A winner-take-all circuit using neural networks as building blocks

A new analog inhibitory method based winner-take-all (WTA) circuit is proposed. The circuit structure is a binary tree arrangement of two-dimensional neural networks and logic nodes. The connection matrix belongs to the class of diagonally stable matrices and the activation functions are piecewise linear or sigmoidal. The mathematical justification of the strong WTA network functioning, on the basis of the uniqueness and global asymptotic stability of the equilibrium, is given. Simulation examples and the corresponding results are also provided.