Special Issue on Pattern Recognition

We are pleased to publish this special JACIII issue on pattern recognition featuring 3 invited and 14 regular papers. The first and second concern support vector machines and Bayesian networks by authors who are field experts, and should serve as an introduction to beginners and a resource for researchers. In the third paper, the authors propose an artificial neural network for pattern recognition using "living" neural cells. This paper was invited because the research it deals with is considered an example of the interfield research expected to develop in the 21st century. The remaining 14 regular papers are reviewed and selected from 19 submitted papers. In reviewing and selecting the 14 regular papers, covering a broad field range from basic theory to applied systems, we focused on the originality of each paper and the viewpoints of the authors toward problems and experimental results. This wide-ranging selection should prove both innovative and enlightening to interested readers. We thank Professors Kaoru Hirota and Toshio Fukuda, editors-in-chief of this journal, for their support of this special issue. We also thank the staff of Fuji Technology Press for its invaluable assistance.