Pattern Recognition

Unit 1 : Introduction
Pattern is everything around in this digital world. A pattern can either be seen
physically or it can be observed mathematically by applying algorithms.

Example: The colors on the clothes, speech pattern, etc. In computer science, a
pattern is represented using vector feature values.
What is Pattern Recognition?

Pattern recognition is the process of recognizing patterns by using a machine

learning algorithm. Pattern recognition can be defined as the classification of data
based on knowledge already gained or on statistical information extracted from
patterns and/or their representation. One of the important aspects of pattern
recognition is its application potential.

Examples: Speech recognition, speaker identification, multimedia document

recognition (MDR), automatic medical diagnosis.
In a typical pattern recognition application, the raw data is processed and converted
into a form that is amenable for a machine to use. Pattern recognition involves the
classification and cluster of patterns.

• In classification, an appropriate class label is assigned to a pattern based on

an abstraction that is generated using a set of training patterns or domain
knowledge. Classification is used in supervised learning.
• Clustering generated a partition of the data which helps decision making,
the specific decision-making activity of interest to us. Clustering is used in
unsupervised learning.

Features may be represented as continuous, discrete, or discrete binary variables. A

feature is a function of one or more measurements, computed so that it quantifies some
significant characteristics of the object.
Example: consider our face then eyes, ears, nose, etc are features of the face.

Feature Vector:

A set of features that are taken together, forms the features vector.
Example: In the above example of a face, if all the features (eyes, ears, nose, etc) are
taken together then the sequence is a feature vector([eyes, ears, nose]). The feature
vector is the sequence of a feature represented as a d-dimensional column vector. In
the case of speech, MFCC (Mel-frequency Cepstral Coefficient) is the spectral feature
of the speech. The sequence of the first 13 features forms a feature vector.

Pattern recognition possesses the following features:

• Pattern recognition system should recognize familiar patterns quickly and
accurate
 • Recognize and classify unfamiliar objects
• Accurately recognize shapes and objects from different angles
• Identify patterns and objects even when partly hidden
• Recognize patterns quickly with ease, and with automaticity.

Training and Learning in Pattern Recognition:

Learning is a phenomenon through which a system gets trained and becomes adaptable
to give results in an accurate manner. Learning is the most important phase as to how
well the system performs on the data provided to the system depends on which
algorithms are used on the data. The entire dataset is divided into two categories, one
which is used in training the model i.e. Training set, and the other that is used in testing
the model after training, i.e. Testing set.

Training Set

The training set is used to build a model. It consists of the set of images that are used
to train the system. Training rules and algorithms are used to give relevant information
on how to associate input data with output decisions. The system is trained by applying
these algorithms to the dataset, all the relevant information is extracted from the data,
and results are obtained. Generally, 80% of the data of the dataset is taken for training
data.

Testing Set:

Testing data is used to test the system. It is the set of data that is used to verify whether
the system is producing the correct output after being trained or not. Generally, 20%
of the data of the dataset is used for testing. Testing data is used to measure the
accuracy of the system. For example, a system that identifies which category a
particular flower belongs to is able to identify seven categories of flowers correctly
out of ten and the rest of others wrong, then the accuracy is 70 %
Real-time Examples Pattern Recognition:

A pattern is a physical object or an abstract notion. While talking about the classes of
animals, a description of an animal would be a pattern. While talking about various
types of balls, then a description of a ball is a pattern. In the case balls considered as
pattern, the classes could be football, cricket ball, table tennis ball, etc. Given a new
pattern, the class of the pattern is to be determined. The choice of attributes and
representation of patterns is a very important step in pattern classification. A good
representation is one that makes use of discriminating attributes and reduces the
computational burden in pattern classification.

An obvious representation of a pattern will be a vector. Each element of the vector

can represent one attribute of the pattern. The first element of the vector will contain
the value of the first attribute for the pattern being considered.

Example: While representing spherical objects, (25, 1) may be represented as a

spherical object with 25 units of weight and 1 unit diameter. The class label can form
a part of the vector. If spherical objects belong to class 1, the vector would be (25, 1,
1), where the first element represents the weight of the object, the second element, the
diameter of the object and the third element represents the class of the object.

Advantages:

• Pattern recognition solves classification problems

• Pattern recognition solves the problem of fake biometric detection.
• It is useful for cloth pattern recognition for visually impaired blind people.
• It helps in speaker diarization.
• We can recognize objects from different angles.
Disadvantages:

• The syntactic pattern recognition approach is complex to implement and it

is a very slow process.
• Sometimes to get better accuracy, a larger dataset is required.
• It cannot explain why a particular object is recognized.
Example: my face vs my friend’s face.

Applications:
• Image processing, segmentation, and analysis

Pattern recognition is used to give human recognition intelligence to

machines that are required in image processing.

• Computer vision

Pattern recognition is used to extract meaningful features from given

image/video samples and is used in computer vision for various applications
like biological and biomedical imaging.
• Seismic analysis

The pattern recognition approach is used for the discovery, imaging, and
interpretation of temporal patterns in seismic array recordings. Statistical
pattern recognition is implemented and used in different types of seismic
analysis models.

• Radar signal classification/analysis

Pattern recognition and signal processing methods are used in various

applications of radar signal classifications like AP mine detection and
identification.
• Speech recognition

The greatest success in speech recognition has been obtained using pattern
recognition paradigms. It is used in various algorithms of speech
recognition which tries to avoid the problems of using a phoneme level of
description and treats larger units such as words as pattern
• Fingerprint identification

Fingerprint recognition technology is a dominant technology in the

biometric market. A number of recognition methods have been used to
perform fingerprint matching out of which pattern recognition approaches
are widely used.

Phases in Pattern Recognition System

Approaches for Pattern Recognition Systems can be represented by distinct phases, as
Pattern Recognition Systems can be divided into the following components.

• Phase 1: Convert images or sounds or other inputs into signal data.

• Phase 2: Isolate the sensed objects from the background.
• Phase 3: Measure objects properties that are useful for classification.
• Phase 4: Assign the sensed object to a category.
• Phase 5: Take other considerations to decide on appropriate action.
Problems solved by these Phases are as follows:

1. Sensing: It deals with problem arises in the input such as its bandwidth,
resolution, sensitivity, distortion, signal-to-noise ratio, latency, etc.

2. Segmentation and Grouping: Deepest problems in pattern recognition that

deals with the problem of recognizing or grouping together the various parts
of an object.

3. Feature Extraction: It deals with the characterization of an object so that

it can be recognized easily by measurements. Those objects whose values
are very similar for the objects are in the same category, while those whose
values are quite different for the objects are placed in different categories.

4. Classification: It deals with assigning the object to their particular

categories by using the feature vector provided by the feature extractor and
determining the values of all of the features for a particular input.

5. Post Processing: It deals with action decision-making by using the output

of the classifier. Action such as minimum-error-rate classification will
minimize the total expected cost.

Activities for designing the Pattern Recognition Systems

There are various sequences of activities that are used for designing the Pattern
Recognition Systems. These activities are as follows:
• Data Collection
• Feature Choice
• Model Choice
• Training
• Evaluation
Pattern Recognition in Data Machine-driven Data Analysis

At the age of 5, most children can recognize digits and letters – small characters, large
characters, handwritten, machine printed or rotated – all easily recognized by the young.
In most instances, the best pattern recognizers are humans, yet we do not understand
how humans recognize patterns. The rapidly growing amount of data generated is
making it impossible for humans to interpret and driving the need for machines to be
able to identify patterns quickly and accurately. The ability to automate the recognition
of patterns and regularities in data has many applications, from facial recognition
software to tumor detection.

Pattern Recognition Technology

Given a pattern, its recognition and classification can consist of one of the following
two tasks: Supervised classification identifies the input pattern as a member of a
predefined class. (Descriptive) Unsupervised classification assigns the input pattern to
a hitherto undefined class. (Explorative) The recognition problem is usually posed as
either classification or categorization task. The classes are either defined by the system
designed (supervised classification) or are learned based on the similarity of patterns
(in unsupervised classification). We recommend checking out our article about
supervised vs. unsupervised learning. Pattern recognition is constantly evolving, driven
by emerging applications that are not only challenging but also more computationally
intensive.
What Is the Goal of Pattern Recognition?

The goal of pattern recognition is based on the idea that the decision-making process
of a human being is somewhat related to the recognition of patterns. For example, the
next move in a chess game is based on the board’s current pattern and buying or selling
stocks is decided by a complex pattern of financial information. Therefore, the goal of
pattern recognition is to clarify these complicated mechanisms of decision-making
processes and to automate these e functions using computers.

Definition of Pattern Recognition

Pattern recognition is defined as the study of how machines can observe the
environment, learn to distinguish various patterns of interest from their background, and
make logical decisions about the categories of the patterns. During recognition, the
given objects are assigned to a specific category. Because it is a constantly evolving and
broad field, there exist several definitions of Pattern Recognition, as it is a constantly
evolving and broad field.

An early definition of pattern recognition defines it as “a classification of input data via

extraction of important features from a lot of noisy data” (1978, Thomas Gonzalez).
Another definition describes pattern recognition as “a scientific discipline whose aim is
the classification of the objects into a lot of categories or classes.

Pattern recognition is also an integral part of most machine intelligence systems built
for decision making” (2003, Sergio Theodoridis). In general, pattern recognition can be
described as an information reduction, information mapping, or information labeling
process. In computer science, pattern recognition refers to the process of matching
information already stored in a database with incoming data based on their attributes.

Pattern Recognition and Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Artificial Intelligence (AI) refers to the simulation of human intelligence, where

machines are programmed to think like humans and mimic their actions. Most
prominently, fields of artificial intelligence aim to enable machines to solve complex
human recognition tasks, such as recognizing faces or objects. Accordingly, pattern
recognition is a branch of Artificial Intelligence.

Pattern Recognition and Machine Learning

Today, in the era of Artificial Intelligence, pattern recognition and machine learning are
commonly used to create ML models that can quickly and accurately recognize and find
unique patterns in data. Pattern recognition is useful for a multitude of applications,
specifically in statistical data analysis and image analysis. Most modern use cases of
pattern recognition are based on artificial intelligence technology. Popular applications
include speech recognition, text pattern recognition, facial recognition, movement
recognition, recognition for video deep learning analysis, and medical image
recognition in healthcare.

How does Pattern Recognition Work?

Historically, the two major approaches to pattern recognition are Statistical Pattern
Recognition (or decision-theoretic) and Syntactic Pattern Recognition (or structural).
The third major approach is based on the technology of artificial neural networks
(ANN), named Neural Pattern Recognition. No single technology is always the optimal
solution for a given pattern recognition problem. All three or hybrid methods are often
considered to solve a given pattern recognition problem. Next, we will look into the
most prominent methods used for finding patterns in data.

Statistical Pattern Recognition

Statistical Pattern Recognition is also referred to as StatPR. Among the traditional
approaches of pattern recognition, the statistical approach has been most intensively
studied and used in practice long before neural network methods have become popular.
In statistical pattern recognition, the pattern is grouped according to its features, and the
number of features determines how the pattern is viewed as a point in a d-dimensional
space. These features are chosen in a way that different patterns take space without
overlapping. The method works so that the chosen attributes help the creation of
clusters. The machine learns and adapts as expected, then uses the patterns for further
processing and training. The goal of StatPR is to choose the features that allow pattern
vectors to belong to different categories in a d-dimensional feature space.

Syntactic Pattern Recognition

Syntactic Pattern Recognition, also known as SyntPR, is used for recognition problems
involving complex patterns that can be addressed by adopting a hierarchical
perspective. Accordingly, the syntactic pattern approach relies on primitive subpatterns
(such as letters of the alphabet). The pattern is described depending on the way the
primitives interact with each other. An example of this interaction is how they are
assembled in words and sentences. The given training samples develop how
grammatical rules are developed and how the sentences will later be “read”. In addition
to classification, structural pattern recognition also provides a description of how the
given pattern is constructed from the primitive subpatterns. Hence, the approach has
been used in examples where the patterns have a distinct structure that can be captured
in terms of a rule-set, such as EKG waveforms or textured images.
The syntactic approach may lead to a combinatorial explosion of probabilities to be
examined, requiring large training sets and very large computational efforts. Template-
matching Template matching is one of the simplest and earliest approaches to pattern
recognition. Matching is a generic operation that is used to determine the similarity
between two entities of the same type. Therefore, template matching models try to
discover similarities in a sample based on a reference template. Hence, the template
matching technique is commonly used in digital image processing for detecting small
sections of an image that match a template image. Typical real-world examples are
medical image processing, quality control in manufacturing, robot navigation, or face
recognition.

Pattern Recognition in Natural Language Processing

Natural Language Processing (NLP) is a field of study that deals with the computational
understanding of human language. NLP is particularly concerned with the recognition
of patterns in text, in order to facilitate tasks such as machine translation, information
retrieval, and text classification. In recent years, NLP has made great strides due to the
increasing availability of data and advances in machine learning. For example, Google
Translate now uses a neural network approach called “Google Neural Machine
Translation” that achieves much higher accuracy than previous methods. Neural
network pattern recognition AI pattern recognition using neural networks is currently
the most popular method for pattern detection. Neural networks are based on parallel
subunits referred to as neurons that simulate human decision-making. They can be
viewed as massively parallel computing systems consisting of a huge number of simple
processors with many interconnections (Neurons). The most popular and successful
form of machine learning using neural networks is deep learning, which applies deep
convolutional neural networks (CNN) to solve classification tasks. Today, neural
network pattern recognition has the edge over other methods because it can change the
weights repeatedly on iteration patterns. In recent years, deep learning has proven to be
the most successful method to solve recognition tasks. For more information and
detailed descriptions of what neural networks are all about, we recommend you read
our guide about Machine Learning and Deep Learning.