuous natural speech. Its hardware is based on our previously proposed forward-inverse-relaxation neural network (Wada & Kawato, 1993). Computationally, its optimization principle is the minimum torquechange criterion. Regarding the representation level, hard constraints satisfied by a trajectory are represented as a set of via-points extracted from a handwritten character. Accordingly, we propose a via-point estimation algorithm that estimates via-points by repeating the trajectory formation of a character and the via-point extraction from the character. In experiments, good quantitative agreement is found between human handwriting data and the trajectories generated by the theory. Finally, we propose a recognition schema based on the movement generation. We show a result in which the recognition schema is applied to the handwritten character recognition and can be extended to the phoneme timing estimation of natural speech. 1 INTRODUCTION In reaching movements, trajectory formation is an ill-posed problem because the hand can move along an infinite number of possible trajectories from the starting to the target point.

A new classifier is presented for text-independent speaker recognition. The new classifier is called the modified neural tree network (MNTN). The NTN is a hierarchical classifier that combines the properties of decision trees and feed-forward neural networks. The MNTN differs from the standard NTN in that a new learning rule based on discriminant learning is used, which minimizes the classification error as opposed to a norm of the approximation error. The MNTN also uses leaf probability measures in addition to the class labels.

A new classifier is presented for text-independent speaker recognition. The new classifier is called the modified neural tree network (MNTN). The NTN is a hierarchical classifier that combines the properties of decision trees and feed-forward neural networks. The MNTN differs from the standard NTNin that a new learning rule based on discriminant learning is used, which minimizes the classification error as opposed to a norm of the approximation error. The MNTN also uses leaf probability measures inaddition to the class labels.

We propose a trajectory planning and control theory for continuous movements such as connected cursive handwriting and continuous natural speech. Its hardware is based on our previously proposed forward-inverse-relaxation neural network (Wada & Kawato, 1993). Computationally, its optimization principle is the minimum torquechange criterion.Regarding the representation level, hard constraints satisfied by a trajectory are represented as a set of via-points extracted from a handwritten character. Accordingly, we propose a via-point estimation algorithm that estimates via-points by repeating the trajectory formation of a character and the via-point extraction from the character. In experiments, good quantitative agreement is found between human handwriting data and the trajectories generated by the theory. Finally, we propose a recognition schema based on the movement generation. We show a result in which the recognition schema is applied to the handwritten character recognition and can be extended to the phoneme timing estimation of natural speech. 1 INTRODUCTION In reaching movements, trajectory formation is an ill-posed problem because the hand can move along an infinite number of possible trajectories from the starting to the target point.

Information extraction is the task of automaticallypicking up information of interest from an unconstrained text. Informationof interest is usually extracted in two steps. First, sentence level processing locates relevant pieces of information scatteredthroughout the text; second, discourse processing merges coreferential information to generate the output. In the first step, pieces of information are locally identified without recognizing any relationships among them. A key word search or simple patternsearch can achieve this purpose. The second step requires deeperknowledge in order to understand relationships among separately identified pieces of information. Previous information extraction systems focused on the first step, partly because they were not required to link up each piece of information with other pieces. To link the extracted pieces of information and map them onto a structuredoutput format, complex discourse processing is essential. This paperreports on a Japanese information extraction system that merges information using a pattern matcher and discourse processor. Evaluationresults show a high level of system performance which approaches human performance.

We present the information-theoretic derivation of a learning algorithm that clusters unlabelled data with linear discriminants. In contrast to methods that try to preserve information about the input patterns, we maximize the information gained from observing the output of robust binary discriminators implemented with sigmoid nodes. We deri ve a local weight adaptation rule via gradient ascent in this objective, demonstrate its dynamics on some simple data sets, relate our approach to previous work and suggest directions in which it may be extended.

He is now at the University of California, Berkeley.

The HN calculates the Hamming distance between the input pattern and each memory pattern, and selects the memory with the smallest distance. It is composed of two subnets: The similarity subnet, consisting of an n-neuron input layer connected with an m-neuron memory layer, calculates the number of equal bits between the input and each memory pattern. The winner-take-all (WTA) subnet, consisting of a fully connected m-neuron topology, selects the memory neuron that best matches the input pattern.

Memory-based classification algorithms such as radial basis functions or K-nearest neighbors typically rely on simple distances (Euclidean, dot product...), which are not particularly meaningful on pattern vectors. More complex, better suited distance measures are often expensive and rather ad-hoc (elastic matching, deformable templates). We propose a new distance measure which (a) can be made locally invariant to any set of transformations of the input and (b) can be computed efficiently. We tested the method on large handwritten character databases provided by the Post Office and the NIST. Using invariances with respect to translation, rotation, scaling, shearing and line thickness, the method consistently outperformed all other systems tested on the same databases.