Chapter 2

LOCALLY REGULAR CNNS

2.1. INTRODUCTION

The distinction between different types of CNNs depending on the existence of

intercell feedback has proven to be very helpful in the last decade. In uncoupled
CNNs, where the parameters in the feedback template A are zero except for the
self-feedback as, the cells are isolated from each other. These networks can
be analyzed in all details and are well-understood. Coupled CNNs, which have
at least one non-zero off-center entry in the A template, may exhibit complex
dynamical behavior which is not fully tractable analytically. For example, there
is no necessary and sufficient condition on the (feedback) template elements for
stability.
In this chapter, we propose another classification, which extends the class of
analytically tractable templates and provides interesting and useful results of
both theoretical and practical significance; uncoupled CNNs and an important
subclass of coupled CNNs, among which the propagation-type CNNs, may be
combined into the class of the so-called locally regular CNNs (Fig. 2.1). For this
class, there exists a theoretical framework which shows that networks can easily
be designed and analyzed, and that they can in general be readily implemented
in analog VLSI hardware thanks to their degree of robustness.
All these issues will be discussed in detail in the subsequent chapters. For
examples of locally regular CNN operations, see Appendix A.

2.2. DEFINITION OF LOCAL REGULARITY

The name locally regular is derived from the local rules (see Def. 2.6) which are
often used to define a CNN operation or task. In the following, the abbreviation
LR is used for both locally regular and local regUlarity.

To incorporate both saturation-type (1.3) and hardlimiting (1.4) output func-

tions into a unifying framework, we introduce a parameterized piecewise linear
M. Hänggi et al. (eds.), Cellular Neural Networks
© Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2000
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Stable CNNs

Bipolar CNNs

Locally Regular CNNs

r
Uncoupled Propagalion-
CNNs type NNs
'-

Figure 2.1: The universe of CNN templates.

fc(x)

------4--+~~T-~------~~X

-1 I 1

Figure 2.2: Parameterized piecewise linear output function feO.

function,

1
y(x) := fc(x) = - (Ix + cl-Ix - cl), (2.1)
2c
where 2c is the width of the linear region (Fig. 2.2). Note that fc(x) is linear for
Ix I < c with a slope of 1/ c and that limc-->o fc(x) = sgn(x). Unless otherwise
mentioned, we use the standard output function c = 1 .

We start our discussion of LR CNNs by a few fundamental definitions and

considerations.