Error Correcting Output Codes Using Genetic Algorithm-Based Decoding

Error correcting output codes (ECOC) is one of the most valuable methods in building multiple classifier systems. This method decomposes a multiclass problem into a number of simpler binary sub-problems called dichotomies. The simplest methods of reconstruction of ECOC ensemble are Hamming and Margin decoding. Thay ignore the difference of dichotomies that lead to different base classifiers. In this paper, we give a new and general technique for combining classifiers that does not suffer from this defect. We use weights for adjusting the distance of base classifier outputs from the labels of existing classes. Optimal weights are determined by a proposed Genetic algorithm-based method which is the popular one of evolutionary Algorithms. Experimental results on two benchmark datasets and two different algorithms as the base classifiers show the robustness of the proposed decoding method with respect to the previously introduced decoding methods.