Single-example learning of novel classes using representation by similarity

We describe an object classification method that can learn from a single training example. In this method, a novel class is characterized by its similarity to a number of previously learned, familiar classes. We demonstrate that this similarity is well-preserved across different class instances. As a result, it generalizes well to new instances of the novel class. A simple comparison of the similarity patterns is therefore sufficient to obtain useful classification performance from a single training example. The similarity between the novel class and the familiar classes in the proposed method can be evaluated using a wide variety of existing classification schemes. It can therefore combine the merits of many different classification methods. Experiments on a database of 107 widely varying object classes demonstrate that the proposed method significantly improves the performance of the baseline algorithm.