In this assignment you will implement multi-layer neural networks on the Fashion-MNIST image classification dataset, which was used in Assignment 1 as well. The goal of this assignment is to help you understand the fundamentals of neural networks and backpropagation. Specifically, you will write your own forward and backward pass and train two- and three-layer networks with SGD and Adam optimizers. You will also get experience with hyperparameter tuning and using proper train/test/validation data splits. The format of this assignment is inspired by the Stanford CS231n assignments, and we have borrowed some of their data loading and instructions.
Download the starting code here.
The top-level notebook (neural_network.ipynb
) will guide you through all the steps of training a neural network on Fashion-MNIST. You will implement the multi-layer neural network in the neural_net.py
file.
We also provide you with a notebook to help with debugging and testing your neural network implementation by using a toy dataset along with numeric gradient checks. It is found in develop_neural_network.ipynb
. NOTE: This file is only for debugging/experimenting/testing purposes. It will not be graded, and you are not required to submit it.
None of the parts of this assignment require use of a machine with a GPU. You may complete the assignment using your local machine or you may use Google Colaboratory.
If you will be completing the assignment on a local machine then you will need a python environment set up with the appropriate packages.
We suggest that you use Anaconda to manage python package dependencies (https://www.anaconda.com/download). This guide provides useful information on how to use Conda: https://conda.io/docs/user-guide/getting-started.html.
Once you have unzipped the zip file, navigate to the fashion-mnist directory in assignment2 and execute the get_data.sh
script provided:
$ cd assignment2/fashion-mnist/
$sh get_data.sh or $bash get_data.sh
If you are using Google Colaboratory for this assignment you will need to do some additional setup steps.
Download the assignment zip file and follow the steps above to download Fashion-MNIST to your local machine. Next, you should make a folder in your Google Drive to hold all of your assignment files and upload the entire assignment folder (including the cifar10 dataset you downloaded) into this Google drive file.
You will now need to open the Assignment 2 IPython notebook file from your Google Drive folder in Colaboratory and run a few setup commands. However, we have condensed all the important commands you need to run into an IPython notebook (you can disregard the section on GPU setup for this assignment).
The assignment is given to you in the neural_network.ipynb
file. As mentioned, if you are using Colaboratory, you can open the IPython notebook directly in Colaboratory. If you are using a local machine, ensure that IPython is installed (https://ipython.org/install.html). You may then navigate the assignment directory in terminal and start a local IPython server using the jupyter notebook
command.
The assignment deliverables are as follows. If you are working in a pair, only one designated student should make the submission.
Please refer to course policies on collaborations, late submission, etc.