Stochastic self-organizing map variants with the R package SOMbrero

Abstract

Self-Organizing Maps (SOM) [ ] are a popular clustering and visualization algorithm. Several implementations of the SOM algorithm exist in different mathematical/statistical softwares, the main one being probably the SOM Toolbox [2]. In this presentation, we will introduce an R package, SOMbrero, which implements several variants of the stochastic SOM algorithm. The package includes several diagnosis tools and graphics for interpretation of the results and is provided with a complete documentation and examples.