1,044 research outputs found
How Does Our Visual System Achieve Shift and Size Invariance?
The question of shift and size invariance in the primate
visual system is discussed. After a short review of the relevant neurobiology and psychophysics, a more detailed analysis of computational models is given. The two main types of networks considered are the dynamic routing circuit model and invariant feature networks, such as the neocognitron. Some specific open questions in context of these models are raised and possible solutions discussed
Maximized Posteriori Attributes Selection from Facial Salient Landmarks for Face Recognition
This paper presents a robust and dynamic face recognition technique based on
the extraction and matching of devised probabilistic graphs drawn on SIFT
features related to independent face areas. The face matching strategy is based
on matching individual salient facial graph characterized by SIFT features as
connected to facial landmarks such as the eyes and the mouth. In order to
reduce the face matching errors, the Dempster-Shafer decision theory is applied
to fuse the individual matching scores obtained from each pair of salient
facial features. The proposed algorithm is evaluated with the ORL and the IITK
face databases. The experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness and
potential of the proposed face recognition technique also in case of partially
occluded faces.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figure
On the analysis and interpretation of inhomogeneous quadratic forms as receptive fields
In this paper we introduce some mathematical and numerical tools to analyze and interpret inhomogeneous quadratic forms. The resulting characterization is in some aspects similar to that given by experimental studies of cortical cells, making it particularly suitable for application to second-order approximations and theoretical models of physiological receptive fields. We first discuss two ways of analyzing a quadratic form by visualizing the coefficients of its quadratic and linear term directly and by considering the eigenvectors of its quadratic term. We then present an algorithm to compute the optimal excitatory and inhibitory stimuli, i.e. the stimuli that maximize and minimize the considered quadratic form, respectively, given a fixed energy constraint. The analysis of the optimal stimuli is completed by considering their invariances, which are the transformations to which the quadratic form is most insensitive. We introduce a test to determine which of these are statistically significant. Next we propose a way to measure the relative contribution of the quadratic and linear term to the total output of the quadratic form. Furthermore, we derive simpler versions of the above techniques in the special case of a quadratic form without linear term and discuss the analysis of such functions in previous theoretical and experimental studies. In the final part of the paper we show that for each quadratic form it is possible to build an equivalent two-layer neural network, which is compatible with (but more general than) related networks used in some recent papers and with the energy model of complex cells. We show that the neural network is unique only up to an arbitrary orthogonal transformation of the excitatory and inhibitory subunits in the first layer
Predictable Feature Analysis
Every organism in an environment, whether biological, robotic or virtual,
must be able to predict certain aspects of its environment in order to survive
or perform whatever task is intended. It needs a model that is capable of
estimating the consequences of possible actions, so that planning, control, and
decision-making become feasible. For scientific purposes, such models are
usually created in a problem specific manner using differential equations and
other techniques from control- and system-theory. In contrast to that, we aim
for an unsupervised approach that builds up the desired model in a
self-organized fashion. Inspired by Slow Feature Analysis (SFA), our approach
is to extract sub-signals from the input, that behave as predictable as
possible. These "predictable features" are highly relevant for modeling,
because predictability is a desired property of the needed
consequence-estimating model by definition. In our approach, we measure
predictability with respect to a certain prediction model. We focus here on the
solution of the arising optimization problem and present a tractable algorithm
based on algebraic methods which we call Predictable Feature Analysis (PFA). We
prove that the algorithm finds the globally optimal signal, if this signal can
be predicted with low error. To deal with cases where the optimal signal has a
significant prediction error, we provide a robust, heuristically motivated
variant of the algorithm and verify it empirically. Additionally, we give
formal criteria a prediction-model must meet to be suitable for measuring
predictability in the PFA setting and also provide a suitable default-model
along with a formal proof that it meets these criteria
Slow feature analysis yields a rich repertoire of complex cell properties
In this study, we investigate temporal slowness as a learning principle for receptive fields using slow feature analysis, a new algorithm to determine functions that extract slowly varying signals from the input data.
We find that the learned functions trained on image sequences develop many properties found also experimentally in complex cells of primary visual cortex, such as direction selectivity, non-orthogonal inhibition, end-inhibition and side-inhibition.
Our results demonstrate that a single unsupervised learning principle can account for such a rich repertoire of receptive field properties
Understanding Slow Feature Analysis: A Mathematical Framework
Slow feature analysis is an algorithm for unsupervised learning of invariant representations from data with temporal correlations. Here, we present a mathematical analysis of slow feature analysis for the case where the input-output functions are not restricted in complexity. We show that the optimal functions obey a partial differential eigenvalue problem of a type that is common in theoretical physics. This analogy allows the transfer of mathematical techniques and intuitions from physics to concrete applications of slow feature analysis, thereby providing the means for analytical predictions and a better understanding of simulation results. We put particular emphasis on the situation where the input data are generated from a set of statistically independent sources.\ud
The dependence of the optimal functions on the sources is calculated analytically for the cases where the sources have Gaussian or uniform distribution
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