Evaluation of Projection Algorithms

A number of linear and nonlinear mapping algorithms for the projection of patterns from a high-dimensional space to two dimensions are available. These two-dimensional representations allow quick visual observation of a data set. A combination of two popular mapping algorithms-Sammon's mean-square error technique and the triangulation method-is proposed to overcome the limitations in the individual algorithms. Some factors which describe the goodness of a projection are described, and a comparison is made of six of these algorithms by running them on four data sets. The results obtained support the use of the proposed algorithm.