6,885 research outputs found
Hidden Markov Model Identifiability via Tensors
The prevalence of hidden Markov models (HMMs) in various applications of
statistical signal processing and communications is a testament to the power
and flexibility of the model. In this paper, we link the identifiability
problem with tensor decomposition, in particular, the Canonical Polyadic
decomposition. Using recent results in deriving uniqueness conditions for
tensor decomposition, we are able to provide a necessary and sufficient
condition for the identification of the parameters of discrete time finite
alphabet HMMs. This result resolves a long standing open problem regarding the
derivation of a necessary and sufficient condition for uniquely identifying an
HMM. We then further extend recent preliminary work on the identification of
HMMs with multiple observers by deriving necessary and sufficient conditions
for identifiability in this setting.Comment: Accepted to ISIT 2013. 5 pages, no figure
Making Sense of the Mental Universe
In 2005, an essay was published in Nature asserting that the universe is mental and that we
must abandon our tendency to conceptualize observations as things. Since then, experiments have confirmed that — as predicted by quantum mechanics — reality is contextual, which contradicts at least intuitive formulations of realism and corroborates the hypothesis of a mental universe. Yet, to give this hypothesis a coherent rendering, one must explain how a mental universe can — at least in principle — accommodate (a) our experience of ourselves as distinct individual minds sharing a world beyond the control of our volition; and (b) the empirical fact that this world is contextual despite being seemingly shared. By combining a modern formulation of the ontology of idealism with the relational interpretation of quantum mechanics, the present paper attempts to provide a viable explanatory framework for both points. In the process of doing so, the paper also addresses key philosophical qualms of the relational interpretation
Naturalistic Affective Expression Classification by a Multi-Stage Approach Based on Hidden Markov Models
In naturalistic behaviour, the affective states of a person
change at a rate much slower than the typical rate at which video or
audio is recorded (e.g. 25fps for video). Hence, there is a high probability
that consecutive recorded instants of expressions represent a same
affective content. In this paper, a multi-stage automatic affective expression
recognition system is proposed which uses Hidden Markov Models
(HMMs) to take into account this temporal relationship and finalize the
classification process. The hidden states of the HMMs are associated
with the levels of affective dimensions to convert the classification problem
into a best path finding problem in HMM. The system was tested on
the audio data of the Audio/Visual Emotion Challenge (AVEC) datasets
showing performance significantly above that of a one-stage classification
system that does not take into account the temporal relationship, as well
as above the baseline set provided by this Challenge. Due to the generality
of the approach, this system could be applied to other types of
affective modalities
Multiscale Discriminant Saliency for Visual Attention
The bottom-up saliency, an early stage of humans' visual attention, can be
considered as a binary classification problem between center and surround
classes. Discriminant power of features for the classification is measured as
mutual information between features and two classes distribution. The estimated
discrepancy of two feature classes very much depends on considered scale
levels; then, multi-scale structure and discriminant power are integrated by
employing discrete wavelet features and Hidden markov tree (HMT). With wavelet
coefficients and Hidden Markov Tree parameters, quad-tree like label structures
are constructed and utilized in maximum a posterior probability (MAP) of hidden
class variables at corresponding dyadic sub-squares. Then, saliency value for
each dyadic square at each scale level is computed with discriminant power
principle and the MAP. Finally, across multiple scales is integrated the final
saliency map by an information maximization rule. Both standard quantitative
tools such as NSS, LCC, AUC and qualitative assessments are used for evaluating
the proposed multiscale discriminant saliency method (MDIS) against the
well-know information-based saliency method AIM on its Bruce Database wity
eye-tracking data. Simulation results are presented and analyzed to verify the
validity of MDIS as well as point out its disadvantages for further research
direction.Comment: 16 pages, ICCSA 2013 - BIOCA sessio
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