Artificial Neural Networks

Have you ever wondered how our brain works? There are chances you read about it in your
school days. ANN is exactly similar to the neurons work in our nervous system. If you can’t
recall it, no worries here is the best tutorial by DataFlair to explain artificial neural networks
with examples and real-time applications. So, let’s start the Artificial Neural Networks
Tutorial.

Introduction
Artificial Neural Networks are the most popular machine learning algorithms today. The
invention of these Neural Networks took place in the 1970s but they have achieved huge
popularity due to the recent increase in computation power because of which they are now
virtually everywhere. In every application that you use, Neural Networks power the intelligent
interface that keeps you engaged.

What is ANN?
Artificial Neural Networks are a special type of machine learning algorithms that are modeled
after the human brain. That is, just like how the neurons in our nervous system are able to
learn from the past data, similarly, the ANN is able to learn from the data and provide
responses in the form of predictions or classifications.

ANNs are nonlinear statistical models which display a complex relationship between the
inputs and outputs to discover a new pattern. A variety of tasks such as image recognition,
speech recognition, machine translation as well as medical diagnosis makes use of these
artificial neural networks.

An important advantage of ANN is the fact that it learns from the example data sets. Most
commonly usage of ANN is that of a random function approximation. With these types of
tools, one can have a cost-effective method of arriving at the solutions that define the
distribution. ANN is also capable of taking sample data rather than the entire dataset to
provide the output result. With ANNs, one can enhance existing data analysis techniques
owing to their advanced predictive capabilities.

Artificial Neural Networks Architecture

The functioning of the Artificial Neural Networks is similar to the way neurons work in our
nervous system. The Neural Networks go back to the early 1970s when Warren S McCulloch
and Walter Pitts coined this term. In order to understand the workings of ANNs, let us first
understand how it is structured. In a neural network, there are three essential layers –

Input Layers
The input layer is the first layer of an ANN that receives the input information in the form of
various texts, numbers, audio files, image pixels, etc.

Hidden Layers
In the middle of the ANN model are the hidden layers. There can be a single hidden layer, as
in the case of a perceptron or multiple hidden layers. These hidden layers perform various
types of mathematical computation on the input data and recognize the patterns that are
part of.

Output Layer
In the output layer, we obtain the result that we obtain through rigorous computations
performed by the middle layer.

In a neural network, there are multiple parameters and hyperparameters that affect the
performance of the model. The output of ANNs is mostly dependent on these parameters.
Some of these parameters are weights, biases, learning rate, batch size etc. Each node in the
ANN has some weight.

Each node in the network has some weights assigned to it. A transfer function is used for
calculating the weighted sum of the inputs and the bias.
After the transfer function has calculated the sum, the activation function obtains the result.
Based on the output received, the activation functions fire the appropriate result from the
node. For example, if the output received is above 0.5, the activation function fires a 1
otherwise it remains 0.

Some of the popular activation functions used in Artificial Neural Networks are Sigmoid, RELU,
Softmax, tanh etc.

Based on the value that the node has fired, we obtain the final output. Then, using the error
functions, we calculate the discrepancies between the predicted output and resulting output
and adjust the weights of the neural network through a process known as backpropagation.

ANNs are part of an emerging area in Machine Learning known as Deep Learning.

Back Propagation in Artificial Neural Networks

In order to train a neural network, we provide it with examples of input-output mappings.
Finally, when the neural network completes the training, we test the neural network where
we do not provide it with these mappings. The neural network predicts the output and we
evaluate how correct the output is using the various error functions. Finally, based on the
result, the model adjusts the weights of the neural networks to optimize the network
following gradient descent through the chain rule.

Types of Artificial Neural Networks

There are two important types of Artificial Neural Networks –

 FeedForward Neural Network

 FeedBack Neural Network

FeedForward Artificial Neural Networks

In the feedforward ANNs, the flow of information takes place only in one direction. That is,
the flow of information is from the input layer to the hidden layer and finally to the output.
There are no feedback loops present in this neural network. These type of neural networks
are mostly used in supervised learning for instances such as classification, image recognition
etc. We use them in cases where the data is not sequential in nature.

Feedback Artificial Neural Networks

In the feedback ANNs, the feedback loops are a part of it. Such type of neural networks are
mainly for memory retention such as in the case of recurrent neural networks. These types of
networks are most suited for areas where the data is sequential or time-dependent.
Bayesian Networks
These type of neural networks have a probabilistic graphical model that makes use of
Bayesian Inference for computing the probability. These type of Bayesian Networks are also
known as Belief Networks. In these Bayesian Networks, there are edges that connect the
nodes representing the probabilistic dependencies present among these type of random
variables. The direction of effect is such that if one node is affecting the other then they fall
in the same line of effect. Probability associated with each node quantifies the strength of the
relationship. Based on the relationship, one is able to infer from the random variables in the
graph with the help of various factors.

The only constraint that these networks have to follow is it cannot return to the node through
the directed arcs. Therefore, Bayesian Networks are referred to as Directed Acyclic Graphs
(DAGs).

These Bayesian Networks can handle the multivalued variables and they comprise of two
dimensions –

 Range of Prepositions
 Probability that each preposition has been assigned with.

Assume that there is a finite set of random variables such that each variable of the finite set
is denoted by X = {x1, x2… xn} where each variable X takes from the values present in the
finite set such that Value{x1}. If there is a directed link from the variable Xi to the variable Xj,
then Xi will be the parent of Xj that shows the direct dependencies between these variables.

With the help of Bayesian Networks, one can combine the prior knowledge as well as the
observed data. Bayesian Networks are mainly for learning the causal relationships and also
understanding the domain knowledge to predict the future event. This takes place even in
the case of missing data.
Artificial Neural Networks Applications
Following are the important Artificial Neural Networks applications –

Handwritten Character Recognition

ANNs are used for handwritten character recognition. Neural Networks are trained to
recognize the handwritten characters which can be in the form of letters or digits.

Speech Recognition
ANNs play an important role in speech recognition. The earlier models of Speech Recognition
were based on statistical models like Hidden Markov Models. With the advent of deep
learning, various types of neural networks are the absolute choice for obtaining an accurate
classification.

Signature Classification
For recognizing signatures and categorizing them to the person’s class, we use artificial neural
networks for building these systems for authentication. Furthermore, neural networks can
also classify if the signature is fake or not.
Facial Recognition
In order to recognize the faces based on the identity of the person, we make use of neural
networks. They are most commonly used in areas where the users require security access.
Convolutional Neural Networks are the most popular type of ANN used in this field.

Summary
So, you saw the use of artificial neural networks through different applications. Hope
DataFlair proves best in explaining you the introduction to artificial neural networks. Also, we
added several examples of ANN in between the blog so that you can relate the concept of
neural networks easily. We studied how neural networks are able to predict accurately using
the process of backpropagation. We also went through the Bayesian Networks and finally, we
overviewed the various applications of ANNs.