Stability Analysis of Quaternion-Valued Neural Networks: Decomposition and Direct Approaches

In this paper, we investigate the global stability of quaternion-valued neural networks (QVNNs) with time-varying delays. On one hand, in order to avoid the noncommutativity of quaternion multiplication, the QVNN is decomposed into four real-valued systems based on Hamilton rules: $ij=-ji=k,~jk=-kj=i$ , $ki=-ik=j$ , $i^{2}=j^{2}=k^{2}=ijk=-1$ . With the Lyapunov function method, some criteria are, respectively, presented to ensure the global $\mu $ -stability and power stability of the delayed QVNN. On the other hand, by considering the noncommutativity of quaternion multiplication and time-varying delays, the QVNN is investigated directly by the techniques of the Lyapunov-Krasovskii functional and the linear matrix inequality (LMI) where quaternion self-conjugate matrices and quaternion positive definite matrices are used. Some new sufficient conditions in the form of quaternion-valued LMI are, respectively, established for the global $\mu $ -stability and exponential stability of the considered QVNN. Besides, some assumptions are presented for the two different methods, which can help to choose quaternion-valued activation functions. Finally, two numerical examples are given to show the feasibility and the effectiveness of the main results.

An Inertial Projection Neural Network for Solving Variational Inequalities

Recently, projection neural network (PNN) was proposed for solving monotone variational inequalities (VIs) and related convex optimization problems. In this paper, considering the inertial term into first order PNNs, an inertial PNN (IPNN) is also proposed for solving VIs. Under certain conditions, the IPNN is proved to be stable, and can be applied to solve a broader class of constrained optimization problems related to VIs. Compared with existing neural networks (NNs), the presence of the inertial term allows us to overcome some drawbacks of many NNs, which are constructed based on the steepest descent method, and this model is more convenient for exploring different Karush-Kuhn-Tucker optimal solution for nonconvex optimization problems. Finally, simulation results on three numerical examples show the effectiveness and performance of the proposed NN.

Optimal Formation of Multirobot Systems Based on a Recurrent Neural Network

The optimal formation problem of multirobot systems is solved by a recurrent neural network in this paper. The desired formation is described by the shape theory. This theory can generate a set of feasible formations that share the same relative relation among robots. An optimal formation means that finding one formation from the feasible formation set, which has the minimum distance to the initial formation of the multirobot system. Then, the formation problem is transformed into an optimization problem. In addition, the orientation, scale, and admissible range of the formation can also be considered as the constraints in the optimization problem. Furthermore, if all robots are identical, their positions in the system are exchangeable. Then, each robot does not necessarily move to one specific position in the formation. In this case, the optimal formation problem becomes a combinational optimization problem, whose optimal solution is very hard to obtain. Inspired by the penalty method, this combinational optimization problem can be approximately transformed into a convex optimization problem. Due to the involvement of the Euclidean norm in the distance, the objective function of these optimization problems are nonsmooth. To solve these nonsmooth optimization problems efficiently, a recurrent neural network approach is employed, owing to its parallel computation ability. Finally, some simulations and experiments are given to validate the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed optimal formation approach.

Nonsmooth Neural Network for Convex Time-Dependent Constraint Satisfaction Problems

This paper introduces a nonsmooth (NS) neural network that is able to operate in a time-dependent (TD) context and is potentially useful for solving some classes of NS-TD problems. The proposed network is named nonsmooth time-dependent network (NTN) and is an extension to a TD setting of a previous NS neural network for programming problems. Suppose C(t), t ≥ 0, is a nonempty TD convex feasibility set defined by TD inequality constraints. The constraints are in general NS (nondifferentiable) functions of the state variables and time. NTN is described by the subdifferential with respect to the state variables of an NS-TD barrier function and a vector field corresponding to the unconstrained dynamics. This paper shows that for suitable values of the penalty parameter, the NTN dynamics displays two main phases. In the first phase, any solution of NTN not starting in C(0) at t=0 is able to reach the moving set C(·) in finite time th , whereas in the second phase, the solution tracks the moving set, i.e., it stays within C(t) for all subsequent times t ≥ t(h). NTN is thus able to find an exact feasible solution in finite time and also to provide an exact feasible solution for subsequent times. This new and peculiar dynamics displayed by NTN is potentially useful for addressing some significant TD signal processing tasks. As an illustration, this paper discusses a number of examples where NTN is applied to the solution of NS-TD convex feasibility problems.

The general critical analysis for continuous-time UPPAM recurrent neural networks

The uniformly pseudo-projection-anti-monotone (UPPAM) neural network model, which can be considered as the unified continuous-time neural networks (CNNs), includes almost all of the known CNNs individuals. Recently, studies on the critical dynamics behaviors of CNNs have drawn special attentions due to its importance in both theory and applications. In this paper, we will present the analysis of the UPPAM network under the general critical conditions. It is shown that the UPPAM network possesses the global convergence and asymptotical stability under the general critical conditions if the network satisfies one quasi-symmetric requirement on the connective matrices, which is easy to be verified and applied. The general critical dynamics have rarely been studied before, and this work is an attempt to gain an meaningful assurance of general critical convergence and stability of CNNs. Since UPPAM network is the unified model for CNNs, the results obtained here can generalize and extend the existing critical conclusions for CNNs individuals, let alone those non-critical cases. Moreover, the easily verified conditions for general critical convergence and stability can further promote the applications of CNNs.

Solving the assignment problem using continuous-time and discrete-time improved dual networks

The assignment problem is an archetypal combinatorial optimization problem. In this brief, we present a continuous-time version and a discrete-time version of the improved dual neural network (IDNN) for solving the assignment problem. Compared with most assignment networks in the literature, the two versions of IDNNs are advantageous in circuit implementation due to their simple structures. Both of them are theoretically guaranteed to be globally convergent to a solution of the assignment problem if only the solution is unique.