Glossary term
Glossary term
Architecture
In mathematics, casually speaking, a mixture of two functions. In machine learning, a convolution mixes the convolutional filter and the input matrix in order to train weights.
The term "convolution" in machine learning is often a shorthand way of referring to either convolutional operation or convolutional layer.
Without convolutions, a machine learning algorithm would have to learn a separate weight for every cell in a large tensor. For example, a machine learning algorithm training on 2K x 2K images would be forced to find 4M separate weights. Thanks to convolutions, a machine learning algorithm only has to find weights for every cell in the convolutional filter, dramatically reducing the memory needed to train the model. When the convolutional filter is applied, it is simply replicated across cells such that each is multiplied by the filter.
Created for this library
A satellite imagery startup uses convolutions to extract spatial features like edges and textures from each band of a multispectral image.
A medical imaging team uses 3D convolutions on CT scans to detect lung nodules across adjacent slices.
A semiconductor manufacturer uses convolutions on wafer inspection images to detect defects that occur in characteristic spatial patterns.
Definition source: Google for Developers Machine Learning Glossary | Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License