SUPPORT VECTOR MACHINE ALGORITHM
Support Vector Machine, or SVM, is a popular Supervised Learning algorithm that is used for both
classification and regression problems. However, it is primarily used in Machine Learning for
Classification problems.
The SVM algorithm's goal is to find the best line or decision boundary for categorizing n-dimensional
space so that we can easily place new data points in the correct category in the future. A
hyperplane is the best decision boundary.
SVM selects the extreme points/vectors that aid in the creation of the hyperplane. These extreme
cases are referred to as support vectors, and the algorithm is known as the Support Vector
Machine.
Face detection, image classification, text categorization, and other tasks can be accomplished
using the SVM algorithm.
Consider the below diagram in which there are two different categories that are classified
using a decision boundary or hyperplane:
Example: Suppose we see a strange cat that also has some features of dogs, so if we want a model
that can accurately identify whether it is a cat or dog, such a model can be created by using the SVM
algorithm. We will first train our model with lots of images of cats and dogs so that it can learn about
different features of cats and dogs, and then we test it with this strange creature. So as the support
vector creates a decision boundary between these two data (cat and dog) and chooses extreme cases
(support vectors), it will see the extreme case of cat and dog. On the basis of the support vectors, it
will classify it as a cat. Consider the below diagram:
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Types of SVM
Linear SVM
Linear SVM is used for linearly separable data, which means that if a dataset can be classified into
two classes using a single straight line, it is considered linearly separable data, and the classifier used
is the Linear SVM classifier.
Non-Linear SVM
Non-Linear SVM is used for non-linearly separated data, which means that if a dataset cannot be
classified using a straight line, it is considered non-linear data, and the classifier used is the Non-
linear SVM classifier.
Hyperplane
Multiple lines/decision boundaries can be used to separate classes in n-dimensional space, but we
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must find the best decision boundary that helps to classify the data points. The best boundary is
referred to as the SVM Hyperplane.
The dimensions of the hyperplane are determined by the number of features in the dataset, which
means that if there are only two features (as shown in the image), the hyperplane will be a straight
line. And if there are three features, the hyperplane is a two-dimensional plane.
Support Vectors
The data points or vectors that are closest to the hyperplane and influence its position are referred to
as Support Vectors. Because these vectors support the hyperplane, they are referred to as Support
vectors.
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