Union-net: A deep neural network model adapted to small data sets

In real applications, generally small data sets can be obtained. At present, most of the practical applications of machine learning use classic models based on big data to solve the problem of small data sets. However, the deep neural network model has complex structure, huge model parameters, and training requires more advanced equipment, which brings certain difficulties to the application. Therefore, this paper proposes the concept of union convolution, designing a light deep network model union-net with a shallow network structure and adapting to small data sets. This model combines convolutional network units with different combinations of the same input to form a union module. Each union module is equivalent to a convolutional layer. The serial input and output between the 3 modules constitute a "3-layer" neural network. The output of each union module is fused and added as the input of the last convolutional layer to form a complex network with a 4-layer network structure. It solves the problem that the deep network model network is too deep and the transmission path is too long, which causes the loss of the underlying information transmission. Because the model has fewer model parameters and fewer channels, it can better adapt to small data sets. It solves the problem that the deep network model is prone to overfitting in training small data sets. Use the public data sets cifar10 and 17flowers to conduct multi-classification experiments. Experiments show that the Union-net model can perform well in classification of large data sets and small data sets. It has high practical value in daily application scenarios. The model code is published at https://github.com/yeaso/union-net