Comments on "A self-organizing network for hyperellipsoidal clustering (HEC)" [and reply].

In the above paper by Mao-Jain (ibid., vol.7 (1996)), the Mahalanobis distance is used instead of Euclidean distance as the distance measure in order to acquire the hyperellipsoidal clustering. We prove that the clustering cost function is a constant under this condition, so hyperellipsoidal clustering cannot be realized. We also explains why the clustering algorithm developed in the above paper can get some good hyperellipsoidal clustering results. In reply, Mao-Jain state that the Wang-Xia failed to point out that their HEC clustering algorithm used a regularized Mahalanobis distance instead of the standard Mahalanobis distance. It is the regularized Mahalanobis distance which plays an important role in realizing hyperellipsoidal clusters. In conclusion, the comments made by Wang-Xia together with this response provide some new insights into the behavior of their HEC clustering algorithm. It further confirms that the HEC algorithm is a useful tool for understanding the structure of multidimensional data.     

基于改进高斯核度量和KPCA的数据聚类新方法

大多数超椭球聚类（hyper-ellipsoidal clustering,HEC）算法都使用马氏距离作为距离度量,已经证明在该条件下划分聚类的代价函数是常量,导致HEC无法实现椭球聚类.本文说明了使用改进高斯核的HEC算法可以解释为寻找体积和密度都紧凑的椭球分簇,并提出了一种实用HEC算法-K-HEC,该算法能够有效地处理椭球形、不同大小和不同密度的分簇.为实现更复杂形状数据集的聚类,使用定义在核特征空间的椭球来改进K-HEC算法的能力,提出了EK-HEC算法.仿真实验证明所提出算法在聚类结果和性能上均优于K-means算法、模糊C-means算法、GMM-EM算法和基于最小体积椭球（minimum-volume ellipsoids,MVE）的马氏HEC算法,从而证明了本文算法的可行性和有效性.     

A graph-theoretical clustering method based on two rounds of minimum spanning trees

Many clustering approaches have been proposed in the literature, but most of them are vulnerable to the different cluster sizes, shapes and densities. In this paper, we present a graph-theoretical clustering method which is robust to the difference. Based on the graph composed of two rounds of minimum spanning trees (MST), the proposed method (2-MSTClus) classifies cluster problems into two groups, i.e. separated cluster problems and touching cluster problems, and identifies the two groups of cluster problems automatically. It contains two clustering algorithms which deal with separated clusters and touching clusters in two phases, respectively. In the first phase, two round minimum spanning trees are employed to construct a graph and detect separated clusters which cover distance separated and density separated clusters. In the second phase, touching clusters, which are subgroups produced in the first phase, can be partitioned by comparing cuts, respectively, on the two round minimum spanning trees. The proposed method is robust to the varied cluster sizes, shapes and densities, and can discover the number of clusters. Experimental results on synthetic and real datasets demonstrate the performance of the proposed method.     

Unsupervised learning of arbitrarily shaped clusters using ensembles of Gaussian models

We propose a new clustering algorithm, called SyMP, which is based on synchronization of pulse-coupled oscillators. SyMP represents each data point by an Integrate-and-Fire oscillator and uses the relative similarity between the points to model the interaction between the oscillators. SyMP is robust to noise and outliers, determines the number of clusters in an unsupervised manner, and identifies clusters of arbitrary shapes. The robustness of SyMP is an intrinsic property of the synchronization mechanism. To determine the optimum number of clusters, SyMP uses a dynamic and cluster dependent resolution parameter. To identify clusters of various shapes, SyMP models each cluster by an ensemble of Gaussian components. SyMP does not require the specification of the number of components for each cluster. This number is automatically determined using a dynamic intra-cluster resolution parameter. Clusters with simple shapes would be modeled by few components while clusters with more complex shapes would require a larger number of components. The proposed clustering approach is empirically evaluated with several synthetic data sets, and its performance is compared with GK and CURE. To illustrate the performance of SyMP on real and high-dimensional data sets, we use it to categorize two image databases.     

A distance-relatedness dynamic model for clustering high dimensional data of arbitrary shapes and densities

It is important to find the natural clusters in high dimensional data where visualization becomes difficult. A natural cluster is a cluster of any shape and density, and it should not be restricted to a globular shape as a wide number of algorithms assume, or to a specific user-defined density as some density-based algorithms require.In this work, it is proposed to solve the problem by maximizing the relatedness of distances between patterns in the same cluster. It is then possible to distinguish clusters based on their distance-based densities. A novel dynamic model is proposed based on new distance-relatedness measures and clustering criteria. The proposed algorithm “Mitosis” is able to discover clusters of arbitrary shapes and arbitrary densities in high dimensional data. It has a good computational complexity compared to related algorithms. It performs very well on high dimensional data, discovering clusters that cannot be found by known algorithms. It also identifies outliers in the data as a by-product of the cluster formation process. A validity measure that depends on the main clustering criterion is also proposed to tune the algorithm's parameters. The theoretical bases of the algorithm and its steps are presented. Its performance is illustrated by comparing it with related algorithms on several data sets.     

A new approach to clustering data with arbitrary shapes

In this paper we propose a clustering algorithm to cluster data with arbitrary shapes without knowing the number of clusters in advance. The proposed algorithm is a two-stage algorithm. In the first stage, a neural network incorporated with an ART-like training algorithm is used to cluster data into a set of multi-dimensional hyperellipsoids. At the second stage, a dendrogram is built to complement the neural network. We then use dendrograms and so-called tables of relative frequency counts to help analysts to pick some trustable clustering results from a lot of different clustering results. Several data sets were tested to demonstrate the performance of the proposed algorithm.     

A symmetry based multiobjective clustering technique for automatic evolution of clusters

In this paper the problem of automatic clustering a data set is posed as solving a multiobjective optimization (MOO) problem, optimizing a set of cluster validity indices simultaneously. The proposed multiobjective clustering technique utilizes a recently developed simulated annealing based multiobjective optimization method as the underlying optimization strategy. Here variable number of cluster centers is encoded in the string. The number of clusters present in different strings varies over a range. The points are assigned to different clusters based on the newly developed point symmetry based distance rather than the existing Euclidean distance. Two cluster validity indices, one based on the Euclidean distance, XB-index, and another recently developed point symmetry distance based cluster validity index, Sym-index, are optimized simultaneously in order to determine the appropriate number of clusters present in a data set. Thus the proposed clustering technique is able to detect both the proper number of clusters and the appropriate partitioning from data sets either having hyperspherical clusters or having point symmetric clusters. A new semi-supervised method is also proposed in the present paper to select a single solution from the final Pareto optimal front of the proposed multiobjective clustering technique. The efficacy of the proposed algorithm is shown for seven artificial data sets and six real-life data sets of varying complexities. Results are also compared with those obtained by another multiobjective clustering technique, MOCK, two single objective genetic algorithm based automatic clustering techniques, VGAPS clustering and GCUK clustering.     

On cluster tree for nested and multi-density data clustering

Clustering is one of the important data mining tasks. Nested clusters or clusters of multi-density are very prevalent in data sets. In this paper, we develop a hierarchical clustering approach—a cluster tree to determine such cluster structure and understand hidden information present in data sets of nested clusters or clusters of multi-density. We embed the agglomerative k-means algorithm in the generation of cluster tree to detect such clusters. Experimental results on both synthetic data sets and real data sets are presented to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed method. Compared with some existing clustering algorithms (DBSCAN, X-means, BIRCH, CURE, NBC, OPTICS, Neural Gas, Tree-SOM, EnDBSAN and LDBSCAN), our proposed cluster tree approach performs better than these methods.     

A Point Symmetry-Based Clustering Technique for Automatic Evolution of Clusters

In this article, a new symmetry based genetic clustering algorithm is proposed which automatically evolves the number of clusters as well as the proper partitioning from a data set. Strings comprise both real numbers and the don't care symbol in order to encode a variable number of clusters. Here, assignment of points to different clusters are done based on a point symmetry based distance rather than the Euclidean distance. A newly proposed point symmetry based cluster validity index, {em Sym}-index, is used as a measure of the validity of the corresponding partitioning. The algorithm is therefore able to detect both convex and non-convex clusters irrespective of their sizes and shapes as long as they possess the point symmetry property. Kd-tree based nearest neighbor search is used to reduce the complexity of computing point symmetry based distance. A proof on the convergence property of variable string length GA with point symmetry based distance clustering (VGAPS-clustering) technique is also provided. The effectiveness of VGAPS-clustering compared to variable string length Genetic K-means algorithm (GCUK-clustering) and one recently developed weighted sum validity function based hybrid niching genetic algorithm (HNGA-clustering) is demonstrated for nine artificial and five real-life data sets.     

Density Based Cluster Growing via Dominant Sets

Although there are a lot of clustering algorithms available in the literature, existing algorithms are usually afflicted by practical problems of one form or another, including parameter dependence and the inability to generate clusters of arbitrary shapes. In this paper we aim to solve these two problems by merging the merits of dominant sets and density based clustering algorithms. We firstly apply histogram equalization to eliminate the parameter dependence problem of the dominant sets algorithm. Noticing that the obtained clusters are usually smaller than the real ones, a density threshold based cluster growing step is then used to improve the clustering results, where the involved parameters are determined based on the initial clusters. This is followed by the second cluster growing step which makes use of the density relationship between neighboring data. Data clustering experiments and comparison with other algorithms validate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.     

Clustering of the self-organizing map using a clustering validity index based on inter-cluster and intra-cluster density

The self-organizing map (SOM) has been widely used in many industrial applications. Classical clustering methods based on the SOM often fail to deliver satisfactory results, specially when clusters have arbitrary shapes. In this paper, through some preprocessing techniques for filtering out noises and outliers, we propose a new two-level SOM-based clustering algorithm using a clustering validity index based on inter-cluster and intra-cluster density. Experimental results on synthetic and real data sets demonstrate that the proposed clustering algorithm is able to cluster data better than the classical clustering algorithms based on the SOM, and find an optimal number of clusters.     

Simultaneous Pattern and Data Clustering for Pattern Cluster Analysis

In data mining and knowledge discovery, pattern discovery extracts previously unknown regularities in the data and is a useful tool for categorical data analysis. However, the number of patterns discovered is often overwhelming. It is difficult and time-consuming to 1) interpret the discovered patterns and 2) use them to further analyze the data set. To overcome these problems, this paper proposes a new method that clusters patterns and their associated data simultaneously. When patterns are clustered, the data containing the patterns are also clustered; and the relation between patterns and data is made explicit. Such an explicit relation allows the user on the one hand to further analyze each pattern cluster via its associated data cluster, and on the other hand to interpret why a data cluster is formed via its corresponding pattern cluster. Since the effectiveness of clustering mainly depends on the distance measure, several distance measures between patterns and their associated data are proposed. Their relationships to the existing common ones are discussed. Once pattern clusters and their associated data clusters are obtained, each of them can be further analyzed individually. To evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed approach, experimental results on synthetic and real data are reported.     

Adaptive fuzzy c-shells clustering and detection ofellipses

Several generalizations of the fuzzy c-shells (FCS) algorithm are presented for characterizing and detecting clusters that are hyperellipsoidal shells. An earlier generalization, the adaptive fuzzy c-shells (AFCS) algorithm, is examined in detail and is found to have global convergence problems when the shapes to be detected are partial. New formulations are considered wherein the norm inducing matrix in the distance metric is unconstrained in contrast to the AFCS algorithm. The resulting algorithm, called the AFCS-U algorithm, performs better for partial shapes. Another formulation based on the second-order quadrics equation is considered. These algorithms can detect ellipses and circles in 2D data. They are compared with the Hough transform (HT)-based methods for ellipse detection. Existing HT-based methods for ellipse detection are evaluated, and a multistage method incorporating the good features of all the methods is used for comparison. Numerical examples of real image data show that the AFCS algorithm requires less memory than the HT-based methods, and it is at least an order of magnitude faster than the HT approach.     

A new multiobjective clustering technique based on the concepts of stability and symmetry

Most clustering algorithms operate by optimizing (either implicitly or explicitly) a single measure of cluster solution quality. Such methods may perform well on some data sets but lack robustness with respect to variations in cluster shape, proximity, evenness and so forth. In this paper, we have proposed a multiobjective clustering technique which optimizes simultaneously two objectives, one reflecting the total cluster symmetry and the other reflecting the stability of the obtained partitions over different bootstrap samples of the data set. The proposed algorithm uses a recently developed simulated annealing-based multiobjective optimization technique, named AMOSA, as the underlying optimization strategy. Here, points are assigned to different clusters based on a newly defined point symmetry-based distance rather than the Euclidean distance. Results on several artificial and real-life data sets in comparison with another multiobjective clustering technique, MOCK, three single objective genetic algorithm-based automatic clustering techniques, VGAPS clustering, GCUK clustering and HNGA clustering, and several hybrid methods of determining the appropriate number of clusters from data sets show that the proposed technique is well suited to detect automatically the appropriate number of clusters as well as the appropriate partitioning from data sets having point symmetric clusters. The performance of AMOSA as the underlying optimization technique in the proposed clustering algorithm is also compared with PESA-II, another evolutionary multiobjective optimization technique.     

Clustering ellipses for anomaly detection

Comparing, clustering and merging ellipsoids are problems that arise in various applications, e.g., anomaly detection in wireless sensor networks and motif-based patterned fabrics. We develop a theory underlying three measures of similarity that can be used to find groups of similar ellipsoids in p-space. Clusters of ellipsoids are suggested by dark blocks along the diagonal of a reordered dissimilarity image (RDI). The RDI is built with the recursive iVAT algorithm using any of the three (dis) similarity measures as input and performs two functions: (i) it is used to visually assess and estimate the number of possible clusters in the data; and (ii) it offers a means for comparing the three similarity measures. Finally, we apply the single linkage and CLODD clustering algorithms to three two-dimensional data sets using each of the three dissimilarity matrices as input. Two data sets are synthetic, and the third is a set of real WSN data that has one known second order node anomaly. We conclude that focal distance is the best measure of elliptical similarity, iVAT images are a reliable basis for estimating cluster structures in sets of ellipsoids, and single linkage can successfully extract the indicated clusters.     

基于密度的模糊代表点聚类算法

结合密度聚类和模糊聚类的特点,提出一种基于密度的模糊代表点聚类算法.首先利用密度对数据点成为候选聚类中心点的可能性进行处理,密度越高的点成为聚类中心点的可能性越大;然后利用模糊方法对聚类中心点进行确定;最后通过合并聚类中心点确定最终的聚类中心.所提出算法具有很好的自适应性,能够处理不同形状的聚类问题,无需提前规定聚类个数,能够自动确定真实存在的聚类中心点,可解释性好.通过结合不同聚类方法的优点,最终实现对数据的有效划分.此外,所提出的算法对于聚类数和初始化、处理不同形状的聚类问题以及应对异常值等方面具有较好的鲁棒性.通过在人工数据集和UCI真实数据集上进行实验,表明所提出算法具有较好的聚类性能和广泛的适用性.     

Self-Organizing-Map Based Clustering Using a Local Clustering Validity Index

Classical clustering methods, such as partitioning and hierarchical clustering algorithms, often fail to deliver satisfactory results, given clusters of arbitrary shapes. Motivated by a clustering validity index based on inter-cluster and intra-cluster density, we propose that the clustering validity index be used not only globally to find optimal partitions of input data, but also locally to determine which two neighboring clusters are to be merged in a hierarchical clustering of Self-Organizing Map (SOM). A new two-level SOM-based clustering algorithm using the clustering validity index is also proposed. Experimental results on synthetic and real data sets demonstrate that the proposed clustering algorithm is able to cluster data in a better way than classical clustering algorithms on an SOM.     

基于孤立点检测的入侵检测方法研究

本文提出了一种基于孤立点检测的核聚类入侵检测方法。方法的基本思想是首先将输入空间中的样本映射到高维特征空间中,并通过重新定义特征空间中数据点到聚类之间的距离来生成聚类,并根据正常类比例Ｎ来确定异常数据类别,然后再用于真实数据的检测。该方法具有更快的收敛速度以及更为准确的聚类,并且不需要用人工的或其他的方法来对训练集进行分类。实验采用了KDD99的测试数据,结果表明,该方法能够比较有效的检测入侵行为。     

Automatic clustering and boundary detection algorithm based on adaptive influence function

Clustering became a classical problem in databases, data warehouses, pattern recognition, artificial intelligence, and computer graphics. Applications in large spatial databases, point-based graphics, etc., give rise to new requirements for the clustering algorithms: automatic discovering of arbitrary shaped and/or non-homogeneous clusters, discovering of clusters located in low-dimensional hyperspace, detecting cluster boundaries. On that account, a new clustering and boundary detecting algorithm, ADACLUS, is proposed. It is based on the specially constructed adaptive influence function, and therefore, discovers clusters of arbitrary shapes and diverse densities, adequately captures clusters boundaries, and it is robust to noise. Normally ADACLUS performs clustering purely automatically without any preliminary parameter settings. But it also gives the user an optional possibility to set three parameters with clear meaning in order to adjust clustering for special applications. The algorithm was tested on various two-dimensional data sets, and it exhibited its effectiveness in discovering clusters of complex shapes and diverse densities. Linear complexity of the ADACLUS gives it an advantage over some well-known algorithms.     

LEGClust—A Clustering Algorithm Based on Layered Entropic Subgraphs

Hierarchical clustering is a stepwise clustering method usually based on proximity measures between objects or sets of objects from a given data set. The most common proximity measures are distance measures. The derived proximity matrices can be used to build graphs, which provide the basic structure for some clustering methods. We present here a new proximity matrix based on an entropic measure and also a clustering algorithm (LEGCIust) that builds layers of subgraphs based on this matrix and uses them and a hierarchical agglomerative clustering technique to form the clusters. Our approach capitalizes on both a graph structure and a hierarchical construction. Moreover, by using entropy as a proximity measure, we are able, with no assumption about the cluster shapes, to capture the local structure of the data, forcing the clustering method to reflect this structure. We present several experiments on artificial and real data sets that provide evidence on the superior performance of this new algorithm when compared with competing ones.