Causal Convolutional Neural Networks as Finite Impulse Response Filters

Fuente: arXiv
Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Bacsa, Kiran, Liu, Wei, Jian, Xudong, Liang, Huangbin, Chatzi, Eleni
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
Subjects:
Online Access:
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1866917047862034432
author Bacsa, Kiran
Liu, Wei
Jian, Xudong
Liang, Huangbin
Chatzi, Eleni
author_facet Bacsa, Kiran
Liu, Wei
Jian, Xudong
Liang, Huangbin
Chatzi, Eleni
contents This study investigates the behavior of Causal Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) with quasi-linear activation functions when applied to time-series data characterized by multimodal frequency content. We demonstrate that, once trained, such networks exhibit properties analogous to Finite Impulse Response (FIR) filters, particularly when the convolutional kernels are of extended length exceeding those typically employed in standard CNN architectures. Causal CNNs are shown to capture spectral features both implicitly and explicitly, offering enhanced interpretability for tasks involving dynamic systems. Leveraging the associative property of convolution, we further show that the entire network can be reduced to an equivalent single-layer filter resembling an FIR filter optimized via least-squares criteria. This equivalence yields new insights into the spectral learning behavior of CNNs trained on signals with sparse frequency content. The approach is validated on both simulated beam dynamics and real-world bridge vibration datasets, underlining its relevance for modeling and identifying physical systems governed by dynamic responses.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2510_24125
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Causal Convolutional Neural Networks as Finite Impulse Response Filters
Bacsa, Kiran
Liu, Wei
Jian, Xudong
Liang, Huangbin
Chatzi, Eleni
Machine Learning
This study investigates the behavior of Causal Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) with quasi-linear activation functions when applied to time-series data characterized by multimodal frequency content. We demonstrate that, once trained, such networks exhibit properties analogous to Finite Impulse Response (FIR) filters, particularly when the convolutional kernels are of extended length exceeding those typically employed in standard CNN architectures. Causal CNNs are shown to capture spectral features both implicitly and explicitly, offering enhanced interpretability for tasks involving dynamic systems. Leveraging the associative property of convolution, we further show that the entire network can be reduced to an equivalent single-layer filter resembling an FIR filter optimized via least-squares criteria. This equivalence yields new insights into the spectral learning behavior of CNNs trained on signals with sparse frequency content. The approach is validated on both simulated beam dynamics and real-world bridge vibration datasets, underlining its relevance for modeling and identifying physical systems governed by dynamic responses.
title Causal Convolutional Neural Networks as Finite Impulse Response Filters
topic Machine Learning
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2510.24125