Abstract representations for interactive visualization of virtual 3D city models

Virtual 3D city models increasingly cover whole city areas; hence, the perception of complex urban structures becomes increasingly difficult. Using abstract visualization, complexity of these models can be hidden where its visibility is unnecessary, while important features are maintained and highlighted for better comprehension and communication. We present a technique to automatically generalize a given virtual 3D city model consisting of building models, an infrastructure network and optional land coverage data; this technique creates several representations of increasing levels of abstraction. Using the infrastructure network, our technique groups building models and replaces them with cell blocks, while preserving local landmarks. By computing a landmark hierarchy, we reduce the set of initial landmarks in a spatially balanced manner for use in higher levels of abstraction. In four application examples, we demonstrate smooth visualization of transitions between precomputed representations; dynamic landmark highlighting according to virtual camera distance; an implementation of a cognitively enhanced route representation, and generalization lenses to combine precomputed representations in focus + context visualization.     

Planning to see: A hierarchical approach to planning visual actions on a robot using POMDPs

Flexible, general-purpose robots need to autonomously tailor their sensing and information processing to the task at hand. We pose this challenge as the task of planning under uncertainty. In our domain, the goal is to plan a sequence of visual operators to apply on regions of interest (ROIs) in images of a scene, so that a human and a robot can jointly manipulate and converse about objects on a tabletop. We pose visual processing management as an instance of probabilistic sequential decision making, and specifically as a Partially Observable Markov Decision Process (POMDP). The POMDP formulation uses models that quantitatively capture the unreliability of the operators and enable a robot to reason precisely about the trade-offs between plan reliability and plan execution time. Since planning in practical-sized POMDPs is intractable, we partially ameliorate this intractability for visual processing by defining a novel hierarchical POMDP based on the cognitive requirements of the corresponding planning task. We compare our hierarchical POMDP planning system (HiPPo) with a non-hierarchical POMDP formulation and the Continual Planning (CP) framework that handles uncertainty in a qualitative manner. We show empirically that HiPPo and CP outperform the naive application of all visual operators on all ROIs. The key result is that the POMDP methods produce more robust plans than CP or the naive visual processing. In summary, visual processing problems represent a challenging domain for planning techniques and our hierarchical POMDP-based approach for visual processing management opens up a promising new line of research.     

纹理分析中的图模型

纹理作为一种重要的视觉特征,广泛应用于图像分析。高斯图模型（GGM）可以很好地描述有交互作用的高维数据,因此可用来建立图像纹理模型。根据纹理特征的局部马尔可夫性和高斯变量的条件回归之间的关系,将复杂的模型选择转变为较简单的变量选择,应用惩罚正则化技巧同步选择邻域和估计参数。提取基于图模型的纹理特征分析纹理,实验显示了很好的效果。因此,利用高斯图模型来构建纹理模型有很好的发展前景。     

一种满足差分隐私的图赌博机算法

图赌博机是一种重要的不确定性环境下的序列决策模型, 在社交网络、电子商务和推荐系统等领域都得到了广泛的应用. 目前, 针对图赌博机的工作都只关注如何快速识别最优摇臂从而最小化累积遗憾, 而忽略了在很多应用场景中存在的隐私保护问题. 为了克服现有图赌博机算法的缺陷, 提出了一种满足差分隐私的图赌博机算法GAP (图反馈下的差分隐私摇臂消除策略). 一方面, GAP算法阶段性地根据摇臂的经验平均奖赏更新摇臂选取策略, 并在计算摇臂的经验平均奖赏时引入拉普拉斯噪声, 从而确保恶意攻击者难以根据算法输出推算摇臂奖赏数据, 保护了隐私. 另一方面, GAP算法在每个阶段根据精心构造的反馈图的独立集探索摇臂集合, 有效地利用了图形式的反馈信息. 证明了GAP算法满足差分隐私性质, 具有与理论下界相匹配的遗憾界. 在仿真数据集上的实验结果表明: GAP算法在有效保护隐私的同时取得了与现有无隐私保护的图赌博机算法相当的累积遗憾.     

Probabilistic models for melodic prediction

Chord progressions are the building blocks from which tonal music is constructed. The choice of a particular representation for chords has a strong impact on statistical modeling of the dependence between chord symbols and the actual sequences of notes in polyphonic music. Melodic prediction is used in this paper as a benchmark task to evaluate the quality of four chord representations using two probabilistic model architectures derived from Input/Output Hidden Markov Models (IOHMMs). Likelihoods and conditional and unconditional prediction error rates are used as complementary measures of the quality of each of the proposed chord representations. We observe empirically that different chord representations are optimal depending on the chosen evaluation metric. Also, representing chords only by their roots appears to be a good compromise in most of the reported experiments.     

Modelling spatial and temporal changes with GIS and Spatial and Dynamic Bayesian Networks

State-and-transition models (STMs) have been successfully combined with Dynamic Bayesian Networks (DBNs) to model temporal changes in managed ecosystems. Such models are useful for exploring when and how to intervene to achieve the desired management outcomes. However, knowing where to intervene is often equally critical. We describe an approach to extend state-and-transition dynamic Bayesian networks (ST-DBNs) — incorporating spatial context via GIS data and explicitly modelling spatial processes using spatial Bayesian networks (SBNs). Our approach uses object-oriented (OO) concepts and exploits the fact that ecological systems are hierarchically structured. This allows key phenomena and ecological processes to be represented by hierarchies of components that include similar, repetitive structures. We demonstrate the generality and power of our approach using two models — one developed for adaptive management of eucalypt woodland restoration in south-eastern Australia, and another developed to manage the encroachment of invasive willows into marsh ecosystems in east-central Florida.     

Modeling term proximity for probabilistic information retrieval models

Proximity among query terms has been found to be useful for improving retrieval performance. However, its application to classical probabilistic information retrieval models, such as Okapi’s BM25, remains a challenging research problem. In this paper, we propose to improve the classical BM25 model by utilizing the term proximity evidence. Four novel methods, namely a window-based N-gram Counting method, Survival Analysis over different statistics, including the Poisson process, an exponential distribution and an empirical function, are proposed to model the proximity between query terms. Through extensive experiments on standard TREC collections, our proposed proximity-based BM25 model, called BM25P, is compared to strong state-of-the-art evaluation baselines, including the original unigram BM25 model, the Markov Random Field model, and the positional language model. According to the experimental results, the window-based N-gram Counting method, and Survival Analysis over an exponential distribution are the most effective among all four proposed methods, which lead to marked improvement over the baselines. This shows that the use of term proximity considerably enhances the retrieval effectiveness of the classical probabilistic models. It is therefore recommended to deploy a term proximity component in retrieval systems that employ probabilistic models.     

On Social Constraints for Rational Agents

We define and study social constraints for rational agents. Our work is complementary to work on mechanism design in economics and Distributed Artificial Intelligence, as well as to work on artificial social systems. In our setting agents are rational but obey social laws that are imposed by the system's designer. Agents can be obliged to obey some social constraints, but not any constraint can serve as part of the social law. The main theme of our work is the study of settings where there are restrictions on the constraints that can serve as social laws. In such settings the designer should find social laws that can be imposed on the agents, and that will lead rational agents to satisfactory behavior. Our study is carried out in the context of zero‐sum and general‐sum games (with complete and with incomplete information) in extensive form.     

A low complexity approximation of probabilistic appearance models

Appearance models yield a compact representation of shape, pose and illumination variations. The probabilistic appearance model, introduced by Moghaddam et al. (Proceedings of the International Conference on Computer Vision, Cambridge, MA, June 1995, p. 687; IEEE Trans. Pattern Anal. Mach. Intell. 19 (7) (1997) 696) has recently shown excellent performances in pattern detection and recognition, outperforming most other linear and non-linear approaches. Unfortunately, the complexity of this model remains high. In this paper, we introduce an efficient approximation of this model, which enables fast implementations in statistical estimation-based schemes. Gains in complexity and cpu time of more than 10 have been obtained, without any loss in the quality of the results.     

Generalized ordering-search for learning directed probabilistic logical models

Recently, there has been an increasing interest in directed probabilistic logical models and a variety of formalisms for describing such models has been proposed. Although many authors provide high-level arguments to show that in principle models in their formalism can be learned from data, most of the proposed learning algorithms have not yet been studied in detail. We introduce an algorithm, generalized ordering-search, to learn both structure and conditional probability distributions (CPDs) of directed probabilistic logical models. The algorithm is based on the ordering-search algorithm for Bayesian networks. We use relational probability trees as a representation for the CPDs. We present experiments on a genetics domain, blocks world domains and the Cora dataset. Editors: Stephen Muggleton, Ramon Otero, Simon Colton.     

Parallell interacting MCMC for learning of topologies of graphical models

Automated statistical learning of graphical models from data has attained a considerable degree of interest in the machine learning and related literature. Many authors have discussed and/or demonstrated the need for consistent stochastic search methods that would not be as prone to yield locally optimal model structures as simple greedy methods. However, at the same time most of the stochastic search methods are based on a standard Metropolis–Hastings theory that necessitates the use of relatively simple random proposals and prevents the utilization of intelligent and efficient search operators. Here we derive an algorithm for learning topologies of graphical models from samples of a finite set of discrete variables by utilizing and further enhancing a recently introduced theory for non-reversible parallel interacting Markov chain Monte Carlo-style computation. In particular, we illustrate how the non-reversible approach allows for novel type of creativity in the design of search operators. Also, the parallel aspect of our method illustrates well the advantages of the adaptive nature of search operators to avoid trapping states in the vicinity of locally optimal network topologies.     

基于条件互信息的多维时间序列图模型

在多维时间序列的图模型中引入信息论方法, 提出了多维时间序列中各分量之间直接线性联系存在性的互信息检验．定义了线性条件互信息图, 图中的结点表示多维时间序列的分量, 结点间的边表示各分量之间存在的直接线性相依关系．提出了分量之间条件线性联系存在性的信息论检验方法．图中边的存在性用基于线性条件互信息的统计量检验, 统计量的显著性用置换检验决定．应用到实例中的结果表明本文的方法能迅速准确的捕捉各分量之间的直接线性联系.     

Vehicle Routing and Production Planning Decision Support Systems: Designing Graphical User Interfaces

Given the inherent complexity of vehicle routing and production planning decision support systems, designing user interfaces for them is challenging and can make a big difference in the usability of these systems. Many heuristic and optimization-oriented systems that have been implemented for this type of problem have failed in part due to a poor graphical user interface. This work proposes an approach that can be applied to improve the design of user interfaces for this type of system and make its implementation easier. The approach is based on tools that were adapted from the FW/SM system for Structured Modeling and commercially available tools, such as Powerbuilder and CPLEX. Two systems that were implemented using this approach, in two different firms, are presented. These systems run on standard PCs under MS Windows, follow the Windows applications design guidelines, and interact with relational database management systems.     

GFUZ : An interactive program for solving a multicriteria decision making problem

In this paper, an interactive approach for dealing with a linear programing model under multiple and conflicting objectives is presented. The technique used can be regarded as fuzzy mathematical programming. A compromise solution is determined by eliciting from a single decision maker, a curve of preference for given aspiration levels of the objectives involved. Software was developed for a personal computer and can be helpful in providing support to practitioners utilizing mathematical modelling to justify their decisions.     

Nonlinear discrete-time models: state-space vs. I/O representations

This paper compares state-space and input–output realizations for nonlinear discrete-time dynamic models. For linear models, these two realizations are essentially equivalent and their structures are closely related, but these statements do not hold for nonlinear models. We illustrate this point with simple, realistic examples for which only one of the two realizations exists or for which both exist but their structures are profoundly different. Overall, the main point of this paper is the importance of the choice of realization in the development of nonlinear dynamic models.     

DIALOG: A scheme for the quick and effective production of interactive applications software

DIALOG is a collection of routines, including a main ‘driver’ program, which is used by an applications programmer as the user interface to interactive applications programs. The routines handle command analysis, data input and editing, as well as processing standard commands such as HELP. DIALOG offers, with no extra effort from the applications programmer, not only a simple interface for first-time users which gives complete instruction in using the program, but also a ‘command driven’ interface for more experienced users. DIALOG permits the quick and effective production of interactive applications software by programmers with no previous experience of writing such programs. User reaction to the programs so far produced and offered as part of a university computing service has been extremely favourable.     

A Constructive Graphical Model Approach for Knowledge-Based Systems: A Vehicle Monitoring Case Study

Graphical models have been widely applied to uncertain reasoning in knowledge-based systems. For many of the problems tackled, a single graphical model is constructed before individual cases are presented and the model is used to reason about each new case. In this work, we consider a class of problems whose solution requires inference over a very large number of models that are impractical to construct a priori. We conduct a case study in the domain of vehicle monitoring and then generalize the approach taken. We show that the previously held negative belief on the applicability of graphical models to such problems is unjustified. We propose a set of techniques based on domain decomposition, model separation, model approximation, model compilation, and re-analysis to meet the computational challenges imposed by the combinatorial explosion. Experimental results on vehicle monitoring demonstrated good performance at near-real-time.