The Maximum Traveling Salesman Problem with Submodular Rewards

In this paper, we look at the problem of finding the tour of maximum reward on an undirected graph where the reward is a submodular function, that has a curvature of $\kappa$, of the edges in the tour. This problem is known to be NP-hard. We analyze two simple algorithms for finding an approximate solution. Both algorithms require $O(|V|^3)$ oracle calls to the submodular function. The approximation factors are shown to be $\frac{1}{2+\kappa}$ and $\max\set{\frac{2}{3(2+\kappa)},2/3(1-\kappa)}$, respectively; so the second method has better bounds for low values of $\kappa$. We also look at how these algorithms perform for a directed graph and investigate a method to consider edge costs in addition to rewards. The problem has direct applications in monitoring an environment using autonomous mobile sensors where the sensing reward depends on the path taken. We provide simulation results to empirically evaluate the performance of the algorithms.Comment: Extended version of ACC 2013 submission (including p-system greedy bound with curvature

Sampling and Reconstruction of Signals on Product Graphs

In this paper, we consider the problem of subsampling and reconstruction of signals that reside on the vertices of a product graph, such as sensor network time series, genomic signals, or product ratings in a social network. Specifically, we leverage the product structure of the underlying domain and sample nodes from the graph factors. The proposed scheme is particularly useful for processing signals on large-scale product graphs. The sampling sets are designed using a low-complexity greedy algorithm and can be proven to be near-optimal. To illustrate the developed theory, numerical experiments based on real datasets are provided for sampling 3D dynamic point clouds and for active learning in recommender systems.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure

Sparse Sampling for Inverse Problems with Tensors

We consider the problem of designing sparse sampling strategies for multidomain signals, which can be represented using tensors that admit a known multilinear decomposition. We leverage the multidomain structure of tensor signals and propose to acquire samples using a Kronecker-structured sensing function, thereby circumventing the curse of dimensionality. For designing such sensing functions, we develop low-complexity greedy algorithms based on submodular optimization methods to compute near-optimal sampling sets. We present several numerical examples, ranging from multi-antenna communications to graph signal processing, to validate the developed theory.Comment: 13 pages, 7 figure

Maximization of Non-Monotone Submodular Functions

A litany of questions from a wide variety of scientific disciplines can be cast as non-monotone submodular maximization problems. Since this class of problems includes max-cut, it is NP-hard. Thus, general purpose algorithms for the class tend to be approximation algorithms. For unconstrained problem instances, one recent innovation in this vein includes an algorithm of Buchbinder et al. (2012) that guarantees a ½ - approximation to the maximum. Building on this, for problems subject to cardinality constraints, Buchbinderet al. (2014) o_er guarantees in the range [0:356; ½ + o(1)]. Earlier work has the best approximation factors for more complex constraints and settings. For constraints that can be characterized as a solvable polytope, Chekuri et al. (2011) provide guarantees. For the online secretary setting, Gupta et al. (2010) provide guarantees. In sum, the current body of work on non-monotone submodular maximization lays strong foundations. However, there remains ample room for future algorithm development