We propose a novel algorithm for performing federated learning with Echo State Networks (ESNs) in a client-server scenario. In particular, our proposal focuses on the adaptation of reservoirs by combining Intrinsic Plasticity with Federated Averaging. The former is a gradient-based method for adapting the reservoir's non-linearity in a local and unsupervised manner, while the latter provides the framework for learning in the federated scenario. We evaluate our approach on real-world datasets from human monitoring, in comparison with the previous approach for federated ESNs existing in literature. Results show that adapting the reservoir with our algorithm provides a significant improvement on the performance of the global model.

6 pages