Publications | Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems

986 results (View BibTeX file of all listed publications)

2010

A PAC-Bayesian Analysis of Co-clustering, Graph Clustering, and Pairwise Clustering

In ICML 2010 Workshop on Social Analytics: Learning from human interactions, pages: 1-5, ICML Workshop on Social Analytics: Learning from human interactions, June 2010 (inproceedings)

Abstract

We review briefly the PAC-Bayesian analysis of co-clustering (Seldin and Tishby, 2008, 2009, 2010), which provided generalization guarantees and regularization terms absent in the preceding formulations of this problem and achieved state-of-the-art prediction results in MovieLens collaborative filtering task. Inspired by this analysis we formulate weighted graph clustering1 as a prediction problem: given a subset of edge weights we analyze the ability of graph clustering to predict the remaining edge weights. This formulation enables practical and theoretical comparison of different approaches to graph clustering as well as comparison of graph clustering with other possible ways to model the graph. Following the lines of (Seldin and Tishby, 2010) we derive PAC-Bayesian generalization bounds for graph clustering. The bounds show that graph clustering should optimize a trade-off between empirical data fit and the mutual information that clusters preserve on the graph nodes. A similar trade-off derived from information-theoretic considerations was already shown to produce state-of-the-art results in practice (Slonim et al., 2005; Yom-Tov and Slonim, 2009). This paper supports the empirical evidence by providing a better theoretical foundation, suggesting formal generalization guarantees, and offering a more accurate way to deal with finite sample issues.

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2010

ei Seldin, Y. A PAC-Bayesian Analysis of Co-clustering, Graph Clustering, and Pairwise Clustering In ICML 2010 Workshop on Social Analytics: Learning from human interactions, pages: 1-5, ICML Workshop on Social Analytics: Learning from human interactions, June 2010 (inproceedings)

PDF Web [BibTex]

How to Explain Individual Classification Decisions

Baehrens, D., Schroeter, T., Harmeling, S., Kawanabe, M., Hansen, K., Müller, K.

Journal of Machine Learning Research, 11, pages: 1803-1831, June 2010 (article)

Abstract

After building a classifier with modern tools of machine learning we typically have a black box at hand that is able to predict well for unseen data. Thus, we get an answer to the question what is the most likely label of a given unseen data point. However, most methods will provide no answer why the model predicted a particular label for a single instance and what features were most influential for that particular instance. The only method that is currently able to provide such explanations are decision trees. This paper proposes a procedure which (based on a set of assumptions) allows to explain the decisions of any classification method.

PDF PDF [BibTex]

ei Baehrens, D., Schroeter, T., Harmeling, S., Kawanabe, M., Hansen, K., Müller, K. How to Explain Individual Classification Decisions Journal of Machine Learning Research, 11, pages: 1803-1831, June 2010 (article)

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Single-Image Super-Resolution Using Sparse Regression and Natural Image Prior

Kim, K., Kwon, Y.

IEEE Transactions on Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence, 32(6):1127-1133, June 2010 (article)

Abstract

This paper proposes a framework for single-image super-resolution. The underlying idea is to learn a map from input low-resolution images to target high-resolution images based on example pairs of input and output images. Kernel ridge regression (KRR) is adopted for this purpose. To reduce the time complexity of training and testing for KRR, a sparse solution is found by combining the ideas of kernel matching pursuit and gradient descent. As a regularized solution, KRR leads to a better generalization than simply storing the examples as has been done in existing example-based algorithms and results in much less noisy images. However, this may introduce blurring and ringing artifacts around major edges as sharp changes are penalized severely. A prior model of a generic image class which takes into account the discontinuity property of images is adopted to resolve this problem. Comparison with existing algorithms shows the effectiveness of the proposed method.

Web DOI [BibTex]

ei Kim, K., Kwon, Y. Single-Image Super-Resolution Using Sparse Regression and Natural Image Prior IEEE Transactions on Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence, 32(6):1127-1133, June 2010 (article)

Web DOI [BibTex]

Imitation and Reinforcement Learning

Kober, J., Peters, J.

IEEE Robotics and Automation Magazine, 17(2):55-62, June 2010 (article)

Abstract

In this article, we present both novel learning algorithms and experiments using the dynamical system MPs. As such, we describe this MP representation in a way that it is straightforward to reproduce. We review an appropriate imitation learning method, i.e., locally weighted regression, and show how this method can be used both for initializing RL tasks as well as for modifying the start-up phase in a rhythmic task. We also show our current best-suited RL algorithm for this framework, i.e., PoWER. We present two complex motor tasks, i.e., ball-in-a-cup and ball paddling, learned on a real, physical Barrett WAM, using the methods presented in this article. Of particular interest is the ball-paddling application, as it requires a combination of both rhythmic and discrete dynamical systems MPs during the start-up phase to achieve a particular task.

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ei Kober, J., Peters, J. Imitation and Reinforcement Learning IEEE Robotics and Automation Magazine, 17(2):55-62, June 2010 (article)

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Multisensor-Fusion for 3D Full-Body Human Motion Capture

Pons-Moll, G., Baak, A., Helten, T., Müller, M., Seidel, H., Rosenhahn, B.

In IEEE Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition (CVPR), June 2010 (inproceedings)

project page pdf [BibTex]

ps Pons-Moll, G., Baak, A., Helten, T., Müller, M., Seidel, H., Rosenhahn, B. Multisensor-Fusion for 3D Full-Body Human Motion Capture In IEEE Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition (CVPR), June 2010 (inproceedings)

project page pdf [BibTex]

Coded exposure imaging for projective motion deblurring

Tai, Y., Kong, N., Lin, S., Shin, S. Y.

In Proc. IEEE Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition (CVPR), pages: 2408-2415, June 2010 (inproceedings)

Abstract

We propose a method for deblurring of spatially variant object motion. A principal challenge of this problem is how to estimate the point spread function (PSF) of the spatially variant blur. Based on the projective motion blur model of, we present a blur estimation technique that jointly utilizes a coded exposure camera and simple user interactions to recover the PSF. With this spatially variant PSF, objects that exhibit projective motion can be effectively de-blurred. We validate this method with several challenging image examples.

Publisher site [BibTex]

ps Tai, Y., Kong, N., Lin, S., Shin, S. Y. Coded exposure imaging for projective motion deblurring In Proc. IEEE Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition (CVPR), pages: 2408-2415, June 2010 (inproceedings)

Publisher site [BibTex]

Tracking people interacting with objects

Kjellstrom, H., Kragic, D., Black, M. J.

In IEEE Conf. on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition, CVPR, pages: 747-754, June 2010 (inproceedings)

pdf Video [BibTex]

ps Kjellstrom, H., Kragic, D., Black, M. J. Tracking people interacting with objects In IEEE Conf. on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition, CVPR, pages: 747-754, June 2010 (inproceedings)

pdf Video [BibTex]

Contour people: A parameterized model of 2D articulated human shape

Freifeld, O., Weiss, A., Zuffi, S., Black, M. J.

In IEEE Conf. on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition, (CVPR), pages: 639-646, IEEE, June 2010 (inproceedings)

pdf slides video of CVPR talk Project Page [BibTex]

ps Freifeld, O., Weiss, A., Zuffi, S., Black, M. J. Contour people: A parameterized model of 2D articulated human shape In IEEE Conf. on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition, (CVPR), pages: 639-646, IEEE, June 2010 (inproceedings)

pdf slides video of CVPR talk Project Page [BibTex]

Secrets of optical flow estimation and their principles

Sun, D., Roth, S., Black, M. J.

In IEEE Conf. on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition (CVPR), pages: 2432-2439, IEEE, June 2010 (inproceedings)

pdf Matlab code code copryright notice [BibTex]

ps Sun, D., Roth, S., Black, M. J. Secrets of optical flow estimation and their principles In IEEE Conf. on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition (CVPR), pages: 2432-2439, IEEE, June 2010 (inproceedings)

pdf Matlab code code copryright notice [BibTex]

Identifying the Role of Proprioception in Upper-Limb Prosthesis Control: Studies on Targeted Motion

Blank, A., Okamura, A. M., Kuchenbecker, K. J.

ACM Transactions on Applied Perception, 7(3):1-23, June 2010 (article)

[BibTex]

hi Blank, A., Okamura, A. M., Kuchenbecker, K. J. Identifying the Role of Proprioception in Upper-Limb Prosthesis Control: Studies on Targeted Motion ACM Transactions on Applied Perception, 7(3):1-23, June 2010 (article)

[BibTex]

Reinforcement learning of motor skills in high dimensions: A path integral approach

Theodorou, E., Buchli, J., Schaal, S.

In Robotics and Automation (ICRA), 2010 IEEE International Conference on, pages: 2397-2403, May 2010, clmc (inproceedings)

Abstract

Reinforcement learning (RL) is one of the most general approaches to learning control. Its applicability to complex motor systems, however, has been largely impossible so far due to the computational difficulties that reinforcement learning encounters in high dimensional continuous state-action spaces. In this paper, we derive a novel approach to RL for parameterized control policies based on the framework of stochastic optimal control with path integrals. While solidly grounded in optimal control theory and estimation theory, the update equations for learning are surprisingly simple and have no danger of numerical instabilities as neither matrix inversions nor gradient learning rates are required. Empirical evaluations demonstrate significant performance improvements over gradient-based policy learning and scalability to high-dimensional control problems. Finally, a learning experiment on a robot dog illustrates the functionality of our algorithm in a real-world scenario. We believe that our new algorithm, Policy Improvement with Path Integrals (PI²), offers currently one of the most efficient, numerically robust, and easy to implement algorithms for RL in robotics.

link (url) [BibTex]

am Theodorou, E., Buchli, J., Schaal, S. Reinforcement learning of motor skills in high dimensions: A path integral approach In Robotics and Automation (ICRA), 2010 IEEE International Conference on, pages: 2397-2403, May 2010, clmc (inproceedings)

link (url) [BibTex]

Inverse dynamics control of floating base systems using orthogonal decomposition

Mistry, M., Buchli, J., Schaal, S.

In Robotics and Automation (ICRA), 2010 IEEE International Conference on, pages: 3406-3412, May 2010, clmc (inproceedings)

Abstract

Model-based control methods can be used to enable fast, dexterous, and compliant motion of robots without sacrificing control accuracy. However, implementing such techniques on floating base robots, e.g., humanoids and legged systems, is non-trivial due to under-actuation, dynamically changing constraints from the environment, and potentially closed loop kinematics. In this paper, we show how to compute the analytically correct inverse dynamics torques for model-based control of sufficiently constrained floating base rigid-body systems, such as humanoid robots with one or two feet in contact with the environment. While our previous inverse dynamics approach relied on an estimation of contact forces to compute an approximate inverse dynamics solution, here we present an analytically correct solution by using an orthogonal decomposition to project the robot dynamics onto a reduced dimensional space, independent of contact forces. We demonstrate the feasibility and robustness of our approach on a simulated floating base bipedal humanoid robot and an actual robot dog locomoting over rough terrain.

link (url) [BibTex]

am Mistry, M., Buchli, J., Schaal, S. Inverse dynamics control of floating base systems using orthogonal decomposition In Robotics and Automation (ICRA), 2010 IEEE International Conference on, pages: 3406-3412, May 2010, clmc (inproceedings)

link (url) [BibTex]

Fast, robust quadruped locomotion over challenging terrain

Kalakrishnan, M., Buchli, J., Pastor, P., Mistry, M., Schaal, S.

In Robotics and Automation (ICRA), 2010 IEEE International Conference on, pages: 2665-2670, May 2010, clmc (inproceedings)

Abstract

We present a control architecture for fast quadruped locomotion over rough terrain. We approach the problem by decomposing it into many sub-systems, in which we apply state-of-the-art learning, planning, optimization and control techniques to achieve robust, fast locomotion. Unique features of our control strategy include: (1) a system that learns optimal foothold choices from expert demonstration using terrain templates, (2) a body trajectory optimizer based on the Zero-Moment Point (ZMP) stability criterion, and (3) a floating-base inverse dynamics controller that, in conjunction with force control, allows for robust, compliant locomotion over unperceived obstacles. We evaluate the performance of our controller by testing it on the LittleDog quadruped robot, over a wide variety of rough terrain of varying difficulty levels. We demonstrate the generalization ability of this controller by presenting test results from an independent external test team on terrains that have never been shown to us.

link (url) [BibTex]

am Kalakrishnan, M., Buchli, J., Pastor, P., Mistry, M., Schaal, S. Fast, robust quadruped locomotion over challenging terrain In Robotics and Automation (ICRA), 2010 IEEE International Conference on, pages: 2665-2670, May 2010, clmc (inproceedings)

link (url) [BibTex]

Apprenticeship learning via soft local homomorphisms

Boularias, A., Chaib-Draa, B.

In Proceedings of the 2010 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA 2010), pages: 2971-2976, IEEE, Piscataway, NJ, USA, 2010 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), May 2010 (inproceedings)

Abstract

We consider the problem of apprenticeship learning when the expert's demonstration covers only a small part of a large state space. Inverse Reinforcement Learning (IRL) provides an efficient solution to this problem based on the assumption that the expert is optimally acting in a Markov Decision Process (MDP). However, past work on IRL requires an accurate estimate of the frequency of encountering each feature of the states when the robot follows the expert‘s policy. Given that the complete policy of the expert is unknown, the features frequencies can only be empirically estimated from the demonstrated trajectories. In this paper, we propose to use a transfer method, known as soft homomorphism, in order to generalize the expert‘s policy to unvisited regions of the state space. The generalized policy can be used either as the robot‘s final policy, or to calculate the features frequencies within an IRL algorithm. Empirical results show that our approach is able to learn good policies from a small number of demonstrations.

PDF Web DOI [BibTex]

ei Boularias, A., Chaib-Draa, B. Apprenticeship learning via soft local homomorphisms In Proceedings of the 2010 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA 2010), pages: 2971-2976, IEEE, Piscataway, NJ, USA, 2010 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), May 2010 (inproceedings)

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Diffusion Tensor Imaging in a Human PET/MR Hybrid System

Boss, A., Kolb, A., Hofmann, M., Bisdas, S., Nägele, T., Ernemann, U., Stegger, L., Rossi, C., Schlemmer, H., Pfannenberg, C., Reimold, M., Claussen, C., Pichler, B., Klose, U.

Investigative Radiology, 45(5):270-274, May 2010 (article)

Web DOI [BibTex]

ei Boss, A., Kolb, A., Hofmann, M., Bisdas, S., Nägele, T., Ernemann, U., Stegger, L., Rossi, C., Schlemmer, H., Pfannenberg, C., Reimold, M., Claussen, C., Pichler, B., Klose, U. Diffusion Tensor Imaging in a Human PET/MR Hybrid System Investigative Radiology, 45(5):270-274, May 2010 (article)

Web DOI [BibTex]

A Bayesian Framework to Account for Complex Non-Genetic Factors in Gene Expression Levels Greatly Increases Power in eQTL Studies

Stegle, O., Parts, L., Durbin, R., Winn, JM.

PLoS Computational Biology, 6(5):1-11, May 2010 (article)

PDF Web DOI [BibTex]

ei Stegle, O., Parts, L., Durbin, R., Winn, JM. A Bayesian Framework to Account for Complex Non-Genetic Factors in Gene Expression Levels Greatly Increases Power in eQTL Studies PLoS Computational Biology, 6(5):1-11, May 2010 (article)

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Estimation of a Structural Vector Autoregression Model Using Non-Gaussianity

Hyvärinen, A., Zhang, K., Shimizu, S., Hoyer, P.

Journal of Machine Learning Research, 11, pages: 1709-1731, May 2010 (article)

Abstract

Analysis of causal effects between continuous-valued variables typically uses either autoregressive models or structural equation models with instantaneous effects. Estimation of Gaussian, linear structural equation models poses serious identifiability problems, which is why it was recently proposed to use non-Gaussian models. Here, we show how to combine the non-Gaussian instantaneous model with autoregressive models. This is effectively what is called a structural vector autoregression (SVAR) model, and thus our work contributes to the long-standing problem of how to estimate SVAR‘s. We show that such a non-Gaussian model is identifiable without prior knowledge of network structure. We propose computationally efficient methods for estimating the model, as well as methods to assess the significance of the causal influences. The model is successfully applied on financial and brain imaging data.

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ei Hyvärinen, A., Zhang, K., Shimizu, S., Hoyer, P. Estimation of a Structural Vector Autoregression Model Using Non-Gaussianity Journal of Machine Learning Research, 11, pages: 1709-1731, May 2010 (article)

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A Robust Bayesian Two-Sample Test for Detecting Intervals of Differential Gene Expression in Microarray Time Series

Stegle, O., Denby, KJ., Cooke, EJ., Wild, DL., Ghahramani, Z., Borgwardt, KM.

Journal of Computational Biology, 17(3):355-367, May 2010 (article)

Abstract

Understanding the regulatory mechanisms that are responsible for an organism‘s response to environmental change is an important issue in molecular biology. A first and important step towards this goal is to detect genes whose expression levels are affected by altered external conditions. A range of methods to test for differential gene expression, both in static as well as in time-course experiments, have been proposed. While these tests answer the question whether a gene is differentially expressed, they do not explicitly address the question when a gene is differentially expressed, although this information may provide insights into the course and causal structure of regulatory programs. In this article, we propose a two-sample test for identifying intervals of differential gene expression in microarray time series. Our approach is based on Gaussian process regression, can deal with arbitrary numbers of replicates, and is robust with respect to outliers. We apply our algorithm to study the response of Arabidopsis thaliana genes to an infection by a fungal pathogen using a microarray time series dataset covering 30,336 gene probes at 24 observed time points. In classification experiments, our test compares favorably with existing methods and provides additional insights into time-dependent differential expression.

Web DOI [BibTex]

ei Stegle, O., Denby, KJ., Cooke, EJ., Wild, DL., Ghahramani, Z., Borgwardt, KM. A Robust Bayesian Two-Sample Test for Detecting Intervals of Differential Gene Expression in Microarray Time Series Journal of Computational Biology, 17(3):355-367, May 2010 (article)

Web DOI [BibTex]

Statistical Tests for Detecting Differential RNA-Transcript Expression from Read Counts

Stegle, O., Drewe, P., Bohnert, R., Borgwardt, K., Rätsch, G.

Nature Precedings, 2010, pages: 1-11, May 2010 (article)

Abstract

As a fruit of the current revolution in sequencing technology, transcriptomes can now be analyzed at an unprecedented level of detail. These advances have been exploited for detecting differential expressed genes across biological samples and for quantifying the abundances of various RNA transcripts within one gene. However, explicit strategies for detecting the hidden differential abundances of RNA transcripts in biological samples have not been defined. In this work, we present two novel statistical tests to address this issue: a "gene structure sensitive" Poisson test for detecting differential expression when the transcript structure of the gene is known, and a kernel-based test called Maximum Mean Discrepancy when it is unknown. We analyzed the proposed approaches on simulated read data for two artificial samples as well as on factual reads generated by the Illumina Genome Analyzer for two C. elegans samples. Our analysis shows that the Poisson test identifies genes with differential transcript expression considerably better that previously proposed RNA transcript quantification approaches for this task. The MMD test is able to detect a large fraction (75%) of such differential cases without the knowledge of the annotated transcripts. It is therefore well-suited to analyze RNA-Seq experiments when the genome annotations are incomplete or not available, where other approaches have to fail.

PDF DOI [BibTex]

ei Stegle, O., Drewe, P., Bohnert, R., Borgwardt, K., Rätsch, G. Statistical Tests for Detecting Differential RNA-Transcript Expression from Read Counts Nature Precedings, 2010, pages: 1-11, May 2010 (article)

PDF DOI [BibTex]

Using Model Knowledge for Learning Inverse Dynamics

Nguyen-Tuong, D., Peters, J.

In Proceedings of the 2010 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA 2010), pages: 2677-2682, IEEE, Piscataway, NJ, USA, 2010 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), May 2010 (inproceedings)

Abstract

In recent years, learning models from data has become an increasingly interesting tool for robotics, as it allows straightforward and accurate model approximation. However, in most robot learning approaches, the model is learned from scratch disregarding all prior knowledge about the system. For many complex robot systems, available prior knowledge from advanced physics-based modeling techniques can entail valuable information for model learning that may result in faster learning speed, higher accuracy and better generalization. In this paper, we investigate how parametric physical models (e.g., obtained from rigid body dynamics) can be used to improve the learning performance, and, especially, how semiparametric regression methods can be applied in this context. We present two possible semiparametric regression approaches, where the knowledge of the physical model can either become part of the mean function or of the kernel in a nonparametric Gaussian process regression. We compare the learning performance o f these methods first on sampled data and, subsequently, apply the obtained inverse dynamics models in tracking control on a real Barrett WAM. The results show that the semiparametric models learned with rigid body dynamics as prior outperform the standard rigid body dynamics models on real data while generalizing better for unknown parts of the state space.

PDF Web DOI [BibTex]

ei Nguyen-Tuong, D., Peters, J. Using Model Knowledge for Learning Inverse Dynamics In Proceedings of the 2010 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA 2010), pages: 2677-2682, IEEE, Piscataway, NJ, USA, 2010 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), May 2010 (inproceedings)

PDF Web DOI [BibTex]

Coherent Inference on Optimal Play in Game Trees

Hennig, P., Stern, D., Graepel, T.

In JMLR Workshop and Conference Proceedings Volume 9: AISTATS 2010, pages: 326-333, (Editors: Teh, Y.W. , M. Titterington ), JMLR, Cambridge, MA, USA, Thirteenth International Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Statistics, May 2010 (inproceedings)

Abstract

Round-based games are an instance of discrete planning problems. Some of the best contemporary game tree search algorithms use random roll-outs as data. Relying on a good policy, they learn on-policy values by propagating information upwards in the tree, but not between sibling nodes. Here, we present a generative model and a corresponding approximate message passing scheme for inference on the optimal, off-policy value of nodes in smooth AND/OR trees, given random roll-outs. The crucial insight is that the distribution of values in game trees is not completely arbitrary. We define a generative model of the on-policy values using a latent score for each state, representing the value under the random roll-out policy. Inference on the values under the optimal policy separates into an inductive, pre-data step and a deductive, post-data part. Both can be solved approximately with Expectation Propagation, allowing off-policy value inference for any node in the (exponentially big) tree in linear time.

ei pn

PDF Web [BibTex]

ei pn Hennig, P., Stern, D., Graepel, T. Coherent Inference on Optimal Play in Game Trees In JMLR Workshop and Conference Proceedings Volume 9: AISTATS 2010, pages: 326-333, (Editors: Teh, Y.W. , M. Titterington ), JMLR, Cambridge, MA, USA, Thirteenth International Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Statistics, May 2010 (inproceedings)

PDF Web [BibTex]

Incremental Sparsification for Real-time Online Model Learning

Nguyen-Tuong, D., Peters, J.

In JMLR Workshop and Conference Proceedings Volume 9: AISTATS 2010, pages: 557-564, (Editors: Teh, Y.W. , M. Titterington), JMLR, Cambridge, MA, USA, Thirteenth International Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Statistics, May 2010 (inproceedings)

Abstract

Online model learning in real-time is required by many applications such as in robot tracking control. It poses a difficult problem, as fast and incremental online regression with large data sets is the essential component which cannot be achieved by straightforward usage of off-the-shelf machine learning methods (such as Gaussian process regression or support vector regression). In this paper, we propose a framework for online, incremental sparsification with a fixed budget designed for large scale real-time model learning. The proposed approach combines a sparsification method based on an independence measure with a large scale database. In combination with an incremental learning approach such as sequential support vector regression, we obtain a regression method which is applicable in real-time online learning. It exhibits competitive learning accuracy when compared with standard regression techniques. Implementation on a real robot emphasizes the applicability of the proposed approach in real-time online model learning for real world systems.

PDF Web [BibTex]

ei Nguyen-Tuong, D., Peters, J. Incremental Sparsification for Real-time Online Model Learning In JMLR Workshop and Conference Proceedings Volume 9: AISTATS 2010, pages: 557-564, (Editors: Teh, Y.W. , M. Titterington), JMLR, Cambridge, MA, USA, Thirteenth International Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Statistics, May 2010 (inproceedings)

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Parameter-exploring policy gradients

Sehnke, F., Osendorfer, C., Rückstiess, T., Graves, A., Peters, J., Schmidhuber, J.

Neural Networks, 21(4):551-559, May 2010 (article)

Abstract

We present a model-free reinforcement learning method for partially observable Markov decision problems. Our method estimates a likelihood gradient by sampling directly in parameter space, which leads to lower variance gradient estimates than obtained by regular policy gradient methods. We show that for several complex control tasks, including robust standing with a humanoid robot, this method outperforms well-known algorithms from the fields of standard policy gradients, finite difference methods and population based heuristics. We also show that the improvement is largest when the parameter samples are drawn symmetrically. Lastly we analyse the importance of the individual components of our method by incrementally incorporating them into the other algorithms, and measuring the gain in performance after each step.

PDF PDF DOI [BibTex]

ei Sehnke, F., Osendorfer, C., Rückstiess, T., Graves, A., Peters, J., Schmidhuber, J. Parameter-exploring policy gradients Neural Networks, 21(4):551-559, May 2010 (article)

PDF PDF DOI [BibTex]

Multitask Learning for Brain-Computer Interfaces

Alamgir, M., Grosse-Wentrup, M., Altun, Y.

In JMLR Workshop and Conference Proceedings Volume 9: AISTATS 2010, pages: 17-24, (Editors: Teh, Y.W. , M. Titterington), JMLR, Cambridge, MA, USA, Thirteenth International Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Statistics , May 2010 (inproceedings)

Abstract

Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) are limited in their applicability in everyday settings by the current necessity to record subjectspecific calibration data prior to actual use of the BCI for communication. In this paper, we utilize the framework of multitask learning to construct a BCI that can be used without any subject-specific calibration process. We discuss how this out-of-the-box BCI can be further improved in a computationally efficient manner as subject-specific data becomes available. The feasibility of the approach is demonstrated on two sets of experimental EEG data recorded during a standard two-class motor imagery paradigm from a total of 19 healthy subjects. Specifically, we show that satisfactory classification results can be achieved with zero training data, and combining prior recordings with subjectspecific calibration data substantially outperforms using subject-specific data only. Our results further show that transfer between recordings under slightly different experimental setups is feasible.

PDF Web [BibTex]

ei Alamgir, M., Grosse-Wentrup, M., Altun, Y. Multitask Learning for Brain-Computer Interfaces In JMLR Workshop and Conference Proceedings Volume 9: AISTATS 2010, pages: 17-24, (Editors: Teh, Y.W. , M. Titterington), JMLR, Cambridge, MA, USA, Thirteenth International Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Statistics , May 2010 (inproceedings)

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Identifying Cause and Effect on Discrete Data using Additive Noise Models

Peters, J., Janzing, D., Schölkopf, B.

In JMLR Workshop and Conference Proceedings Volume 9: AISTATS 2010, pages: 597-604, (Editors: YW Teh and M Titterington), JMLR, Cambridge, MA, USA, 13th International Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Statistics, May 2010 (inproceedings)

Abstract

Inferring the causal structure of a set of random variables from a finite sample of the joint distribution is an important problem in science. Recently, methods using additive noise models have been suggested to approach the case of continuous variables. In many situations, however, the variables of interest are discrete or even have only finitely many states. In this work we extend the notion of additive noise models to these cases. Whenever the joint distribution P(X;Y ) admits such a model in one direction, e.g. Y = f(X) + N; N ? X, it does not admit the reversed model X = g(Y ) + ~N ; ~N ? Y as long as the model is chosen in a generic way. Based on these deliberations we propose an efficient new algorithm that is able to distinguish between cause and effect for a finite sample of discrete variables. We show that this algorithm works both on synthetic and real data sets.

PDF Web [BibTex]

ei Peters, J., Janzing, D., Schölkopf, B. Identifying Cause and Effect on Discrete Data using Additive Noise Models In JMLR Workshop and Conference Proceedings Volume 9: AISTATS 2010, pages: 597-604, (Editors: YW Teh and M Titterington), JMLR, Cambridge, MA, USA, 13th International Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Statistics, May 2010 (inproceedings)

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Temporal Kernel CCA and its Application in Multimodal Neuronal Data Analysis

Biessmann, F., Meinecke, F., Gretton, A., Rauch, A., Rainer, G., Logothetis, N., Müller, K.

Machine Learning, 79(1-2):5-27, May 2010 (article)

Abstract

Data recorded from multiple sources sometimes exhibit non-instantaneous couplings. For simple data sets, cross-correlograms may reveal the coupling dynamics. But when dealing with high-dimensional multivariate data there is no such measure as the cross-correlogram. We propose a simple algorithm based on Kernel Canonical Correlation Analysis (kCCA) that computes a multivariate temporal filter which links one data modality to another one. The filters can be used to compute a multivariate extension of the cross-correlogram, the canonical correlogram, between data sources that have different dimensionalities and temporal resolutions. The canonical correlogram reflects the coupling dynamics between the two sources. The temporal filter reveals which features in the data give rise to these couplings and when they do so. We present results from simulations and neuroscientific experiments showing that tkCCA yields easily interpretable temporal filters and correlograms. In the experiments, we simultaneously performed electrode recordings and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in primary visual cortex of the non-human primate. While electrode recordings reflect brain activity directly, fMRI provides only an indirect view of neural activity via the Blood Oxygen Level Dependent (BOLD) response. Thus it is crucial for our understanding and the interpretation of fMRI signals in general to relate them to direct measures of neural activity acquired with electrodes. The results computed by tkCCA confirm recent models of the hemodynamic response to neural activity and allow for a more detailed analysis of neurovascular coupling dynamics.

PDF PDF DOI [BibTex]

ei Biessmann, F., Meinecke, F., Gretton, A., Rauch, A., Rainer, G., Logothetis, N., Müller, K. Temporal Kernel CCA and its Application in Multimodal Neuronal Data Analysis Machine Learning, 79(1-2):5-27, May 2010 (article)

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Estimating predictive stimulus features from psychophysical data: The decision image technique applied to human faces

Macke, J., Wichmann, F.

Journal of Vision, 10(5:22):1-24, May 2010 (article)

Abstract

One major challenge in the sensory sciences is to identify the stimulus features on which sensory systems base their computations, and which are predictive of a behavioral decision: they are a prerequisite for computational models of perception. We describe a technique (decision images) for extracting predictive stimulus features using logistic regression. A decision image not only defines a region of interest within a stimulus but is a quantitative template which defines a direction in stimulus space. Decision images thus enable the development of predictive models, as well as the generation of optimized stimuli for subsequent psychophysical investigations. Here we describe our method and apply it to data from a human face classification experiment. We show that decision images are able to predict human responses not only in terms of overall percent correct but also in terms of the probabilities with which individual faces are (mis-) classified by individual observers. We show that the most predictive dimension for gender categorization is neither aligned with the axis defined by the two class-means, nor with the first principal component of all faces-two hypotheses frequently entertained in the literature. Our method can be applied to a wide range of binary classification tasks in vision or other psychophysical contexts.

Web DOI [BibTex]

ei Macke, J., Wichmann, F. Estimating predictive stimulus features from psychophysical data: The decision image technique applied to human faces Journal of Vision, 10(5:22):1-24, May 2010 (article)

Web DOI [BibTex]

Semi-supervised Learning via Generalized Maximum Entropy

Erkan, A., Altun, Y.

In JMLR Workshop and Conference Proceedings Volume 9: AISTATS 2010, pages: 209-216, (Editors: Teh, Y.W. , M. Titterington), JMLR, Cambridge, MA, USA, Thirteenth International Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Statistics , May 2010 (inproceedings)

Abstract

Various supervised inference methods can be analyzed as convex duals of the generalized maximum entropy (MaxEnt) framework. Generalized MaxEnt aims to find a distribution that maximizes an entropy function while respecting prior information represented as potential functions in miscellaneous forms of constraints and/or penalties. We extend this framework to semi-supervised learning by incorporating unlabeled data via modifications to these potential functions reflecting structural assumptions on the data geometry. The proposed approach leads to a family of discriminative semi-supervised algorithms, that are convex, scalable, inherently multi-class, easy to implement, and that can be kernelized naturally. Experimental evaluation of special cases shows the competitiveness of our methodology.

PDF Web [BibTex]

ei Erkan, A., Altun, Y. Semi-supervised Learning via Generalized Maximum Entropy In JMLR Workshop and Conference Proceedings Volume 9: AISTATS 2010, pages: 209-216, (Editors: Teh, Y.W. , M. Titterington), JMLR, Cambridge, MA, USA, Thirteenth International Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Statistics , May 2010 (inproceedings)

PDF Web [BibTex]

A New Algorithm for Improving the Resolution of Cryo-EM Density Maps

Hirsch, M., Schölkopf, B., Habeck, M.

In Research in Computational Molecular Biology, Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics, Vol. 6044 , pages: 174-188, (Editors: B Berger), Springer, Berlin, Germany, 14th International Conference on Research in Computational Molecular Biology (RECOMB), May 2010 (inproceedings)

Abstract

Cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) plays an increasingly prominent role in structure elucidation of macromolecular assemblies. Advances in experimental instrumentation and computational power have spawned numerous cryo-EM studies of large biomolecular complexes resulting in the reconstruction of three-dimensional density maps at intermediate and low resolution. In this resolution range, identification and interpretation of structural elements and modeling of biomolecular structure with atomic detail becomes problematic. In this paper, we present a novel algorithm that enhances the resolution of intermediate- and low-resolution density maps. Our underlying assumption is to model the low-resolution density map as a blurred and possibly noise-corrupted version of an unknown high-resolution map that we seek to recover by deconvolution. By exploiting the nonnegativity of both the high-resolution map and blur kernel we derive multiplicative updates reminiscent of those used in nonnegative matrix factorization. Our framework allows for easy incorporation of additional prior knowledge such as smoothness and sparseness, on both the sharpened density map and the blur kernel. A probabilistic formulation enables us to derive updates for the hyperparameters, therefore our approach has no parameter that needs adjustment. We apply the algorithm to simulated three-dimensional electron microscopic data. We show that our method provides better resolved density maps when compared with B-factor sharpening, especially in the presence of noise. Moreover, our method can use additional information provided by homologous structures, which helps to improve the resolution even further.

Web DOI [BibTex]

ei Hirsch, M., Schölkopf, B., Habeck, M. A New Algorithm for Improving the Resolution of Cryo-EM Density Maps In Research in Computational Molecular Biology, Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics, Vol. 6044 , pages: 174-188, (Editors: B Berger), Springer, Berlin, Germany, 14th International Conference on Research in Computational Molecular Biology (RECOMB), May 2010 (inproceedings)

Web DOI [BibTex]

Movement Templates for Learning of Hitting and Batting

Kober, J., Mülling, K., Krömer, O., Lampert, C., Schölkopf, B., Peters, J.

In Proceedings of the 2010 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA 2010), pages: 853-858, IEEE, Piscataway, NJ, USA, 2010 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), May 2010 (inproceedings)

PDF Web DOI [BibTex]

ei Kober, J., Mülling, K., Krömer, O., Lampert, C., Schölkopf, B., Peters, J. Movement Templates for Learning of Hitting and Batting In Proceedings of the 2010 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA 2010), pages: 853-858, IEEE, Piscataway, NJ, USA, 2010 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), May 2010 (inproceedings)

PDF Web DOI [BibTex]

Automatic Filter Design for Synthesis of Haptic Textures from Recorded Acceleration Data

Romano, J. M., Yoshioka, T., Kuchenbecker, K. J.

In Proc. IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, pages: 1815-1821, Anchorage, Alaska, USA, May 2010, Oral presentation given by Romano (inproceedings)

[BibTex]

hi Romano, J. M., Yoshioka, T., Kuchenbecker, K. J. Automatic Filter Design for Synthesis of Haptic Textures from Recorded Acceleration Data In Proc. IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, pages: 1815-1821, Anchorage, Alaska, USA, May 2010, Oral presentation given by Romano (inproceedings)

[BibTex]

Control of a High Fidelity Ungrounded Torque Feedback Device: The iTorqU 2.1

Winfree, K. N., Romano, J. M., Gewirtz, J., Kuchenbecker, K. J.

In Proc. IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, pages: 1347-1352, Anchorage, Alaska, May 2010, Oral presentation given by Winfree (inproceedings)

[BibTex]

hi Winfree, K. N., Romano, J. M., Gewirtz, J., Kuchenbecker, K. J. Control of a High Fidelity Ungrounded Torque Feedback Device: The iTorqU 2.1 In Proc. IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, pages: 1347-1352, Anchorage, Alaska, May 2010, Oral presentation given by Winfree (inproceedings)

[BibTex]

Animal detection in natural scenes: Critical features revisited

Wichmann, F., Drewes, J., Rosas, P., Gegenfurtner, K.

Journal of Vision, 10(4):1-27, April 2010 (article)

Abstract

S. J. Thorpe, D. Fize, and C. Marlot (1996) showed how rapidly observers can detect animals in images of natural scenes, but it is still unclear which image features support this rapid detection. A. B. Torralba and A. Oliva (2003) suggested that a simple image statistic based on the power spectrum allows the absence or presence of objects in natural scenes to be predicted. We tested whether human observers make use of power spectral differences between image categories when detecting animals in natural scenes. In Experiments 1 and 2 we found performance to be essentially independent of the power spectrum. Computational analysis revealed that the ease of classification correlates with the proposed spectral cue without being caused by it. This result is consistent with the hypothesis that in commercial stock photo databases a majority of animal images are pre-segmented from the background by the photographers and this pre-segmentation causes the power spectral differences between image categories and may, furthermore, help rapid animal detection. Data from a third experiment are consistent with this hypothesis. Together, our results make it exceedingly unlikely that human observers make use of power spectral differences between animal- and no-animal images during rapid animal detection. In addition, our results point to potential confounds in the commercially available “natural image” databases whose statistics may be less natural than commonly presumed.

Web DOI [BibTex]

ei Wichmann, F., Drewes, J., Rosas, P., Gegenfurtner, K. Animal detection in natural scenes: Critical features revisited Journal of Vision, 10(4):1-27, April 2010 (article)

Web DOI [BibTex]

A generative model approach for decoding in the visual event-related potential-based brain-computer interface speller

Martens, SMM., Leiva, JM.

Journal of Neural Engineering, 7(2):1-10, April 2010 (article)

Abstract

There is a strong tendency towards discriminative approaches in brain-computer interface (BCI) research. We argue that generative model-based approaches are worth pursuing and propose a simple generative model for the visual ERP-based BCI speller which incorporates prior knowledge about the brain signals. We show that the proposed generative method needs less training data to reach a given letter prediction performance than the state of the art discriminative approaches.

PDF PDF DOI [BibTex]

ei Martens, SMM., Leiva, JM. A generative model approach for decoding in the visual event-related potential-based brain-computer interface speller Journal of Neural Engineering, 7(2):1-10, April 2010 (article)

PDF PDF DOI [BibTex]

Hilbert Space Embeddings and Metrics on Probability Measures

Sriperumbudur, B., Gretton, A., Fukumizu, K., Schölkopf, B., Lanckriet, G.

Journal of Machine Learning Research, 11, pages: 1517-1561, April 2010 (article)

PDF [BibTex]

ei Sriperumbudur, B., Gretton, A., Fukumizu, K., Schölkopf, B., Lanckriet, G. Hilbert Space Embeddings and Metrics on Probability Measures Journal of Machine Learning Research, 11, pages: 1517-1561, April 2010 (article)

PDF [BibTex]

Graph Kernels

Vishwanathan, SVN., Schraudolph, NN., Kondor, R., Borgwardt, KM.

Journal of Machine Learning Research, 11, pages: 1201-1242, April 2010 (article)

Abstract

We present a unified framework to study graph kernels, special cases of which include the random walk (G{\"a}rtner et al., 2003; Borgwardt et al., 2005) and marginalized (Kashima et al., 2003, 2004; Mahét al., 2004) graph kernels. Through reduction to a Sylvester equation we improve the time complexity of kernel computation between unlabeled graphs with n vertices from O(n6) to O(n3). We find a spectral decomposition approach even more efficient when computing entire kernel matrices. For labeled graphs we develop conjugate gradient and fixed-point methods that take O(dn3) time per iteration, where d is the size of the label set. By extending the necessary linear algebra to Reproducing Kernel Hilbert Spaces (RKHS) we obtain the same result for d-dimensional edge kernels, and O(n4) in the infinite-dimensional case; on sparse graphs these algorithms only take O(n2) time per iteration in all cases. Experiments on graphs from bioinformatics and other application domains show that these techniques can speed up computation of the kernel by an order of magnitude or more. We also show that certain rational kernels (Cortes et al., 2002, 2003, 2004) when specialized to graphs reduce to our random walk graph kernel. Finally, we relate our framework to R-convolution kernels (Haussler, 1999) and provide a kernel that is close to the optimal assignment kernel of kernel of Fr{\"o}hlich et al. (2006) yet provably positive semi-definite.

PDF Web [BibTex]

ei Vishwanathan, SVN., Schraudolph, NN., Kondor, R., Borgwardt, KM. Graph Kernels Journal of Machine Learning Research, 11, pages: 1201-1242, April 2010 (article)

PDF Web [BibTex]

Gene function prediction from synthetic lethality networks via ranking on demand

Lippert, C., Ghahramani, Z., Borgwardt, KM.

Bioinformatics, 26(7):912-918, April 2010 (article)

Abstract

Motivation: Synthetic lethal interactions represent pairs of genes whose individual mutations are not lethal, while the double mutation of both genes does incur lethality. Several studies have shown a correlation between functional similarity of genes and their distances in networks based on synthetic lethal interactions. However, there is a lack of algorithms for predicting gene function from synthetic lethality interaction networks. Results: In this article, we present a novel technique called kernelROD for gene function prediction from synthetic lethal interaction networks based on kernel machines. We apply our novel algorithm to Gene Ontology functional annotation prediction in yeast. Our experiments show that our method leads to improved gene function prediction compared with state-of-the-art competitors and that combining genetic and congruence networks leads to a further improvement in prediction accuracy.

Web DOI [BibTex]

ei Lippert, C., Ghahramani, Z., Borgwardt, KM. Gene function prediction from synthetic lethality networks via ranking on demand Bioinformatics, 26(7):912-918, April 2010 (article)

Web DOI [BibTex]

Learning Grasping Points with Shape Context

Bohg, J., Kragic, D.

Robotics and Autonomous Systems, 58(4):362-377, North-Holland Publishing Co., Amsterdam, The Netherlands, The Netherlands, April 2010 (article)

Abstract

This paper presents work on vision based robotic grasping. The proposed method adopts a learning framework where prototypical grasping points are learnt from several examples and then used on novel objects. For representation purposes, we apply the concept of shape context and for learning we use a supervised learning approach in which the classifier is trained with labelled synthetic images. We evaluate and compare the performance of linear and non-linear classifiers. Our results show that a combination of a descriptor based on shape context with a non-linear classification algorithm leads to a stable detection of grasping points for a variety of objects.

pdf link (url) DOI [BibTex]

am Bohg, J., Kragic, D. Learning Grasping Points with Shape Context Robotics and Autonomous Systems, 58(4):362-377, North-Holland Publishing Co., Amsterdam, The Netherlands, The Netherlands, April 2010 (article)

pdf link (url) DOI [BibTex]

A toolbox for predicting G-quadruplex formation and stability

Wong, HM., Stegle, O., Rodgers, S., Huppert, J.

Journal of Nucleic Acids, 2010(564946):1-6, March 2010 (article)

Abstract

G-quadruplexes are four stranded nucleic acid structures formed around a core of guanines, arranged in squares with mutual hydrogen bonding. Many of these structures are highly thermally stable, especially in the presence of monovalent cations, such as those found under physiological conditions. Understanding of their physiological roles is expanding rapidly, and they have been implicated in regulating gene transcription and translation among other functions. We have built a community-focused website to act as a repository for the information that is now being developed. At its core, this site has a detailed database (QuadDB) of predicted G-quadruplexes in the human and other genomes, together with the predictive algorithm used to identify them. We also provide a QuadPredict server, which predicts thermal stability and acts as a repository for experimental data from all researchers. There are also a number of other data sources with computational predictions. We anticipate that the wide availability of this information will be of use both to researchers already active in this exciting field and to those who wish to investigate a particular gene hypothesis.

PDF DOI [BibTex]

ei Wong, HM., Stegle, O., Rodgers, S., Huppert, J. A toolbox for predicting G-quadruplex formation and stability Journal of Nucleic Acids, 2010(564946):1-6, March 2010 (article)

PDF DOI [BibTex]

A Novel Protocol for Accuracy Assessment in Classification of Very High Resolution Images

Persello, C., Bruzzone, L.

IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, 48(3):1232-1244, March 2010 (article)

Abstract

This paper presents a novel protocol for the accuracy assessment of the thematic maps obtained by the classification of very high resolution images. As the thematic accuracy alone is not sufficient to adequately characterize the geometrical properties of high-resolution classification maps, we propose a protocol that is based on the analysis of two families of indices: 1) the traditional thematic accuracy indices and 2) a set of novel geometric indices that model different geometric properties of the objects recognized in the map. In this context, we present a set of indices that characterize five different types of geometric errors in the classification map: 1) oversegmentation; 2) undersegmentation; 3) edge location; 4) shape distortion; and 5) fragmentation. Moreover, we propose a new approach for tuning the free parameters of supervised classifiers on the basis of a multiobjective criterion function that aims at selecting the parameter values that result in the classification map that jointly optimize thematic and geometric error indices. Experimental results obtained on QuickBird images show the effectiveness of the proposed protocol in selecting classification maps characterized by a better tradeoff between thematic and geometric accuracies than standard procedures based only on thematic accuracy measures. In addition, results obtained with support vector machine classifiers confirm the effectiveness of the proposed multiobjective technique for the selection of free-parameter values for the classification algorithm.

Web DOI [BibTex]

ei Persello, C., Bruzzone, L. A Novel Protocol for Accuracy Assessment in Classification of Very High Resolution Images IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, 48(3):1232-1244, March 2010 (article)

Web DOI [BibTex]

On the Entropy Production of Time Series with Unidirectional Linearity

Janzing, D.

Journal of Statistical Physics, 138(4-5):767-779, March 2010 (article)

Abstract

There are non-Gaussian time series that admit a causal linear autoregressive moving average (ARMA) model when regressing the future on the past, but not when regressing the past on the future. The reason is that, in the latter case, the regression residuals are not statistically independent of the regressor. In previous work, we have experimentally verified that many empirical time series indeed show such a time inversion asymmetry. For various physical systems, it is known that time-inversion asymmetries are linked to the thermodynamic entropy production in non-equilibrium states. Here we argue that unidirectional linearity is also accompanied by entropy generation. To this end, we study the dynamical evolution of a physical toy system with linear coupling to an infinite environment and show that the linearity of the dynamics is inherited by the forward-time conditional probabilities, but not by the backward-time conditionals. The reason is that the environment permanently provides particles that are in a product state before they interact with the system, but show statistical dependence afterwards. From a coarse-grained perspective, the interaction thus generates entropy. We quantitatively relate the strength of the non-linearity of the backward process to the minimal amount of entropy generation. The paper thus shows that unidirectional linearity is an indirect implication of the thermodynamic arrow of time, given that the joint dynamics of the system and its environment is linear.

PDF DOI [BibTex]

ei Janzing, D. On the Entropy Production of Time Series with Unidirectional Linearity Journal of Statistical Physics, 138(4-5):767-779, March 2010 (article)

PDF DOI [BibTex]

Experiments with Motor Primitives to learn Table Tennis

Peters, J., Mülling, K., Kober, J.

In Experimental Robotics, pages: 1-13, (Editors: Khatib, O. , V. Kumar, G. Sukhatme), Springer, Berlin, Germany, 12th International Symposium on Experimental Robotics (ISER), March 2010 (inproceedings)

Web [BibTex]

ei Peters, J., Mülling, K., Kober, J. Experiments with Motor Primitives to learn Table Tennis In Experimental Robotics, pages: 1-13, (Editors: Khatib, O. , V. Kumar, G. Sukhatme), Springer, Berlin, Germany, 12th International Symposium on Experimental Robotics (ISER), March 2010 (inproceedings)

Web [BibTex]

Guest editorial: State of the art in image- and video-based human pose and motion estimation

Sigal, L., Black, M. J.

International Journal of Computer Vision, 87(1):1-3, March 2010 (article)

pdf from publisher [BibTex]

ps Sigal, L., Black, M. J. Guest editorial: State of the art in image- and video-based human pose and motion estimation International Journal of Computer Vision, 87(1):1-3, March 2010 (article)

pdf from publisher [BibTex]

High Frequency Acceleration Feedback Significantly Increases the Realism of Haptically Rendered Textured Surfaces

McMahan, W., Romano, J. M., Rahuman, A. M. A., Kuchenbecker, K. J.

In Proc. IEEE Haptics Symposium, pages: 141-148, Waltham, Massachusetts, March 2010, Oral presentation given by McMahan (inproceedings)

[BibTex]

hi McMahan, W., Romano, J. M., Rahuman, A. M. A., Kuchenbecker, K. J. High Frequency Acceleration Feedback Significantly Increases the Realism of Haptically Rendered Textured Surfaces In Proc. IEEE Haptics Symposium, pages: 141-148, Waltham, Massachusetts, March 2010, Oral presentation given by McMahan (inproceedings)

[BibTex]

Spatially distributed tactile feedback for kinesthetic motion guidance

Kapur, P., Jensen, M., Buxbaum, L. J., Jax, S. A., Kuchenbecker, K. J.

In Proc. IEEE Haptics Symposium, pages: 519-526, Waltham, Massachusetts, USA, March 2010, Poster presentation given by Kapur. {F}inalist for Best Poster Award (inproceedings)

[BibTex]

hi Kapur, P., Jensen, M., Buxbaum, L. J., Jax, S. A., Kuchenbecker, K. J. Spatially distributed tactile feedback for kinesthetic motion guidance In Proc. IEEE Haptics Symposium, pages: 519-526, Waltham, Massachusetts, USA, March 2010, Poster presentation given by Kapur. {F}inalist for Best Poster Award (inproceedings)

[BibTex]

HumanEva: Synchronized video and motion capture dataset and baseline algorithm for evaluation of articulated human motion

Sigal, L., Balan, A., Black, M. J.

International Journal of Computer Vision, 87(1):4-27, Springer Netherlands, March 2010 (article)

Abstract

While research on articulated human motion and pose estimation has progressed rapidly in the last few years, there has been no systematic quantitative evaluation of competing methods to establish the current state of the art. We present data obtained using a hardware system that is able to capture synchronized video and ground-truth 3D motion. The resulting HumanEva datasets contain multiple subjects performing a set of predefined actions with a number of repetitions. On the order of 40,000 frames of synchronized motion capture and multi-view video (resulting in over one quarter million image frames in total) were collected at 60 Hz with an additional 37,000 time instants of pure motion capture data. A standard set of error measures is defined for evaluating both 2D and 3D pose estimation and tracking algorithms. We also describe a baseline algorithm for 3D articulated tracking that uses a relatively standard Bayesian framework with optimization in the form of Sequential Importance Resampling and Annealed Particle Filtering. In the context of this baseline algorithm we explore a variety of likelihood functions, prior models of human motion and the effects of algorithm parameters. Our experiments suggest that image observation models and motion priors play important roles in performance, and that in a multi-view laboratory environment, where initialization is available, Bayesian filtering tends to perform well. The datasets and the software are made available to the research community. This infrastructure will support the development of new articulated motion and pose estimation algorithms, will provide a baseline for the evaluation and comparison of new methods, and will help establish the current state of the art in human pose estimation and tracking.

pdf pdf from publisher [BibTex]

ps Sigal, L., Balan, A., Black, M. J. HumanEva: Synchronized video and motion capture dataset and baseline algorithm for evaluation of articulated human motion International Journal of Computer Vision, 87(1):4-27, Springer Netherlands, March 2010 (article)

pdf pdf from publisher [BibTex]

Derivatives of Logarithmic Stationary Distributions for Policy Gradient Reinforcement Learning

Morimura, T., Uchibe, E., Yoshimoto, J., Peters, J., Doya, K.

Neural Computation, 22(2):342-376, February 2010 (article)

Abstract

Most conventional policy gradient reinforcement learning (PGRL) algorithms neglect (or do not explicitly make use of) a term in the average reward gradient with respect to the policy parameter. That term involves the derivative of the stationary state distribution that corresponds to the sensitivity of its distribution to changes in the policy parameter. Although the bias introduced by this omission can be reduced by setting the forgetting rate γ for the value functions close to 1, these algorithms do not permit γ to be set exactly at γ = 1. In this article, we propose a method for estimating the log stationary state distribution derivative (LSD) as a useful form of the derivative of the stationary state distribution through backward Markov chain formulation and a temporal difference learning framework. A new policy gradient (PG) framework with an LSD is also proposed, in which the average reward gradient can be estimated by setting //!-- MFG_und--//amp;#947; = 0, so it becomes unnecessary to learn the value functions. We also test the performance of the proposed algorithms using simple benchmark tasks and show that these can improve the performances of existing PG methods.

PDF Web DOI [BibTex]

ei Morimura, T., Uchibe, E., Yoshimoto, J., Peters, J., Doya, K. Derivatives of Logarithmic Stationary Distributions for Policy Gradient Reinforcement Learning Neural Computation, 22(2):342-376, February 2010 (article)

PDF Web DOI [BibTex]

Causality: Objectives and Assessment

Guyon, I., Janzing, D., Schölkopf, B.

In JMLR Workshop and Conference Proceedings: Volume 6 , pages: 1-42, (Editors: I Guyon and D Janzing and B Schölkopf), MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, USA, Causality: Objectives and Assessment (NIPS Workshop) , February 2010 (inproceedings)

Abstract

The NIPS 2008 workshop on causality provided a forum for researchers from different horizons to share their view on causal modeling and address the difficult question of assessing causal models. There has been a vivid debate on properly separating the notion of causality from particular models such as graphical models, which have been dominating the field in the past few years. Part of the workshop was dedicated to discussing the results of a challenge, which offered a wide variety of applications of causal modeling. We have regrouped in these proceedings the best papers presented. Most lectures were videotaped or recorded. All information regarding the challenge and the lectures are found at http://www.clopinet.com/isabelle/Projects/NIPS2008/. This introduction provides a synthesis of the findings and a gentle introduction to causality topics, which are the object of active research.

Web [BibTex]

ei Guyon, I., Janzing, D., Schölkopf, B. Causality: Objectives and Assessment In JMLR Workshop and Conference Proceedings: Volume 6 , pages: 1-42, (Editors: I Guyon and D Janzing and B Schölkopf), MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, USA, Causality: Objectives and Assessment (NIPS Workshop) , February 2010 (inproceedings)

Web [BibTex]

Bayesian Online Multitask Learning of Gaussian Processes

Pillonetto, G., Dinuzzo, F., De Nicolao, G.

IEEE Transactions on Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence, 32(2):193-205, February 2010 (article)

Abstract

Standard single-task kernel methods have recently been extended to the case of multitask learning in the context of regularization theory. There are experimental results, especially in biomedicine, showing the benefit of the multitask approach compared to the single-task one. However, a possible drawback is computational complexity. For instance, when regularization networks are used, complexity scales as the cube of the overall number of training data, which may be large when several tasks are involved. The aim of this paper is to derive an efficient computational scheme for an important class of multitask kernels. More precisely, a quadratic loss is assumed and each task consists of the sum of a common term and a task-specific one. Within a Bayesian setting, a recursive online algorithm is obtained, which updates both estimates and confidence intervals as new data become available. The algorithm is tested on two simulated problems and a real data set relative to xenobiotics administration in human patients.

DOI [BibTex]

ei Pillonetto, G., Dinuzzo, F., De Nicolao, G. Bayesian Online Multitask Learning of Gaussian Processes IEEE Transactions on Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence, 32(2):193-205, February 2010 (article)

DOI [BibTex]

How to Learn a Learning System: Automatic Decomposition of a Multiclass Task with Probability Estimates

Garcia Cifuentes, C., Sturzel, M.

In ICAART 2010 - Proceedings of the International Conference on Agents and Artificial Intelligence, 1, pages: 589-594, (Editors: Filipe, Joaquim and Fred, Ana L. N. and Sharp, Bernadette), INSTICC Press, Valencia, Spain, January 2010 (inproceedings)

[BibTex]

Garcia Cifuentes, C., Sturzel, M. How to Learn a Learning System: Automatic Decomposition of a Multiclass Task with Probability Estimates In ICAART 2010 - Proceedings of the International Conference on Agents and Artificial Intelligence, 1, pages: 589-594, (Editors: Filipe, Joaquim and Fred, Ana L. N. and Sharp, Bernadette), INSTICC Press, Valencia, Spain, January 2010 (inproceedings)

[BibTex]

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