EMNIST Dataset does not download due to dead link

[AlexLewandowski]

The dataset used for downloading EMNIST is no longer working. The url for the download is currently: https://biometrics.nist.gov/EMNIST/matlab.zip

However, that url now redirects to https://www.nist.gov/programs-projects/biometrics

A fix would require changing the url to a mirror (which I cannot find) or using the "Binary format as the original MNIST dataset" at the bottom of this page: https://www.nist.gov/itl/products-and-services/emnist-dataset

[Dsantra92]

Hey @AlexLewandowski, thanks for reporting the bug. Would you like to make a PR for the same?

[AlexLewandowski]

The simplest fix would be to update the link. I found a link hosting a mirror to the matlab format of the dataset: https://research-data.westernsydney.edu.au/published/2df91130519411ecb15399911543e199/

The hash is different, but replacing the hash and the url fixes this issue.

Is this a long-term solution? It is possible that this link can also die in the future.

[graeme-a-stewart]

Hi - I also ran into this issue, which I fixed in #247. The download URL https://biometrics.nist.gov/cs_links/EMNIST/matlab.zip works just fine and doesn't need a mirror.

The link looks pretty official, so hopefully it's stable for some time!