A Deep Convolutional Auto-Encoder with Embedded Clustering

Abstract

In this paper, we propose a clustering approach embedded in a deep convolutional auto-encoder (DCAE). In contrast to conventional clustering approaches, our method simultaneously learns feature representations and cluster assignments through DCAEs. DCAEs have been effective in image processing as it fully utilizes the properties of convolutional neural networks. Our method consists of clustering and reconstruction objective functions. All data points are assigned to their new corresponding cluster centers during the optimization, after that, clustering centers are iteratively updated to obtain a stable performance of clustering. The experimental results on the MNIST dataset show that the proposed method substantially outperforms deep clustering models in term of clustering quality.