Selective attention method using neural network

Abstract

The present invention discloses an implementation of the selective attention mechanism occurring in the human brain using a conventional neural network, multi-layer perceptron and the error back-propagation method as a conventional learning method, and an application of the selective attention mechanism to perception of patterns such as voices or characters. In contrast to the conventional multi-layer perceptron and error back-propagation method in which the weighted value of the network is changed based on a given input signal, the selective attention algorithm of the present invention involves learning a present input pattern to minimize the error of the output layer with the weighted value set to a fixed value, so that the network can receive only a desired input signal to simulate the selective attention mechanism in the aspect of the biology. The present invention also used the selective attention algorithm to define the degree of attention to a plurality of candidate classes as a new criterion for perception, thus providing high perception performance relative to the conventional recognition system for a single candidate class.