A Deep and Stable Extreme Learning Approach for Classification and Regression

The random-hidden-node based extreme learning machine (ELM) is a much more generalized cluster of single-hidden-layer feed-forward neural networks (SLFNs) whose hidden layer do not need to be adjusted, and tends to reach both the smallest training error and the smallest norm of output weights. Deep belief networks (DBNs) are probabilistic generative modals composed of simple, unsupervised networks such as restricted Boltzmann machines (RBMs) or auto-encoders, where each sub-network’s hidden layer serves as the visible layer for the next. This paper proposes an approach: DS-ELM (a deep and stable extreme learning machine) that combines a DBN with an ELM. The performance analysis on real-world classification (binary and multi-category) and regression problems shows that DS-ELM tends to achieve a better performance on relatively large datasets (large sample size and high dimension). In most tested cases, DS-ELM’s performance is generally more stable than ELM and DBN in solving classification problems. Moreover, the training time consumption of DS-ELM is comparable to ELM.