Pruning GP-based classifier ensembles by Bayesian networks

Classifier ensemble techniques are effectively used to combine the responses provided by a set of classifiers. Classifier ensembles improve the performance of single classifier systems, even if a large number of classifiers is often required. This implies large memory requirements and slow speeds of classification, making their use critical in some applications. This problem can be reduced by selecting a fraction of the classifiers from the original ensemble. In this work, it is presented an ensemble-based framework that copes with large datasets, however selecting a small number of classifiers composing the ensemble. The framework is based on two modules: an ensemble-based Genetic Programming (GP) system, which produces a high performing ensemble of decision tree classifiers, and a Bayesian Network (BN) approach to perform classifier selection. The proposed system exploits the advantages provided by both techniques and allows to strongly reduce the number of classifiers in the ensemble. Experimental results compare the system with well-known techniques both in the field of GP and BN and show the effectiveness of the devised approach. In addition, a comparison with a pareto optimal strategy of pruning has been performed. © 2012 Springer-Verlag.