Greetings from
NeuroDimension!
The World Leader in Neural
Network Software
This issue of the
NeuroDimension newsletter highlights the release and several new features of
NeuroSolutions 4.0, along with the announcement of a new neural network course!
In this issue you’ll find:
What’s News?
* NeuroSolutions 4.0 Released
* New Neural Network Course
* NeuroDimension Customer Center Enhancements
NeuroSolutions Tip
Box
* Using Cross Validation to Obtain the Best Network Weights
* Custom Solution Wizard 4.0 – New and Improved Project Shells
Note: You are receiving this newsletter because you requested to stay informed concerning new developments at NeuroDimension. If you would like to stop receiving these newsletters, please see the bottom of this newsletter for removal instructions.
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What’s News?
Now shipping: The 4.0 release of our entire suite of neural network development tools -- NeuroSolutions; NeuroSolutions for Excel; and the Custom Solution Wizard. These products have undergone significant usability and technology enhancements.
The most important ease-of-use enhancement to NeuroSolutions is the addition of new wizards that simplify the process of building and testing a neural network. New technologies added to NeuroSolutions 4.0 include Neuro-fuzzy models, Support Vector Machines (SVMs), Conjugate Gradient learning, Genetic Optimization, Teacher Forcing and Iterative Prediction.
Enhancements to version 4.0 of the Custom Solution Wizard include additional API calls (providing more control over data normalization and retrieval of the learning curve), compatibility with Active Server Pages (for use on web sites), and improved and updated project shells that work directly with the users' data with no modification necessary. In addition, DLLs created with the Custom Solution Wizard can now be used in TradingSolutions®, NeuroDimension's financial analysis program that helps users predict and model financial market data.
NeuroDimension has also added many new enhancements to its upgraded Excel add-in, NeuroSolutions for Excel 4.0. The most notable examples include: ability to pause the training from Excel; train with genetic optimization of inputs and parameters; clean dirty data quickly; use context menus for tagging data; and apply a production dataset (a dataset that does not have a desired output). In addition, the speed of many operations has been increased up to 10 times.
A complete list of enhancements is available from:
http://www.nd.com/products/new_nsv.htm
http://www.nd.com/products/new_nsexcel.htm
http://www.nd.com/products/new_csw.htm
A free evaluation copy of these three products is available for download from:
http://www.nd.com/download.htm
NeuroDimension has scheduled a new course offering for May 7-11, 2001 in Orlando, Florida at the Grosvenor Resort, located in the Walt Disney World Resort.
Our course format allows both novice and advanced users to find a suitable course. Offered courses include: "Introduction to NeuroSolutions", "Fundamentals of Neural Networks and NeuroSolutions", and "Advanced NeuroSolutions". In addition, each of the courses includes updates on the new features of NeuroSolutions 4.0, geared towards each level of user.
The courses include a copy of our interactive book, Neural and Adaptive Systems: Fundamentals Through Simulations. We are also happy to work with attendees who would like to use their own data in the sample projects. Sign-up early to receive a 10% early registration discount.
For details on this new offering, or to sign-up from the Internet, see http://www.nd.com/course/may_2001.htm
For general ND course information, see http://www.nd.com/course
For more information and samples of the interactive book, see http://www.nd.com/products/nsbook.htm
After its successful debut for TradingSolutions, the NeuroDimension Customer Center has been updated and enhanced to provide support for licensed NeuroSolutions 4.0 users. Features include: a Suggestion Box to allow licensed users to vote for the enhancements they would most like to see implemented, new Discussion Groups for the exchange of techniques and ideas, and a Known Problems section to provide additional up-to-date information.
NeuroSolutions 4.0 customers can visit this newly enhanced section from the NeuroDimension web site by selecting Licensed User Center from the menu of options on the home page.
The NeuroDimension web site is located at http://www.nd.com
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NeuroSolutions Tip Box
When using cross validation with the new NeuralBuilder, the default neural network configuration has changed from that of the old NeuralWizard. The first difference is that a transmitter is not used to stop the training process. Instead, it utilizes a new feature that stops the training if the cross validation error has not reached a new low value within the specified number of epochs (defined within the “Termination” page of the StaticControl inspector). This keeps you from wasting time training a network that has already been overtrained.
In order for this stopping criterion to be useful, the weights need to be saved at the point that the lowest cross validation error was achieved. The NeuralBuilder sets this by default, as can be observed from the “Weights” page of the StaticControl inspector. This best weights file is normally named the same as the breadboard, but with a “.bst” extension.
The best weights file can be loaded in manually from the “Weights” page of the inspector. However, the NeuralBuilder sets the “Load Best Before Test” switch by default, which will automatically load in the best weights file when you run the network with your Testing set (either manually or using the new TestingWizard).
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Did You Know?
This Month: Custom Solution
Wizard 4.0 – New and Improved Project Shells
Although the main function of the Custom Solution Wizard is to generate DLLs encapsulating neural network models built in NeuroSolutions, it is much more than just a neural network DLL generator. Since its initial release, the Custom Solution Wizard has been able to generate project shells for the following applications: Visual C++, Visual Basic, Microsoft Excel, and Microsoft Access. These project shells provided a starting point by demonstrating how to use the generated DLL from the chosen application. However, most of these project shells required some minor modifications before they could be run. This is no longer the case.
All of the project shells have been updated to work directly with the training data from your NeuroSolutions breadboard. During the project shell creation, the training data is automatically extracted from the NeuroSolutions breadboard and set up for use with the chosen application. For example, if the chosen application is Microsoft Excel, the training data from the breadboard is automatically imported into a worksheet in the Excel project shell and the necessary code for accessing this data is generated. All of the other initial tasks, such as setting the paths to the DLL and weights, are also performed automatically. Thus, after generation, the project shell is fully-functional and can immediately be run.
Other enhancements to the project shells include: standardization of the sample program among the different application types, updated project shells supporting the latest versions of each of the application types, and the addition of two new application types - Active Server Pages and TradingSolutions. For a complete discussion on all the new enhancements in Custom Solution Wizard 4.0, see http://www.nd.com/products/new_csw.htm.
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We appreciate your feedback! Please send us your comments or
suggestions concerning this newsletter, our web site, or part of the
NeuroDimension product line. Write to us at: feedback@nd.com
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This issue and previous issues of this newsletter are available on the NeuroDimension web site at: http://www.nd.com/mailinglist.htm
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Thank you again for your support of NeuroDimension products!