SVM (The Divider)

SVM draws a line between two groups and tries to leave the biggest empty space between them.

What it does

SVM draws a line between two groups and tries to leave the biggest empty space between them.

Hyperplane: The boundary line • Margin: The empty space

How it works

• Put two groups of dots on a chart.
• Try to draw a line between the groups.
• Move the line so the empty space on both sides is as wide as possible.

Uses and applications

• A photo tool can separate pictures of cats from pictures of dogs.
• A safety system can separate normal machine readings from warning readings.
• A science app can sort samples into two groups.

In short

SVM is a divider. It looks for the widest safe gap between two groups.

Related methods

• Logistic Regression: Also draws a dividing boundary between two groups.
• KNN (Neighbors): Classifies new points from the closest examples instead of a boundary.

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