Deep-Learning on Arshad Siddiqui

Convolutional Neural Networks

Sun, 19 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) #

Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) are specialised neural networks designed for data with spatial structure, especially images. They became the standard model for computer vision because they preserve spatial locality, reuse the same pattern detector across the image, and build representations hierarchically. In practical terms, a CNN starts by learning simple features such as edges and corners, then combines them into textures, shapes, object parts, and finally full semantic categories.

Deep CNN Architectures

Sun, 19 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Deep CNN Architectures #

Once the basic ideas of convolution, pooling, channels, and classifier heads are understood, the next step is to study how successful CNN architectures are designed in practice. The history of deep CNNs is not just a list of famous models. It is a progression of design ideas: smaller filters, more depth, better optimisation, bottlenecks, multi-scale processing, residual connections, and transfer learning.

Key takeaway:
Deep CNN architectures evolved by solving specific problems one by one: LeNet established the template, AlexNet proved deep learning could dominate large-scale vision, VGG simplified the design, NiN introduced powerful 1 × 1 ideas, GoogLeNet made multi-scale processing efficient, and ResNet solved the optimisation problem of very deep networks.

CNN Pipeline

Wed, 22 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

CNN Pipeline: Preprocessing & Models #

Understand CNN concepts deeply
Build CNN models step-by-step
Apply CNNs in assignments using Keras

Think of CNN as a pipeline: Image → Features → Patterns → Prediction

1. Image Representation #

\[ X \in \mathbb{R}^{H \times W \times C} \]

H = Height
W = Width
C = Channels

2. Convolution Operation #

\[ Z(i,j) = \sum_{m,n} X(i+m, j+n) \cdot K(m,n) \]

Sliding filter extracts features
Produces feature maps

3. Stride & Padding #

\[ Output = \frac{N - F + 2P}{S} + 1 \]

4. Activation (ReLU) #

\[ ReLU(x) = max(0, x) \]

5. Pooling #

Max Pooling → strongest feature
Average Pooling → smooth

6. Global Average Pooling #

\[ y_k = \frac{1}{HW} \sum_{i,j} x_{i,j,k} \]

7. Loss Function #

\[ L = - \sum y \log(\hat{y}) \]

8. CNN Architecture #

graph LR
A[Input Image] --> B[Conv]
B --> C[ReLU]
C --> D[Pooling]
D --> E[Conv Layers]
E --> F[Flatten / GAP]
F --> G[Dense]
G --> H[Output]

9. Training #

Forward pass
Loss computation
Backpropagation
Weight update

10. Keras Implementation #

Model #

from tensorflow.keras.models import Sequential
from tensorflow.keras.layers import Conv2D, MaxPooling2D, Dense, Flatten

model = Sequential()

model.add(Conv2D(32, (3,3), activation='relu', input_shape=(64,64,3)))
model.add(MaxPooling2D((2,2)))

model.add(Conv2D(64, (3,3), activation='relu'))
model.add(MaxPooling2D((2,2)))

model.add(Flatten())

model.add(Dense(128, activation='relu'))
model.add(Dense(1, activation='sigmoid'))

Compile #

model.compile(optimizer='adam', loss='binary_crossentropy', metrics=['accuracy'])

Train #

model.fit(X_train, y_train, epochs=10, batch_size=32)

Predict #

pred = model.predict(X_test)

11. Tips #

Normalize images
Use small filters
Avoid too many dense layers

12. Summary #

CNN = Automatic feature extractor + classifier

Recurrent Neural Networks

Sun, 19 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Recurrent Neural Networks #

Recurrent Neural Networks (RNNs) are neural networks designed for sequential data, where the order of inputs matters and the model must use information from earlier time steps to interpret later ones. Unlike a feedforward network, an RNN does not process each input in isolation. It carries a hidden state from one time step to the next, so the network can build a running summary of what it has seen so far.

Deep Recurrent Neural Networks

Sun, 19 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Deep Recurrent Neural Networks #

Vanilla RNNs introduce the hidden-state idea, but they struggle on longer and more complex sequences because gradients can vanish across time. Deep recurrent models extend the RNN idea in two important ways:

make the recurrent architecture richer, for example by stacking multiple recurrent layers or using information from both directions,
use gates and memory cells to control what should be remembered, forgotten, updated, and exposed.

This is why practical recurrent modelling usually moves from a simple RNN to stacked RNNs, bidirectional RNNs, GRUs, or LSTMs.