Template-Memory Neural Networks for Few-Shot Data Generation

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Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional generative models struggle to capture data variations with limited data sets, often requiring excessive computational resources and failing to separate address selection from data modeling, leading to inefficient training.

Innovation Solution

A neural network system with a memory component that stores template data items, allowing for separate address selection and variation modeling, utilizing a variational inference-based training method to efficiently generate new data items using a smaller data set.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If conventional generative models are used with limited data sets, then the model structure remains simple, but the model fails to capture data variations and requires excessive computational resources

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveability to capture data variationsVSAvoidcomputational resources
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSUse of energy by moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The model segments the data representation into two distinct components: a template data item stored in memory that captures common variations, and a residual representation computed by the neural network that captures remaining variations. This segmentation allows the network to focus only on modeling residual variations rather than all variations, reducing computational requirements while improving adaptability to limited data sets.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The template data item is pre-computed and stored in memory before the generative process. This preliminary action captures common patterns and variations in advance, so that during generation, the system only needs to compute the residual components, significantly reducing the computational resources needed at generation time while maintaining the ability to capture full data variations.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

2Productivity

If conventional generative models are used, then training can be performed, but address selection and data modeling are not separated leading to inefficient training

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvetraining efficiencyVSAvoidsystem architecture complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system architecture is segmented into distinct functional components: a memory component for storing template data items and a neural network component for computing residual representations. This architectural segmentation separates the address selection function (retrieving template based on input) from the data modeling function (computing residuals), enabling more efficient training procedures while managing complexity through modular design.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The template data item stored in memory acts as an intermediary between the input data and the residual computation. Instead of the neural network directly modeling all data variations, it uses the template as an intermediate reference point, computing only the differences. This intermediary structure enables more efficient training by reducing the modeling burden on the network.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

3Reliability

If a larger data set is used for training conventional models, then better generalization is achieved, but more computational resources are required

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvegeneralization performanceVSAvoidcomputational resources
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSUse of energy by moving object

Solution Approach 1:

By segmenting the data representation into template and residual components, the system can achieve better generalization with limited training data. The template captures common patterns from the training set, while the residual network learns to handle variations. This segmentation reduces the amount of training data needed compared to conventional models that must learn all patterns from scratch, thereby reducing computational resources required for training while maintaining or improving generalization performance.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Data Source

PatentEP4425383B1Neural network system
Publication Date: 2025.09.10 GDM HOLDING LLC
  • EP4425383B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP4425383B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP4425383B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, for generating data items. One of the systems is a neural network system comprising a memory storing a plurality of template data items; one or more processors configured to select a memory address based upon a received input data item, and retrieve a template data item from the memory based upon the selected memory address; an encoder neural network configured to process the received input data item and the retrieved template data item to generate a latent variable representation; and a decoder neural network configured to process the retrieved template data item and the latent variable representation to generate an output data item.