Research and development of neural network ensembles: a survey

A Neural Network Ensemble (NNE) combines the outputs of several individually trained neural networks in order to improve generalization performance. This article summarizes different approaches on the development and the latest studies on NNE. The introduction of the basic principles of NNE is followed by detailed descriptions of individual neural network generation method, conclusion generation method and fusion based on granular computing and NNE. In addition, for each of these methods we provide a short taxonomy in terms of their relevant characteristics, and analyze several of NNE applications, classic algorithms and contributions on various fields.