PLS_Cluster: a novel technique for cluster analysis

A novel cluster analysis technique (PLS_Cluster) is proposed in this work. The method is based on the well-known PLS-regression procedure using a “self-organizing” mechanism to accomplish a clustering of the data. The implementation of this technique is straightforward and it provides several diagnostic insights into the reasons for clustering, by studying the obtained dendrogram, and by examining various statistical properties associated with the nodes. At each node it is possible to recover all the regression vectors common to PLS (loading X, loadings W, and B-coefficients) along with the scores X and scores y. This work presents the application of DiPLS_Cluster (a particular case of PLS_Cluster) to the analysis of several datasets and demonstrates the potentiality of this novel technique.