Edinburgh Napier University

  In this paper, we present a novel architecture and learning algorithm for a multilayered echo state machine (ML-ESM). Traditional echo state networks (ESNs) refer to a particular type of reservoir computing (RC) architecture. They constitute an effective approach to recurrent neural network (RNN) training, with the (RNN-based) reservoir generated randomly, and only the readout trained using a simple computationally efficient algorithm. ESNs have greatly facilitated the real-time application of RNN, and have been shown to outperform classical approaches in a number of benchmark tasks. In this paper, we introduce a novel criteria for integrating multiple layers of reservoirs within the ML-ESM. The addition of multiple layers of reservoirs are shown to provide a more robust alternative to conventional RC networks. We demonstrate the comparative merits of this approach in a number of applications, considering both benchmark datasets and real world applications.