25,018 research outputs found
Optimization as a design strategy. Considerations based on building simulation-assisted experiments about problem decomposition
In this article the most fundamental decomposition-based optimization method
- block coordinate search, based on the sequential decomposition of problems in
subproblems - and building performance simulation programs are used to reason
about a building design process at micro-urban scale and strategies are defined
to make the search more efficient. Cyclic overlapping block coordinate search
is here considered in its double nature of optimization method and surrogate
model (and metaphore) of a sequential design process. Heuristic indicators apt
to support the design of search structures suited to that method are developed
from building-simulation-assisted computational experiments, aimed to choose
the form and position of a small building in a plot. Those indicators link the
sharing of structure between subspaces ("commonality") to recursive
recombination, measured as freshness of the search wake and novelty of the
search moves. The aim of these indicators is to measure the relative
effectiveness of decomposition-based design moves and create efficient block
searches. Implications of a possible use of these indicators in genetic
algorithms are also highlighted.Comment: 48 pages. 12 figures, 3 table
Inference via low-dimensional couplings
We investigate the low-dimensional structure of deterministic transformations
between random variables, i.e., transport maps between probability measures. In
the context of statistics and machine learning, these transformations can be
used to couple a tractable "reference" measure (e.g., a standard Gaussian) with
a target measure of interest. Direct simulation from the desired measure can
then be achieved by pushing forward reference samples through the map. Yet
characterizing such a map---e.g., representing and evaluating it---grows
challenging in high dimensions. The central contribution of this paper is to
establish a link between the Markov properties of the target measure and the
existence of low-dimensional couplings, induced by transport maps that are
sparse and/or decomposable. Our analysis not only facilitates the construction
of transformations in high-dimensional settings, but also suggests new
inference methodologies for continuous non-Gaussian graphical models. For
instance, in the context of nonlinear state-space models, we describe new
variational algorithms for filtering, smoothing, and sequential parameter
inference. These algorithms can be understood as the natural
generalization---to the non-Gaussian case---of the square-root
Rauch-Tung-Striebel Gaussian smoother.Comment: 78 pages, 25 figure
Batch Nonlinear Continuous-Time Trajectory Estimation as Exactly Sparse Gaussian Process Regression
In this paper, we revisit batch state estimation through the lens of Gaussian
process (GP) regression. We consider continuous-discrete estimation problems
wherein a trajectory is viewed as a one-dimensional GP, with time as the
independent variable. Our continuous-time prior can be defined by any
nonlinear, time-varying stochastic differential equation driven by white noise;
this allows the possibility of smoothing our trajectory estimates using a
variety of vehicle dynamics models (e.g., `constant-velocity'). We show that
this class of prior results in an inverse kernel matrix (i.e., covariance
matrix between all pairs of measurement times) that is exactly sparse
(block-tridiagonal) and that this can be exploited to carry out GP regression
(and interpolation) very efficiently. When the prior is based on a linear,
time-varying stochastic differential equation and the measurement model is also
linear, this GP approach is equivalent to classical, discrete-time smoothing
(at the measurement times); when a nonlinearity is present, we iterate over the
whole trajectory to maximize accuracy. We test the approach experimentally on a
simultaneous trajectory estimation and mapping problem using a mobile robot
dataset.Comment: Submitted to Autonomous Robots on 20 November 2014, manuscript #
AURO-D-14-00185, 16 pages, 7 figure
Tensor Networks for Dimensionality Reduction and Large-Scale Optimizations. Part 2 Applications and Future Perspectives
Part 2 of this monograph builds on the introduction to tensor networks and
their operations presented in Part 1. It focuses on tensor network models for
super-compressed higher-order representation of data/parameters and related
cost functions, while providing an outline of their applications in machine
learning and data analytics. A particular emphasis is on the tensor train (TT)
and Hierarchical Tucker (HT) decompositions, and their physically meaningful
interpretations which reflect the scalability of the tensor network approach.
Through a graphical approach, we also elucidate how, by virtue of the
underlying low-rank tensor approximations and sophisticated contractions of
core tensors, tensor networks have the ability to perform distributed
computations on otherwise prohibitively large volumes of data/parameters,
thereby alleviating or even eliminating the curse of dimensionality. The
usefulness of this concept is illustrated over a number of applied areas,
including generalized regression and classification (support tensor machines,
canonical correlation analysis, higher order partial least squares),
generalized eigenvalue decomposition, Riemannian optimization, and in the
optimization of deep neural networks. Part 1 and Part 2 of this work can be
used either as stand-alone separate texts, or indeed as a conjoint
comprehensive review of the exciting field of low-rank tensor networks and
tensor decompositions.Comment: 232 page
Tensor Networks for Dimensionality Reduction and Large-Scale Optimizations. Part 2 Applications and Future Perspectives
Part 2 of this monograph builds on the introduction to tensor networks and
their operations presented in Part 1. It focuses on tensor network models for
super-compressed higher-order representation of data/parameters and related
cost functions, while providing an outline of their applications in machine
learning and data analytics. A particular emphasis is on the tensor train (TT)
and Hierarchical Tucker (HT) decompositions, and their physically meaningful
interpretations which reflect the scalability of the tensor network approach.
Through a graphical approach, we also elucidate how, by virtue of the
underlying low-rank tensor approximations and sophisticated contractions of
core tensors, tensor networks have the ability to perform distributed
computations on otherwise prohibitively large volumes of data/parameters,
thereby alleviating or even eliminating the curse of dimensionality. The
usefulness of this concept is illustrated over a number of applied areas,
including generalized regression and classification (support tensor machines,
canonical correlation analysis, higher order partial least squares),
generalized eigenvalue decomposition, Riemannian optimization, and in the
optimization of deep neural networks. Part 1 and Part 2 of this work can be
used either as stand-alone separate texts, or indeed as a conjoint
comprehensive review of the exciting field of low-rank tensor networks and
tensor decompositions.Comment: 232 page
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