2,420 research outputs found
Robust Feature Selection by Mutual Information Distributions
Mutual information is widely used in artificial intelligence, in a
descriptive way, to measure the stochastic dependence of discrete random
variables. In order to address questions such as the reliability of the
empirical value, one must consider sample-to-population inferential approaches.
This paper deals with the distribution of mutual information, as obtained in a
Bayesian framework by a second-order Dirichlet prior distribution. The exact
analytical expression for the mean and an analytical approximation of the
variance are reported. Asymptotic approximations of the distribution are
proposed. The results are applied to the problem of selecting features for
incremental learning and classification of the naive Bayes classifier. A fast,
newly defined method is shown to outperform the traditional approach based on
empirical mutual information on a number of real data sets. Finally, a
theoretical development is reported that allows one to efficiently extend the
above methods to incomplete samples in an easy and effective way.Comment: 8 two-column page
Distribution of Mutual Information from Complete and Incomplete Data
Mutual information is widely used, in a descriptive way, to measure the
stochastic dependence of categorical random variables. In order to address
questions such as the reliability of the descriptive value, one must consider
sample-to-population inferential approaches. This paper deals with the
posterior distribution of mutual information, as obtained in a Bayesian
framework by a second-order Dirichlet prior distribution. The exact analytical
expression for the mean, and analytical approximations for the variance,
skewness and kurtosis are derived. These approximations have a guaranteed
accuracy level of the order O(1/n^3), where n is the sample size. Leading order
approximations for the mean and the variance are derived in the case of
incomplete samples. The derived analytical expressions allow the distribution
of mutual information to be approximated reliably and quickly. In fact, the
derived expressions can be computed with the same order of complexity needed
for descriptive mutual information. This makes the distribution of mutual
information become a concrete alternative to descriptive mutual information in
many applications which would benefit from moving to the inductive side. Some
of these prospective applications are discussed, and one of them, namely
feature selection, is shown to perform significantly better when inductive
mutual information is used.Comment: 26 pages, LaTeX, 5 figures, 4 table
Feedback MPC for Torque-Controlled Legged Robots
The computational power of mobile robots is currently insufficient to achieve
torque level whole-body Model Predictive Control (MPC) at the update rates
required for complex dynamic systems such as legged robots. This problem is
commonly circumvented by using a fast tracking controller to compensate for
model errors between updates. In this work, we show that the feedback policy
from a Differential Dynamic Programming (DDP) based MPC algorithm is a viable
alternative to bridge the gap between the low MPC update rate and the actuation
command rate. We propose to augment the DDP approach with a relaxed barrier
function to address inequality constraints arising from the friction cone. A
frequency-dependent cost function is used to reduce the sensitivity to
high-frequency model errors and actuator bandwidth limits. We demonstrate that
our approach can find stable locomotion policies for the torque-controlled
quadruped, ANYmal, both in simulation and on hardware.Comment: Paper accepted to IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent
Robots and Systems (IROS 2019
Cable-Driven Actuation for Highly Dynamic Robotic Systems
This paper presents design and experimental evaluations of an articulated
robotic limb called Capler-Leg. The key element of Capler-Leg is its
single-stage cable-pulley transmission combined with a high-gap radius motor.
Our cable-pulley system is designed to be as light-weight as possible and to
additionally serve as the primary cooling element, thus significantly
increasing the power density and efficiency of the overall system. The total
weight of active elements on the leg, i.e. the stators and the rotors,
contribute more than 60% of the total leg weight, which is an order of
magnitude higher than most existing robots. The resulting robotic leg has low
inertia, high torque transparency, low manufacturing cost, no backlash, and a
low number of parts. Capler-Leg system itself, serves as an experimental setup
for evaluating the proposed cable- pulley design in terms of robustness and
efficiency. A continuous jump experiment shows a remarkable 96.5 % recuperation
rate, measured at the battery output. This means that almost all the mechanical
energy output used during push-off returned back to the battery during
touch-down
Learning about a Categorical Latent Variable under Prior Near-Ignorance
It is well known that complete prior ignorance is not compatible with
learning, at least in a coherent theory of (epistemic) uncertainty. What is
less widely known, is that there is a state similar to full ignorance, that
Walley calls near-ignorance, that permits learning to take place. In this paper
we provide new and substantial evidence that also near-ignorance cannot be
really regarded as a way out of the problem of starting statistical inference
in conditions of very weak beliefs. The key to this result is focusing on a
setting characterized by a variable of interest that is latent. We argue that
such a setting is by far the most common case in practice, and we show, for the
case of categorical latent variables (and general manifest variables) that
there is a sufficient condition that, if satisfied, prevents learning to take
place under prior near-ignorance. This condition is shown to be easily
satisfied in the most common statistical problems.Comment: 15 LaTeX page
Limits of Learning about a Categorical Latent Variable under Prior Near-Ignorance
In this paper, we consider the coherent theory of (epistemic) uncertainty of
Walley, in which beliefs are represented through sets of probability
distributions, and we focus on the problem of modeling prior ignorance about a
categorical random variable. In this setting, it is a known result that a state
of prior ignorance is not compatible with learning. To overcome this problem,
another state of beliefs, called \emph{near-ignorance}, has been proposed.
Near-ignorance resembles ignorance very closely, by satisfying some principles
that can arguably be regarded as necessary in a state of ignorance, and allows
learning to take place. What this paper does, is to provide new and substantial
evidence that also near-ignorance cannot be really regarded as a way out of the
problem of starting statistical inference in conditions of very weak beliefs.
The key to this result is focusing on a setting characterized by a variable of
interest that is \emph{latent}. We argue that such a setting is by far the most
common case in practice, and we provide, for the case of categorical latent
variables (and general \emph{manifest} variables) a condition that, if
satisfied, prevents learning to take place under prior near-ignorance. This
condition is shown to be easily satisfied even in the most common statistical
problems. We regard these results as a strong form of evidence against the
possibility to adopt a condition of prior near-ignorance in real statistical
problems.Comment: 27 LaTeX page
Whole-Body MPC for a Dynamically Stable Mobile Manipulator
Autonomous mobile manipulation offers a dual advantage of mobility provided
by a mobile platform and dexterity afforded by the manipulator. In this paper,
we present a whole-body optimal control framework to jointly solve the problems
of manipulation, balancing and interaction as one optimization problem for an
inherently unstable robot. The optimization is performed using a Model
Predictive Control (MPC) approach; the optimal control problem is transcribed
at the end-effector space, treating the position and orientation tasks in the
MPC planner, and skillfully planning for end-effector contact forces. The
proposed formulation evaluates how the control decisions aimed at end-effector
tracking and environment interaction will affect the balance of the system in
the future. We showcase the advantages of the proposed MPC approach on the
example of a ball-balancing robot with a robotic manipulator and validate our
controller in hardware experiments for tasks such as end-effector pose tracking
and door opening
Frequency-Aware Model Predictive Control
Transferring solutions found by trajectory optimization to robotic hardware
remains a challenging task. When the optimization fully exploits the provided
model to perform dynamic tasks, the presence of unmodeled dynamics renders the
motion infeasible on the real system. Model errors can be a result of model
simplifications, but also naturally arise when deploying the robot in
unstructured and nondeterministic environments. Predominantly, compliant
contacts and actuator dynamics lead to bandwidth limitations. While classical
control methods provide tools to synthesize controllers that are robust to a
class of model errors, such a notion is missing in modern trajectory
optimization, which is solved in the time domain. We propose frequency-shaped
cost functions to achieve robust solutions in the context of optimal control
for legged robots. Through simulation and hardware experiments we show that
motion plans can be made compatible with bandwidth limits set by actuators and
contact dynamics. The smoothness of the model predictive solutions can be
continuously tuned without compromising the feasibility of the problem.
Experiments with the quadrupedal robot ANYmal, which is driven by
highly-compliant series elastic actuators, showed significantly improved
tracking performance of the planned motion, torque, and force trajectories and
enabled the machine to walk robustly on terrain with unmodeled compliance
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