TL;DR
Transformers that process multi-channel scalar signals face challenges in effectively embedding multiple values into a single vector. Eight input encoders were evaluated, including linear projections and channel-as-token architectures, to determine their effectiveness.
✦ Why It Matters
Engineers can optimize transformer models for multi-channel signals by selecting appropriate input encoders based on this study's findings.
Key Takeaways
Full Summary
Transformers are powerful models for processing sequential data, but they struggle with multi-channel scalar signals, which require embedding multiple values into a single vector at each time step. This study evaluated eight different input encoders, including a shared-scalar baseline, per-channel linear projections, and channel-as-token architectures, to assess their performance.
The evaluation was conducted on a synthetic benchmark where channel identity was informative and on the ETTh1 dataset, which contains time series data. Results indicated that certain encoders, particularly those that treat channels as tokens, significantly improved model performance.
For instance, the channel-as-token architecture outperformed traditional methods in terms of accuracy. These findings suggest that the choice of input encoder can greatly influence the effectiveness of transformers in multi-channel signal processing tasks.
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