Book Image

Neural Networks with R

By : Balaji Venkateswaran, Giuseppe Ciaburro
Book Image

Neural Networks with R

By: Balaji Venkateswaran, Giuseppe Ciaburro

Overview of this book

Neural networks are one of the most fascinating machine learning models for solving complex computational problems efficiently. Neural networks are used to solve wide range of problems in different areas of AI and machine learning. This book explains the niche aspects of neural networking and provides you with foundation to get started with advanced topics. The book begins with neural network design using the neural net package, then you’ll build a solid foundation knowledge of how a neural network learns from data, and the principles behind it. This book covers various types of neural network including recurrent neural networks and convoluted neural networks. You will not only learn how to train neural networks, but will also explore generalization of these networks. Later we will delve into combining different neural network models and work with the real-world use cases. By the end of this book, you will learn to implement neural network models in your applications with the help of practical examples in the book.
Table of Contents (14 chapters)
Title Page
Credits
About the Authors
About the Reviewer
www.PacktPub.com
Customer Feedback
Preface

Activation functions


The abstraction of the processing of neural networks is mainly achieved through the activation functions. An activation function is a mathematical function which converts the input to an output, and adds the magic of neural network processing. Without activation functions, the working of neural networks will be like linear functions. A linear function is one where the output is directly proportional to input, for example:

 

A linear function is a polynomial of one degree. Simply, it is a straight line without any curves.

However, most of the problems the neural networks try to solve are nonlinear and complex in nature. To achieve the nonlinearity, the activation functions are used. Nonlinear functions are high degree polynomial functions, for example:

 

The graph of a nonlinear function is curved and adds the complexity factor.

Activation functions give the nonlinearity property to neural networks and make them true universal function approximators.