On the Relation of Slow Feature Analysis and Laplacian Eigenmaps

The past decade has seen a rise of interest in Laplacian eigenmaps (LEMs) for nonlinear dimensionality reduction. LEMs have been used in spectral clustering, in semisupervised learning, and for providing efficient state representations for reinforcement learning. Here, we show that LEMs are closely related to slow feature analysis (SFA), a biologically inspired, unsupervised learning algorithm originally designed for learning invariant visual representations. We show that SFA can be interpreted as a function approximation of LEMs, where the topological neighborhoods required for LEMs are implicitly defined by the temporal structure of the data. Based on this relation, we propose a generalization of SFA to arbitrary neighborhood relations and demonstrate its applicability for spectral clustering. Finally, we review previous work with the goal of providing a unifying view on SFA and LEMs

How to Solve Classification and Regression Problems on High-Dimensional Data with a Supervised Extension of Slow Feature Analysis

Supervised learning from high-dimensional data, e.g., multimedia data, is a challenging task. We propose an extension of slow feature analysis (SFA) for supervised dimensionality reduction called graph-based SFA (GSFA). The algorithm extracts a label-predictive low-dimensional set of features that can be post-processed by typical supervised algorithms to generate the final label or class estimation. GSFA is trained with a so-called training graph, in which the vertices are the samples and the edges represent similarities of the corresponding labels. A new weighted SFA optimization problem is introduced, generalizing the notion of slowness from sequences of samples to such training graphs. We show that GSFA computes an optimal solution to this problem in the considered function space, and propose several types of training graphs. For classification, the most straightforward graph yields features equivalent to those of (nonlinear) Fisher discriminant analysis. Emphasis is on regression, where four different graphs were evaluated experimentally with a subproblem of face detection on photographs. The method proposed is promising particularly when linear models are insufficient, as well as when feature selection is difficult

Attractor Network Dynamics Enable Preplay and Rapid Path Planning in Maze–like Environments

Rodents navigating in a well-known environment can rapidly learn and revisit observed reward locations, often after a single trial. While the mechanism for rapid path planning is unknown, the CA3 region in the hippocampus plays an important role, and emerging evidence suggests that place cell activity during hippocampal preplay periods may trace out future goal-directed trajectories. Here, we show how a particular mapping of space allows for the immediate generation of trajectories between arbitrary start and goal locations in an environment, based only on the mapped representation of the goal. We show that this representation can be implemented in a neural attractor network model, resulting in bump--like activity profiles resembling those of the CA3 region of hippocampus. Neurons tend to locally excite neurons with similar place field centers, while inhibiting other neurons with distant place field centers, such that stable bumps of activity can form at arbitrary locations in the environment. The network is initialized to represent a point in the environment, then weakly stimulated with an input corresponding to an arbitrary goal location. We show that the resulting activity can be interpreted as a gradient ascent on the value function induced by a reward at the goal location. Indeed, in networks with large place fields, we show that the network properties cause the bump to move smoothly from its initial location to the goal, around obstacles or walls. Our results illustrate that an attractor network with hippocampal-like attributes may be important for rapid path planning

A Tutorial on the Spectral Theory of Markov Chains

Markov chains are a class of probabilistic models that have achieved widespread application in the quantitative sciences. This is in part due to their versatility, but is compounded by the ease with which they can be probed analytically. This tutorial provides an in-depth introduction to Markov chains, and explores their connection to graphs and random walks. We utilize tools from linear algebra and graph theory to describe the transition matrices of different types of Markov chains, with a particular focus on exploring properties of the eigenvalues and eigenvectors corresponding to these matrices. The results presented are relevant to a number of methods in machine learning and data mining, which we describe at various stages. Rather than being a novel academic study in its own right, this text presents a collection of known results, together with some new concepts. Moreover, the tutorial focuses on offering intuition to readers rather than formal understanding, and only assumes basic exposure to concepts from linear algebra and probability theory. It is therefore accessible to students and researchers from a wide variety of disciplines

Methods and Apparatus for Autonomous Robotic Control

Sensory processing of visual, auditory, and other sensor information (e.g., visual imagery, LIDAR, RADAR) is conventionally based on "stovepiped," or isolated processing, with little interactions between modules. Biological systems, on the other hand, fuse multi-sensory information to identify nearby objects of interest more quickly, more efficiently, and with higher signal-to-noise ratios. Similarly, examples of the OpenSense technology disclosed herein use neurally inspired processing to identify and locate objects in a robot's environment. This enables the robot to navigate its environment more quickly and with lower computational and power requirements