Distance weighted K-Means algorithm for center selection in training radial basis function networks

The accuracies rates of the neural networks mainly depend on the selection of the correct data centers. The K-means algorithm is a widely used clustering algorithm in various disciplines for centers selection. However, the method is known for its sensitivity to initial centers selection. It suffers not only from a high dependency on the algorithm's initial centers selection but, also from data points. The performance of K-means has been enhanced from different perspectives, including centroid initialization problem over the years. Unfortunately, the solution does not provide a good trade-off between quality and efficiency of the centers produces by the algorithm. To solve this problem, a new method to find the initial centers and improve the sensitivity to the initial centers of K-means algorithm is proposed. This paper presented a training algorithm for the radial basis function network (RBFN) using improved K-means (KM) algorithm, which is the modified version of KM algorithm based on distance-weighted adjustment for each centers, known as distance-weighted K-means (DWKM) algorithm. The proposed training algorithm, which uses DWKM algorithm select centers for training RBFN obtained better accuracy in predictions and reduced network architecture compared to the standard RBFN. The proposed training algorithm was implemented in MATLAB environment; hence, the new network was undergoing a hybrid learning process. The network called DWKM-RBFN was tested against the standard RBFN in predictions. The experimental models were tested on four literatures nonlinear function and four real-world application problems, particularly in Air pollutant problem, Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) problem, Phytoplankton problem, and forex pair EURUSD. The results are compared to proposed method for root mean square error (RMSE) in radial basis function network (RBFN). The proposed method yielded a promising result with an average improvement percentage more than 50 percent in RMSE.