# An Overview on Data Representation Learning: From Traditional Feature Learning to Recent Deep Learning

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/1611.08331 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/1611.08331/

## Key facts

- Cited by 29 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 25 Nov 2016.

## Built on by (most cited first, 29 of 29)

- [Dynamic and Adaptive Feature Generation with LLM](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2406.03505/) (2024)
- [Controllable Data Generation by Deep Learning: A Review](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2207.09542/) (2022)
- [A Survey on Statistical Theory of Deep Learning: Approximation, Training Dynamics, and Generative Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2401.07187/) (2024)
- [Remote patient monitoring using artificial intelligence: Current state, applications, and challenges](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2301.10009/) (2023)
- [Applications of Deep Learning Techniques for Automated Multiple Sclerosis Detection Using Magnetic Resonance Imaging: A Review](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2105.04881/) (2021)
- [A Penalty Approach for Normalizing Feature Distributions to Build Confounder-Free Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2207.04607/) (2022)
- [Block-Biased Mamba for Long-Range Sequence Processing](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2505.09022/) (2025)
- [Empirical Evaluation and Theoretical Analysis for Representation Learning: A Survey](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2204.08226/) (2022)
- [Unsupervised Learning Architecture for Classifying the Transient Noise of Interferometric Gravitational-wave Detectors](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2111.10053/) (2021)
- [Machine Learning Analysis of Anomalous Diffusion](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2412.01393/) (2024)
- [Multi-Modal Data-Enhanced Foundation Models for Prediction and Control in Wireless Networks: A Survey](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2601.03181/) (2026)
- [Do Neural Network Weights account for Classes Centers?](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2104.07004/) (2021)
- [MLP-KAN: Unifying Deep Representation and Function Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2410.03027/) (2024)
- [FELA: A Multi-Agent Evolutionary System for Feature Engineering of Industrial Event Log Data](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2510.25223/) (2025)
- [ODMTCNet: An Interpretable Multi-view Deep Neural Network Architecture for Image Feature Representation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2110.14830/) (2021)
- [Training Process of Unsupervised Learning Architecture for Gravity Spy Dataset](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2208.03623/) (2022)
- [Learning an Ensemble of Deep Fingerprint Representations](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2209.02425/) (2022)
- [Interpretable Transformation and Analysis of Timelines through Learning via Surprisability](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2503.04502/) (2025)
- [A Novel Data Pre-processing Technique: Making Data Mining Robust to Different Units and Scales of Measurement](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2111.04253/) (2021)
- [Scientific Impact of Graph-Based Approaches in Deep Learning Studies -- A Bibliometric Comparison](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2210.07343/) (2022)
- [Realization of Causal Representation Learning to Adjust Confounding Bias in Latent Space](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2211.08573/) (2022)
- [TemporalPaD: a reinforcement-learning framework for temporal feature representation and dimension reduction](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2409.18597/) (2024)
- [Disentangling Genotype and Environment Specific Latent Features for Improved Trait Prediction using a Compositional Autoencoder](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2410.19922/) (2024)
- [An Optimization Algorithm for Multimodal Data Alignment](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2503.07636/) (2025)
- [Artificial Intelligence and Deep Learning Algorithms for Epigenetic Sequence Analysis: A Review for Epigeneticists and AI Experts](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2504.03733/) (2025)
- [Innovative tokenisation of structured data for LLM training](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2508.01685/) (2025)
- [Learning Representations of Satellite Images with Evaluations on Synoptic Weather Events](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2508.06122/) (2025)
- [A Physics Prior-Guided Dual-Stream Attention Network for Motion Prediction of Elastic Bragg Breakwaters](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2510.14250/) (2025)
- [Computational Methods and Challenges in Cell-Free DNA Analysis for Multi-Cancer Early Detection](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2606.20174/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Since about 100 years ago, to learn the intrinsic structure of data, many representation learning approaches have been proposed, including both linear ones and nonlinear ones, supervised ones and unsupervised ones. Particularly, deep architectures are widely applied for representation learning in recent years, and have delivered top results in many tasks, such as image classification, object detection and speech recognition. In this paper, we review the development of data representation learning methods. Specifically, we investigate both traditional feature learning algorithms and state-of-the-art deep learning models. The history of data representation learning is introduced, while available resources (e.g. online course, tutorial and book information) and toolboxes are provided. Finally, we conclude this paper with remarks and some interesting research directions on data representation learning.
