US Patent 10515312 Neural network model compaction using selective unit removal

The present disclosure is directed to the generation of a compact artificial neural network by removing individual nodes from the artificial neural network. Individual nodes of the artificial neural network may be deactivated randomly and/or selectively during training of the artificial neural network. In some embodiments, a particular node may be randomly deactivated approximately half of the time during processing of a set of training data inputs. Based on the accuracy of the results obtained when the node is deactivated compared to the accuracy of the results obtained when the node is activated, an activation probability may be generated. Nodes can then be selectively removed from the artificial neural network based on the activation probability.