Recursive training of neural networks for classification

A method for recursive training of neural networks for classification is proposed. It searches for the discriminant functions corresponding to several small local minima of the error function. The novelty of the proposed method lies in the transformation of the data into new training data with a deflated minimum of the error function and iteration to obtain the next solution. A simulation study and a character recognition application indicate that the proposed method has the potential to escape from local minima and to direct the local optimizer to new solutions.