Wavelet Analysis for Wind Fields Estimation

Wind field analysis from synthetic aperture radar images allows the estimation of wind direction and speed based on image descriptors. In this paper, we propose a framework to automate wind direction retrieval based on wavelet decomposition associated with spectral processing. We extend existing undecimated wavelet transform approaches, by including à trous with B3 spline scaling function, in addition to other wavelet bases as Gabor and Mexican-hat. The purpose is to extract more reliable directional information, when wind speed values range from 5 to 10 ms−1. Using C-band empirical models, associated with the estimated directional information, we calculate local wind speed values and compare our results with QuikSCAT scatterometer data. The proposed approach has potential application in the evaluation of oil spills and wind farms

3-D defect profile reconstruction from magnetic flux leakage signatures using wavelet basis function neural networks

The most popular technique for inspecting natural gas pipelines involves the use of magnetic flux leakage (MFL) methods. The measured MFL signal is interpreted to obtain information concerning the structural integrity of the pipe. Defect characterization involves the task of calculating the shape and size of defects based on the information contained in the signal. An accurate estimate of the defect profile allows assessment of the safe operating pressure of the pipe. Artificial neural networks (ANNs) have been employed for characterizing defects in the past. However, conventional neural networks such as radial basis function neural networks are not always suitable for the following reasons: (1) It is difficult to quantify and measure the confidence level associated with the profile estimates. (2) They do not provide adequate control over output accuracy and network complexity trade-off. (3) Optimal center selection schemes typically use an optimization technique such as least-mean-square (LMS) algorithm---a tedious and computationally intensive procedure. These disadvantages can be overcome by employing a wavelet basis function (WBF) neural network. Such networks allow multiple scales of approximation. For the specific application on hand, Gaussian radial basis functions and Mexican hat wavelet frames are used as scaling functions and wavelets respectively. The proposed basis function centers are calculated using a dyadic expansion scheme and the k-means clustering algorithm;The validity of the proposed approach is demonstrated by predicting defect profiles from simulation data as well as experimental magnetic flux leakage signals. The results demonstrate that wavelet basis function neural networks can successfully map MFL signatures to three-dimensional defect profiles. The center selection scheme requires minimal effort compared to conventional methods. Also, the accuracy of the output can be controlled by varying the number of network resolutions. It is also shown that the use of a priori information such as estimates of the geometric parameters of the defect helps improve characterization results

Fault diagnosis of gearboxes using wavelet support vector machine, least square support vector machine and wavelet packet transform

This work focuses on a method which experimentally recognizes faults of gearboxes using wavelet packet and two support vector machine models. Two wavelet selection criteria are used. Some statistical features of wavelet packet coefficients of vibration signals are selected. The optimal decomposition level of wavelet is selected based on the Maximum Energy to Shannon Entropy ratio criteria. In addition to this, Energy and Shannon Entropy of the wavelet coefficients are used as two new features along with other statistical parameters as input of the classifier. Eventually, the gearbox faults are classified using these statistical features as input to least square support vector machine (LSSVM) and wavelet support vector machine (WSVM). Some kernel functions and multi kernel function as a new method are used with three strategies for multi classification of gearboxes. The results of fault classification demonstrate that the WSVM identified the fault categories of gearbox more accurately and has a better diagnosis performance as compared to the LSSVM

Kernel Functions for Graph Classification

Graphs are information-rich structures, but their complexity makes them difficult to analyze. Given their broad and powerful representation capacity, the classification of graphs has become an intense area of research. Many established classifiers represent objects with vectors of explicit features. When the number of features grows, however, these vector representations suffer from typical problems of high dimensionality such as overfitting and high computation time. This work instead focuses on using kernel functions to map graphs into implicity defined spaces that avoid the difficulties of vector representations. The introduction of kernel classifiers has kindled great interest in kernel functions for graph data. By using kernels the problem of graph classification changes from finding a good classifier to finding a good kernel function. This work explores several novel uses of kernel functions for graph classification. The first technique is the use of structure based features to add structural information to the kernel function. A strength of this approach is the ability to identify specific structure features that contribute significantly to the classification process. Discriminative structures can then be passed off to domain-specific researchers for additional analysis. The next approach is the use of wavelet functions to represent graph topology as simple real-valued features. This approach achieves order-of-magnitude decreases in kernel computation time by eliminating costly topological comparisons, while retaining competitive classification accuracy. Finally, this work examines the use of even simpler graph representations and their utility for classification. The models produced from the kernel functions presented here yield excellent performance with respect to both efficiency and accuracy, as demonstrated in a variety of experimental studies

Genome-wide Protein-chemical Interaction Prediction

The analysis of protein-chemical reactions on a large scale is critical to understanding the complex interrelated mechanisms that govern biological life at the cellular level. Chemical proteomics is a new research area aimed at genome-wide screening of such chemical-protein interactions. Traditional approaches to such screening involve in vivo or in vitro experimentation, which while becoming faster with the application of high-throughput screening technologies, remains costly and time-consuming compared to in silico methods. Early in silico methods are dependant on knowing 3D protein structures (docking) or knowing binding information for many chemicals (ligand-based approaches). Typical machine learning approaches follow a global classification approach where a single predictive model is trained for an entire data set, but such an approach is unlikely to generalize well to the protein-chemical interaction space considering its diversity and heterogeneous distribution. In response to the global approach, work on local models has recently emerged to improve generalization across the interaction space by training a series of independant models localized to each predict a single interaction. This work examines current approaches to genome-wide protein-chemical interaction prediction and explores new computational methods based on modifications to the boosting framework for ensemble learning. The methods are described and compared to several competing classification methods. Genome-wide chemical-protein interaction data sets are acquired from publicly available resources, and a series of experimental studies are performed in order to compare the the performance of each method under a variety of conditions

Fast algorithms for wavelet-based analysis of hyperspectral signatures

Hyperspectral sensors promise great improvements in the quality of information gathered for remote sensing applications. However, they also present a huge challenge to data storage and computing systems. Thus there is a great need for reliable compression schemes, as well as analysis tools that can exploit the hyperspectral data in a computationally efficient manner. It has been proposed that wavelet-based methods may be superior to currently used methods for the analysis of hyperspectral signatures. In this thesis, a wavelet-based method, as well as traditional analytical methods, was implemented and applied to hyperspectral images. The computational expense of the various methods are determined analytically and experimentally to show advantages of the wavelet-based methods. Various measures, including cross correlation, signal-to-noise ratios and Euclidean distance, are designed and implemented for comparing the differences that might exist between the outputs of the algorithms

Fault diagnosis of gearboxes using wavelet support vector machine, least square support vector machine and wavelet packet transform

This work focuses on a method which experimentally recognizes faults of gearboxes using wavelet packet and two support vector machine models. Two wavelet selection criteria are used. Some statistical features of wavelet packet coefficients of vibration signals are selected. The optimal decomposition level of wavelet is selected based on the Maximum Energy to Shannon Entropy ratio criteria. In addition to this, Energy and Shannon Entropy of the wavelet coefficients are used as two new features along with other statistical parameters as input of the classifier. Eventually, the gearbox faults are classified using these statistical features as input to least square support vector machine (LSSVM) and wavelet support vector machine (WSVM). Some kernel functions and multi kernel function as a new method are used with three strategies for multi classification of gearboxes. The results of fault classification demonstrate that the WSVM identified the fault categories of gearbox more accurately and has a better diagnosis performance as compared to the LSSVM

Coastal Hurricane Damage Assessment via Wavelet Transform of Remotely Sensed Imagery

This dissertation uses post storm imagery processed using wavelet transforms to investigate the capability of wavelet transform-based methods to classify post storm damage of residential areas. Five level Haar, Meyer, Symlets, and Coiflets wavelet transform decompositions of the post storm imagery are inputs to damage classification models of post hurricane and tornado damage. Hurricanes Ike, Rita, Katrina, and Ivan are examined as are the 2011 Joplin and Tuscaloosa tornadoes. Wavelet transform-based classification methods yielded varying classification accuracies for the four hurricanes examined, ranging from 67 percent to 89 percent classification accuracy for classification models informed by samples from the storms classified. Classification accuracies fall when the samples being classified are from a hurricane not informing the classification model, from 17 percent for Rita classified with an Ike-based model, 41 percent for Rita classified with an Ike-Katrina-based model, to 69 percent for Rita classified with an Ike-Katrina-Ivan-based model. The variability within and poor classification accuracy of these models can be attributed to the large variations in the four hurricane events studied and the significant differences in impacted land cover for each of these storms. Classification accuracies improved when these variations were limited via examination of residential areas impacted by 2011 Joplin and Tuscaloosa tornadoes. Damage classification models required as few as nineteen to as many as fifty nine wavelet coefficients to explain the variability in the hurricane storm data samples, and included all four wavelet functions studied. A similar analysis of the tornado damaged areas resulted in a damage classification model with only six wavelet coefficients, four Meyer-based, one Symlets-based and one Haar-based. Classification accuracies ranged from 96 percent for samples included in the model formation to 85 percent for samples not included in the model formation. The damage classification accuracies found for tornado storms suggests this model is suitable for operational implementation. The damage classification accuracies found for the hurricane storms suggests further investigation into methods that will reduce the variability attributable to land cover and storm variability