Improving Dataset Volumes and Model Accuracy with Semi-Supervised Iterative Self-Learning

IEEE Trans Image Process. 2019 May 6. doi: 10.1109/TIP.2019.2913986. Online ahead of print.

Abstract

Within this work a novel semi-supervised learning technique is introduced based on a simple iterative learning cycle together with learned thresholding techniques and an ensemble decision support system. State-of-the-art model performance and increased training data volume are demonstrated, through the use of unlabelled data when training deeply learned classification models. The methods presented work independently from the model architectures or loss functions, making this approach applicable to a wide range of machine learning and classification tasks. Evaluation of the proposed approach is performed on commonly used datasets when evaluating semi-supervised learning techniques as well as a number of more challenging image classification datasets (CIFAR-100 and a 200 class subset of ImageNet).