222 research outputs found
A Min-Max . . . Functions and Its Implications
A. Huber and V. Kolmogorov (ISCO 2012) introduced a concept of k-submodular function as a generalization of ordinary submodular (set) functions and bisubmodular functions and obtained a min-max theorem for minimization of k-submodular functions. Also F. Kuivinen (2011) considered submodular functions on (product lattices of) diamonds and showed a min-max theorem for minimization of submodular functions on diamonds. In the present paper we consider a common generalization of k-submodular functions and submodular functions on diamonds, which we call a transversal submodular function (or a t-submodular function, for short). We show a min-max theorem for minimization of t-submodular functions in terms of a new norm composed of ℓ1 and ℓ ∞ norms. This reveals a relationship between the obtained min-max theorem and that for minimization of ordinary submodular set functions due to J. Edmonds (1970). We also show how our min-max theorem for t-submodular functions can be used to prove the min-max theorem for k-submodular functions by Huber and Kolmogorov and that for submodular functions on diamonds by Kuivinen. Moreover, we show a counterexample to a characterization, given by Huber and Kolmogorov (ISCO 2012), of extreme points of the k-submodular polyhedron and make it a correct one by fixing a flaw therein
On the Steady State Control of Timed Event Graphs with Firing Date Constraints
Two algorithms for solving a specific class of steadystate control problems for Timed Event Graphs are presented. In the first, asymptotic convergence to the desired set is guaranteed. The second algorithm, which builds on from the recent developments in the spectral theory of min-max functions, guarantees Lyapunov stability since the distance between the actual state and the desired set never increases. Simulation results show the efficiency of the proposed approach in a problem of moderate complexity
The level set method for the two-sided eigenproblem
We consider the max-plus analogue of the eigenproblem for matrix pencils
Ax=lambda Bx. We show that the spectrum of (A,B) (i.e., the set of possible
values of lambda), which is a finite union of intervals, can be computed in
pseudo-polynomial number of operations, by a (pseudo-polynomial) number of
calls to an oracle that computes the value of a mean payoff game. The proof
relies on the introduction of a spectral function, which we interpret in terms
of the least Chebyshev distance between Ax and lambda Bx. The spectrum is
obtained as the zero level set of this function.Comment: 34 pages, 4 figures. Changes with respect to the previous version: we
explain relation to mean-payoff games and discrete event systems, and show
that the reconstruction of spectrum is pseudopolynomia
Rational semimodules over the max-plus semiring and geometric approach of discrete event systems
We introduce rational semimodules over semirings whose addition is
idempotent, like the max-plus semiring, in order to extend the geometric
approach of linear control to discrete event systems. We say that a
subsemimodule of the free semimodule S^n over a semiring S is rational if it
has a generating family that is a rational subset of S^n, S^n being thought of
as a monoid under the entrywise product. We show that for various semirings of
max-plus type whose elements are integers, rational semimodules are stable
under the natural algebraic operations (union, product, direct and inverse
image, intersection, projection, etc). We show that the reachable and
observable spaces of max-plus linear dynamical systems are rational, and give
various examples.Comment: 24 pages, 9 postscript figures; example in section 4.3 expande
BSP-fields: An Exact Representation of Polygonal Objects by Differentiable Scalar Fields Based on Binary Space Partitioning
The problem considered in this work is to find a dimension independent algorithm for the generation of signed scalar fields exactly representing polygonal objects and satisfying the following requirements: the defining real function takes zero value exactly at the polygonal object boundary; no extra zero-value isosurfaces should be generated; C1 continuity of the function in the entire domain. The proposed algorithms are based on the binary space partitioning (BSP) of the object by the planes passing through the polygonal faces and are independent of the object genus, the number of disjoint components, and holes in the initial polygonal mesh. Several extensions to the basic algorithm are proposed to satisfy the selected optimization criteria. The generated BSP-fields allow for applying techniques of the function-based modeling to already existing legacy objects from CAD and computer animation areas, which is illustrated by several examples
Tropical polyhedra are equivalent to mean payoff games
We show that several decision problems originating from max-plus or tropical
convexity are equivalent to zero-sum two player game problems. In particular,
we set up an equivalence between the external representation of tropical convex
sets and zero-sum stochastic games, in which tropical polyhedra correspond to
deterministic games with finite action spaces. Then, we show that the winning
initial positions can be determined from the associated tropical polyhedron. We
obtain as a corollary a game theoretical proof of the fact that the tropical
rank of a matrix, defined as the maximal size of a submatrix for which the
optimal assignment problem has a unique solution, coincides with the maximal
number of rows (or columns) of the matrix which are linearly independent in the
tropical sense. Our proofs rely on techniques from non-linear Perron-Frobenius
theory.Comment: 28 pages, 5 figures; v2: updated references, added background
materials and illustrations; v3: minor improvements, references update
Multiorder, Kleene stars and cyclic projectors in the geometry of max cones
This paper summarizes results on some topics in the max-plus convex geometry,
mainly concerning the role of multiorder, Kleene stars and cyclic projectors,
and relates them to some topics in max algebra. The multiorder principle leads
to max-plus analogues of some statements in the finite-dimensional convex
geometry and is related to the set covering conditions in max algebra. Kleene
stars are fundamental for max algebra, as they accumulate the weights of
optimal paths and describe the eigenspace of a matrix. On the other hand, the
approach of tropical convexity decomposes a finitely generated semimodule into
a number of convex regions, and these regions are column spans of uniquely
defined Kleene stars. Another recent geometric result, that several semimodules
with zero intersection can be separated from each other by max-plus halfspaces,
leads to investigation of specific nonlinear operators called cyclic
projectors. These nonlinear operators can be used to find a solution to
homogeneous multi-sided systems of max-linear equations. The results are
presented in the setting of max cones, i.e., semimodules over the max-times
semiring.Comment: 26 pages, a minor revisio
Reinforcement Learning With Temporal Logic Rewards
Reinforcement learning (RL) depends critically on the choice of reward
functions used to capture the de- sired behavior and constraints of a robot.
Usually, these are handcrafted by a expert designer and represent heuristics
for relatively simple tasks. Real world applications typically involve more
complex tasks with rich temporal and logical structure. In this paper we take
advantage of the expressive power of temporal logic (TL) to specify complex
rules the robot should follow, and incorporate domain knowledge into learning.
We propose Truncated Linear Temporal Logic (TLTL) as specifications language,
that is arguably well suited for the robotics applications, together with
quantitative semantics, i.e., robustness degree. We propose a RL approach to
learn tasks expressed as TLTL formulae that uses their associated robustness
degree as reward functions, instead of the manually crafted heuristics trying
to capture the same specifications. We show in simulated trials that learning
is faster and policies obtained using the proposed approach outperform the ones
learned using heuristic rewards in terms of the robustness degree, i.e., how
well the tasks are satisfied. Furthermore, we demonstrate the proposed RL
approach in a toast-placing task learned by a Baxter robot
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