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Architecture
The Elman network commonly is a two-layer network with feedback from the first-layer output to the first layer input. This recurrent connection allows the Elman network to both detect and generate time-varying patterns. A two-layer Elman network is shown below.
The Elman network has tansig neurons in its hidden (recurrent) layer, and purelin neurons in its output layer. This combination is special in that two-layer networks with these transfer functions can approximate any function (with a finite number of discontinuities) with arbitrary accuracy. The only requirement is that the hidden layer must have enough neurons. More hidden neurons are needed as the function being fit increases in complexity.
Note that the Elman network differs from conventional two-layer networks in that the first layer has a recurrent connection. The delay in this connection stores values from the previous time step, which can be used in the current time step.
Thus, even if two Elman networks, with the same weights and biases, are given identical inputs at a given time step, their outputs can be different due to different feedback states.
Because the network can store information for future reference, it is able to learn temporal patterns as well as spatial patterns. The Elman network can be trained to respond to, and to generate, both kinds of patterns.
| | Important Recurrent Network Functions | Creating an Elman Network (newelm) | |
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