290 research outputs found
Delayed acceptance ABC-SMC
Approximate Bayesian computation (ABC) is now an established technique for
statistical inference used in cases where the likelihood function is
computationally expensive or not available. It relies on the use of a~model
that is specified in the form of a~simulator, and approximates the likelihood
at a~parameter value by simulating auxiliary data sets and
evaluating the distance of from the true data . However, ABC is not
computationally feasible in cases where using the simulator for each
is very expensive. This paper investigates this situation in cases where
a~cheap, but approximate, simulator is available. The approach is to employ
delayed acceptance Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) within an ABC sequential
Monte Carlo (SMC) sampler in order to, in a~first stage of the kernel, use the
cheap simulator to rule out parts of the parameter space that are not worth
exploring, so that the ``true'' simulator is only run (in the second stage of
the kernel) where there is a~reasonable chance of accepting proposed values of
. We show that this approach can be used quite automatically, with few
tuning parameters. Applications to stochastic differential equation models and
latent doubly intractable distributions are presented
Sequential Monte Carlo with transformations
This paper examines methodology for performing Bayesian inference sequentially on a sequence of posteriors on spaces of different dimensions. For this, we use sequential Monte Carlo samplers, introducing the innovation of using deterministic transformations to move particles effectively between target distributions with different dimensions. This approach, combined with adaptive methods, yields an extremely flexible and general algorithm for Bayesian model comparison that is suitable for use in applications where the acceptance rate in reversible jump Markov chain Monte Carlo is low. We use this approach on model comparison for mixture models, and for inferring coalescent trees sequentially, as data arrives
Recommended from our members
A statistical approach to the problem of restoring damaged and contaminated images
We address the problem of automatically identifying and restoring damaged and contaminated images. We suggest a novel approach based on a semi-parametric model. This has two components, a parametric component describing known physical characteristics and a more flexible non-parametric component. The latter avoids the need for a detailed model for the sensor, which is often costly to produce and lacking in robustness. We assess our approach using an analysis of electroencephalographic images contaminated by eye-blink artefacts and highly damaged photographs contaminated by non-uniform lighting. These experiments show that our approach provides an effective solution to problems of this type
Distribution in homology classes and discrete fractal dimension
In this note we examine the proportion of periodic orbits of Anosov flows
that lie in an infinite zero density subset of the first homology group. We
show that on a logarithmic scale we get convergence to a discrete fractal
dimension.Comment: 8 page
Greenview : the gorilla in the library smart sensing and behaviour change
This paper provides a description and analysis of the Greenview project, an
experiment in smart sensing leading to energy consumption behaviour change in building
users. Greenview was an innovative app built on the back of the successful DUALL project
(funded by JISC). Where DUALL created a simple web-based information-feedback tool
that could report electrical consumption in specific university buildings back to users via
a simple dashboard using Yahoo widgets; Greenview refined the ICT tool further into a
sophisticated smart phone application which could connect staff and students in De Montfort
University (DMU) to monitor the relative energy consumptions of their buildings.
The developed iPhone ‘app’ visualised comparative energy use on the DMU campus through
a narrative of improving or declining habitats for endangered species, represented by
animated cartoon characters living as virtual mascots in each university building. Based
on the emotive nature of the ‘Tamagochi’ concept, the app tested an engaging way to
encourage care for the environment. When consumption levels exceeded those on the
same day of the previous year, the visible well being of species would change. The app
also provided real-time data through meter readings provided on a half-hourly basis,
allowing the inclusion of graphical data options, appealing both to emotional identification
with the building mascot and to the range of preferences individuals have for viewing
and interpreting data.Funded by the Horizon 2020 Framework Programme of the European Union.peer-reviewe
Recommended from our members
Online bayesian inference in some time-frequency representations of non-stationary processes
The use of Bayesian inference in the inference of time-frequency representations has, thus far, been limited to offline analysis of signals, using a smoothing spline based model of the time-frequency plane. In this paper we introduce a new framework that allows the routine use of Bayesian inference for online estimation of the time-varying spectral density of a locally stationary Gaussian process. The core of our approach is the use of a likelihood inspired by a local Whittle approximation. This choice, along with the use of a recursive algorithm for non-parametric estimation of the local spectral density, permits the use of a particle filter for estimating the time-varying spectral density online. We provide demonstrations of the algorithm through tracking chirps and the analysis of musical data
- …