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2023


Fairness in Machine Learning: Limitations and Opportunities
Fairness in Machine Learning: Limitations and Opportunities

Barocas, S., Hardt, M., Narayanan, A.

MIT Press, December 2023 (book)

Abstract
An introduction to the intellectual foundations and practical utility of the recent work on fairness and machine learning. Fairness and Machine Learning introduces advanced undergraduate and graduate students to the intellectual foundations of this recently emergent field, drawing on a diverse range of disciplinary perspectives to identify the opportunities and hazards of automated decision-making. It surveys the risks in many applications of machine learning and provides a review of an emerging set of proposed solutions, showing how even well-intentioned applications may give rise to objectionable results. It covers the statistical and causal measures used to evaluate the fairness of machine learning models as well as the procedural and substantive aspects of decision-making that are core to debates about fairness, including a review of legal and philosophical perspectives on discrimination. This incisive textbook prepares students of machine learning to do quantitative work on fairness while reflecting critically on its foundations and its practical utility.• Introduces the technical and normative foundations of fairness in automated decision-making• Covers the formal and computational methods for characterizing and addressing problems• Provides a critical assessment of their intellectual foundations and practical utility• Features rich pedagogy and extensive instructor resources

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link (url) [BibTex]

2023


link (url) [BibTex]


An Open-Source Modular Treadmill for Dynamic Force Measurement with Load Dependant Range Adjustment
An Open-Source Modular Treadmill for Dynamic Force Measurement with Load Dependant Range Adjustment

Sarvestani, A., Ruppert, F., Badri-Spröwitz, A.

2023 (unpublished) Submitted

Abstract
Ground reaction force sensing is one of the key components of gait analysis in legged locomotion research. To measure continuous force data during locomotion, we present a novel compound instrumented treadmill design. The treadmill is 1.7 m long, with a natural frequency of 170 Hz and an adjustable range that can be used for humans and small robots alike. Here, we present the treadmill’s design methodology and characterize it in its natural frequency, noise behavior and real-life performance. Additionally, we apply an ISO 376 norm conform calibration procedure for all spatial force directions and center of pressure position. We achieve a force accuracy of ≤ 5.6 N for the ground reaction forces and ≤ 13 mm in center of pressure position.

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arXiv link (url) DOI [BibTex]

2022


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Patterns, Predictions, and Actions: Foundations of Machine Learning

Hardt, M., Recht, B.

Princeton University Press, August 2022 (book)

Abstract
An authoritative, up-to-date graduate textbook on machine learning that highlights its historical context and societal impacts Patterns, Predictions, and Actions introduces graduate students to the essentials of machine learning while offering invaluable perspective on its history and social implications. Beginning with the foundations of decision making, Moritz Hardt and Benjamin Recht explain how representation, optimization, and generalization are the constituents of supervised learning. They go on to provide self-contained discussions of causality, the practice of causal inference, sequential decision making, and reinforcement learning, equipping readers with the concepts and tools they need to assess the consequences that may arise from acting on statistical decisions. Provides a modern introduction to machine learning, showing how data patterns support predictions and consequential actions Pays special attention to societal impacts and fairness in decision making Traces the development of machine learning from its origins to today Features a novel chapter on machine learning benchmarks and datasets Invites readers from all backgrounds, requiring some experience with probability, calculus, and linear algebra An essential textbook for students and a guide for researchers

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link (url) [BibTex]

2022


link (url) [BibTex]


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Reinforcement Learning Algorithms: Analysis and Applications

Belousov, B., H., A., Klink, P., Parisi, S., Peters, J.

883, Studies in Computational Intelligence, Springer International Publishing, 2021 (book)

ei

DOI [BibTex]

DOI [BibTex]


Scientific Report 2016 - 2021
Scientific Report 2016 - 2021
2021 (mpi_year_book)

Abstract
This report presents research done at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems from January2016 to November 2021. It is our fourth report since the founding of the institute in 2011. Dueto the fact that the upcoming evaluation is an extended one, the report covers a longer reportingperiod.This scientific report is organized as follows: we begin with an overview of the institute, includingan outline of its structure, an introduction of our latest research departments, and a presentationof our main collaborative initiatives and activities (Chapter1). The central part of the scientificreport consists of chapters on the research conducted by the institute’s departments (Chapters2to6) and its independent research groups (Chapters7 to24), as well as the work of the institute’scentral scientific facilities (Chapter25). For entities founded after January 2016, the respectivereport sections cover work done from the date of the establishment of the department, group, orfacility. These chapters are followed by a summary of selected outreach activities and scientificevents hosted by the institute (Chapter26). The scientific publications of the featured departmentsand research groups published during the 6-year review period complete this scientific report.

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Scientific Report 2016 - 2021 [BibTex]

2020


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Voltage dependent interfacial magnetism in multilayer systems

Nacke, R.

Universität Stuttgart, Stuttgart, December 2020 (thesis)

mms

[BibTex]

2020


[BibTex]


Computer Vision for Autonomous Vehicles: Problems, Datasets and State-of-the-Art
Computer Vision for Autonomous Vehicles: Problems, Datasets and State-of-the-Art

Janai, J., Güney, F., Behl, A., Geiger, A.

12(1-3), Foundations and Trends® in Computer Graphics and Vision, now Publishers Inc., Hanover, MA, 2020 (book)

Abstract
Recent years have witnessed enormous progress in AI-related fields such as computer vision, machine learning, and autonomous vehicles. As with any rapidly growing field, it becomes increasingly difficult to stay up-to-date or enter the field as a beginner. While several survey papers on particular sub-problems have appeared, no comprehensive survey on problems, datasets, and methods in computer vision for autonomous vehicles has been published. This monograph attempts to narrow this gap by providing a survey on the state-of-the-art datasets and techniques. Our survey includes both the historically most relevant literature as well as the current state of the art on several specific topics, including recognition, reconstruction, motion estimation, tracking, scene understanding, and end-to-end learning for autonomous driving. Towards this goal, we analyze the performance of the state of the art on several challenging benchmarking datasets, including KITTI, MOT, and Cityscapes. Besides, we discuss open problems and current research challenges. To ease accessibility and accommodate missing references, we also provide a website that allows navigating topics as well as methods and provides additional information.

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pdf Project Page link DOI Project Page [BibTex]

pdf Project Page link DOI Project Page [BibTex]

2019


Scientific Report 2016 - 2018
Scientific Report 2016 - 2018
2019 (mpi_year_book)

Abstract
This report presents research done at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems from January 2016 to December 2018. It is our third report since the founding of the institute in 2011. This status report is organized as follows: we begin with an overview of the institute, including its organizational structure (Chapter 1). The central part of the scientific report consists of chapters on the research conducted by the institute’s departments (Chapters 2 to 5) and its independent research groups (Chapters 6 to 18), as well as the work of the institute’s central scientific facilities (Chapter 19). For entities founded after January 2016, the respective report sections cover work done from the date of the establishment of the department, group, or facility.

ei hi ps pi

Scientific Report 2016 - 2018 [BibTex]


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Prototyping Micro- and Nano-Optics with Focused Ion Beam Lithography

Keskinbora, K.

SL48, pages: 46, SPIE.Spotlight, SPIE Press, Bellingham, WA, 2019 (book)

mms

DOI [BibTex]

DOI [BibTex]

2018


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Nanorobots propel through the eye

Wu, Z., Troll, J., Jeong, H., Qiang, W., Stang, M., Ziemssen, F., Wang, Z., Dong, M., Schnichels, S., Qiu, T., Fischer, P.

Max Planck Society, 2018 (mpi_year_book)

Abstract
Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems in Stuttgart developed specially coated nanometer-sized robots that could be moved actively through dense tissue like the vitreous of the eye. So far, the transport of such nano-vehicles has only been demonstrated in model systems or biological fluids, but not in real tissue. Our work constitutes one step further towards nanorobots becoming minimally-invasive tools for precisely delivering medicine to where it is needed.

pf

link (url) [BibTex]

2018


link (url) [BibTex]

2017


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Elements of Causal Inference - Foundations and Learning Algorithms

Peters, J., Janzing, D., Schölkopf, B.

Adaptive Computation and Machine Learning Series, The MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, USA, 2017 (book)

ei

PDF link (url) [BibTex]

2017


PDF link (url) [BibTex]


Mobile Microrobotics
Mobile Microrobotics

Sitti, M.

Mobile Microrobotics, The MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, 2017 (book)

Abstract
Progress in micro- and nano-scale science and technology has created a demand for new microsystems for high-impact applications in healthcare, biotechnology, manufacturing, and mobile sensor networks. The new robotics field of microrobotics has emerged to extend our interactions and explorations to sub-millimeter scales. This is the first textbook on micron-scale mobile robotics, introducing the fundamentals of design, analysis, fabrication, and control, and drawing on case studies of existing approaches. The book covers the scaling laws that can be used to determine the dominant forces and effects at the micron scale; models forces acting on microrobots, including surface forces, friction, and viscous drag; and describes such possible microfabrication techniques as photo-lithography, bulk micromachining, and deep reactive ion etching. It presents on-board and remote sensing methods, noting that remote sensors are currently more feasible; studies possible on-board microactuators; discusses self-propulsion methods that use self-generated local gradients and fields or biological cells in liquid environments; and describes remote microrobot actuation methods for use in limited spaces such as inside the human body. It covers possible on-board powering methods, indispensable in future medical and other applications; locomotion methods for robots on surfaces, in liquids, in air, and on fluid-air interfaces; and the challenges of microrobot localization and control, in particular multi-robot control methods for magnetic microrobots. Finally, the book addresses current and future applications, including noninvasive medical diagnosis and treatment, environmental remediation, and scientific tools.

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Mobile Microrobotics By Metin Sitti - Chapter 1 (PDF) link (url) [BibTex]

Mobile Microrobotics By Metin Sitti - Chapter 1 (PDF) link (url) [BibTex]

2015


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Policy Search for Imitation Learning

Doerr, A.

University of Stuttgart, January 2015 (thesis)

am ics

link (url) Project Page [BibTex]

2015


link (url) Project Page [BibTex]

2014


Advanced Structured Prediction
Advanced Structured Prediction

Nowozin, S., Gehler, P. V., Jancsary, J., Lampert, C. H.

Advanced Structured Prediction, pages: 432, Neural Information Processing Series, MIT Press, November 2014 (book)

Abstract
The goal of structured prediction is to build machine learning models that predict relational information that itself has structure, such as being composed of multiple interrelated parts. These models, which reflect prior knowledge, task-specific relations, and constraints, are used in fields including computer vision, speech recognition, natural language processing, and computational biology. They can carry out such tasks as predicting a natural language sentence, or segmenting an image into meaningful components. These models are expressive and powerful, but exact computation is often intractable. A broad research effort in recent years has aimed at designing structured prediction models and approximate inference and learning procedures that are computationally efficient. This volume offers an overview of this recent research in order to make the work accessible to a broader research community. The chapters, by leading researchers in the field, cover a range of topics, including research trends, the linear programming relaxation approach, innovations in probabilistic modeling, recent theoretical progress, and resource-aware learning.

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publisher link (url) [BibTex]

2014


publisher link (url) [BibTex]


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Learning Motor Skills: From Algorithms to Robot Experiments

Kober, J., Peters, J.

97, pages: 191, Springer Tracts in Advanced Robotics, Springer, 2014 (book)

ei

DOI [BibTex]

DOI [BibTex]


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Development of advanced methods for improving astronomical images

Schmeißer, N.

Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, Germany, Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, Germany, 2014 (diplomathesis)

ei

[BibTex]

[BibTex]

2013


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Camera-specific Image Denoising

Schober, M.

Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, Germany, October 2013 (diplomathesis)

ei pn

PDF [BibTex]

2013


PDF [BibTex]


Consumer Depth Cameras for Computer Vision - Research Topics and Applications
Consumer Depth Cameras for Computer Vision - Research Topics and Applications

Fossati, A., Gall, J., Grabner, H., Ren, X., Konolige, K.

Advances in Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition, Springer, 2012 (book)

ps

publisher's site [BibTex]

publisher's site [BibTex]


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The Playful Machine - Theoretical Foundation and Practical Realization of Self-Organizing Robots

Der, R., Martius, G.

Springer, Berlin Heidelberg, 2012 (book)

Abstract
Autonomous robots may become our closest companions in the near future. While the technology for physically building such machines is already available today, a problem lies in the generation of the behavior for such complex machines. Nature proposes a solution: young children and higher animals learn to master their complex brain-body systems by playing. Can this be an option for robots? How can a machine be playful? The book provides answers by developing a general principle---homeokinesis, the dynamical symbiosis between brain, body, and environment---that is shown to drive robots to self-determined, individual development in a playful and obviously embodiment-related way: a dog-like robot starts playing with a barrier, eventually jumping or climbing over it; a snakebot develops coiling and jumping modes; humanoids develop climbing behaviors when fallen into a pit, or engage in wrestling-like scenarios when encountering an opponent. The book also develops guided self-organization, a new method that helps to make the playful machines fit for fulfilling tasks in the real world.

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link (url) [BibTex]

2011


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Optimization for Machine Learning

Sra, S., Nowozin, S., Wright, S.

pages: 494, Neural information processing series, MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, USA, December 2011 (book)

Abstract
The interplay between optimization and machine learning is one of the most important developments in modern computational science. Optimization formulations and methods are proving to be vital in designing algorithms to extract essential knowledge from huge volumes of data. Machine learning, however, is not simply a consumer of optimization technology but a rapidly evolving field that is itself generating new optimization ideas. This book captures the state of the art of the interaction between optimization and machine learning in a way that is accessible to researchers in both fields. Optimization approaches have enjoyed prominence in machine learning because of their wide applicability and attractive theoretical properties. The increasing complexity, size, and variety of today's machine learning models call for the reassessment of existing assumptions. This book starts the process of reassessment. It describes the resurgence in novel contexts of established frameworks such as first-order methods, stochastic approximations, convex relaxations, interior-point methods, and proximal methods. It also devotes attention to newer themes such as regularized optimization, robust optimization, gradient and subgradient methods, splitting techniques, and second-order methods. Many of these techniques draw inspiration from other fields, including operations research, theoretical computer science, and subfields of optimization. The book will enrich the ongoing cross-fertilization between the machine learning community and these other fields, and within the broader optimization community.

ei

Web [BibTex]

2011


Web [BibTex]


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Bayesian Time Series Models

Barber, D., Cemgil, A., Chiappa, S.

pages: 432, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, August 2011 (book)

ei

[BibTex]

[BibTex]


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Handbook of Statistical Bioinformatics

Lu, H., Schölkopf, B., Zhao, H.

pages: 627, Springer Handbooks of Computational Statistics, Springer, Berlin, Germany, 2011 (book)

ei

Web DOI [BibTex]

Web DOI [BibTex]

2010


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Inferring High-Dimensional Causal Relations using Free Probability Theory

Zscheischler, J.

Humboldt Universität Berlin, Germany, August 2010 (diplomathesis)

ei

PDF [BibTex]

2010


PDF [BibTex]


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Semi-supervised Subspace Learning and Application to Human Functional Magnetic Brain Resonance Imaging Data

Shelton, J.

Biologische Kybernetik, Eberhard Karls Universität, Tübingen, Germany, July 2010 (diplomathesis)

ei

PDF [BibTex]

PDF [BibTex]


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Quantitative Evaluation of MR-based Attenuation Correction for Positron Emission Tomography (PET)

Mantlik, F.

Biologische Kybernetik, Universität Mannheim, Germany, March 2010 (diplomathesis)

ei

[BibTex]

[BibTex]


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From Motor Learning to Interaction Learning in Robots

Sigaud, O., Peters, J.

pages: 538, Studies in Computational Intelligence ; 264, (Editors: O Sigaud, J Peters), Springer, Berlin, Germany, January 2010 (book)

Abstract
From an engineering standpoint, the increasing complexity of robotic systems and the increasing demand for more autonomously learning robots, has become essential. This book is largely based on the successful workshop "From motor to interaction learning in robots" held at the IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robot Systems. The major aim of the book is to give students interested the topics described above a chance to get started faster and researchers a helpful compandium.

ei

Web DOI [BibTex]

Web DOI [BibTex]


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Finding Gene-Gene Interactions using Support Vector Machines

Rakitsch, B.

Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, Germany, 2010 (diplomathesis)

ei

[BibTex]

[BibTex]


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Detecting the mincut in sparse random graphs

Köhler, R.

Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, Germany, 2010 (diplomathesis)

ei

[BibTex]

[BibTex]


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Handbook of Hydrogen Storage

Hirscher, M.

pages: 353 p., Wiley-VCH, Weinheim, 2010 (book)

mms

[BibTex]

[BibTex]

2009


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Motor Control and Learning in Table Tennis

Mülling, K.

Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, Gerrmany, 2009 (diplomathesis)

ei

[BibTex]

2009


[BibTex]


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Hierarchical Clustering and Density Estimation Based on k-nearest-neighbor graphs

Drewe, P.

Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, Germany, 2009 (diplomathesis)

ei

[BibTex]

[BibTex]

2008


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Reinforcement Learning for Motor Primitives

Kober, J.

Biologische Kybernetik, University of Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Germany, August 2008 (diplomathesis)

ei

PDF [BibTex]

2008


PDF [BibTex]


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Asymmetries of Time Series under Inverting their Direction

Peters, J.

Biologische Kybernetik, University of Heidelberg, August 2008 (diplomathesis)

ei

PDF [BibTex]

PDF [BibTex]


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Pairwise Correlations and Multineuronal Firing Patterns in Primary Visual Cortex

Berens, P.

Biologische Kybernetik, Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany, April 2008 (diplomathesis)

ei

[BibTex]

[BibTex]


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Development and Application of a Python Scripting Framework for BCI2000

Schreiner, T.

Biologische Kybernetik, Eberhard-Karls-Universität Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany, January 2008 (diplomathesis)

ei

[BibTex]

[BibTex]

2007


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Statistical Learning Theory Approaches to Clustering

Jegelka, S.

Biologische Kybernetik, Eberhard-Karls-Universität Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany, November 2007 (diplomathesis)

ei

PDF [BibTex]

2007


PDF [BibTex]


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Predicting Structured Data

Bakir, G., Hofmann, T., Schölkopf, B., Smola, A., Taskar, B., Vishwanathan, S.

pages: 360, Advances in neural information processing systems, MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, USA, September 2007 (book)

Abstract
Machine learning develops intelligent computer systems that are able to generalize from previously seen examples. A new domain of machine learning, in which the prediction must satisfy the additional constraints found in structured data, poses one of machine learning’s greatest challenges: learning functional dependencies between arbitrary input and output domains. This volume presents and analyzes the state of the art in machine learning algorithms and theory in this novel field. The contributors discuss applications as diverse as machine translation, document markup, computational biology, and information extraction, among others, providing a timely overview of an exciting field.

ei

Web [BibTex]

Web [BibTex]


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Error Correcting Codes for the P300 Visual Speller

Biessmann, F.

Biologische Kybernetik, Eberhard-Karls-Universität Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany, July 2007 (diplomathesis)

Abstract
The aim of brain-computer interface (BCI) research is to establish a communication system based on intentional modulation of brain activity. This is accomplished by classifying patterns of brain ac- tivity, volitionally induced by the user. The BCI presented in this study is based on a classical paradigm as proposed by (Farwell and Donchin, 1988), the P300 visual speller. Recording electroencephalo- grams (EEG) from the scalp while presenting letters successively to the user, the speller can infer from the brain signal which letter the user was focussing on. Since EEG recordings are noisy, usually many repetitions are needed to detect the correct letter. The focus of this study was to improve the accuracy of the visual speller applying some basic principles from information theory: Stimulus sequences of the speller have been modified into error-correcting codes. Additionally a language model was incorporated into the probabilistic letter de- coder. Classification of single EEG epochs was less accurate using error correcting codes. However, the novel code could compensate for that such that overall, letter accuracies were as high as or even higher than for classical stimulus codes. In particular at high noise levels, error-correcting decoding achieved higher letter accuracies.

ei

PDF [BibTex]

PDF [BibTex]


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A priori Knowledge from Non-Examples

Sinz, FH.

Biologische Kybernetik, Eberhard-Karls-Universität Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany, March 2007 (diplomathesis)

ei

PDF Web [BibTex]

PDF Web [BibTex]


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Development of a Brain-Computer Interface Approach Based on Covert Attention to Tactile Stimuli

Raths, C.

University of Tübingen, Germany, University of Tübingen, Germany, January 2007 (diplomathesis)

ei

[BibTex]

[BibTex]


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A Machine Learning Approach for Estimating the Attenuation Map for a Combined PET/MR Scanner

Hofmann, M.

Biologische Kybernetik, Max-Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen, Germany, 2007 (diplomathesis)

ei

[BibTex]

[BibTex]

2006


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Semi-Supervised Learning

Chapelle, O., Schölkopf, B., Zien, A.

pages: 508, Adaptive computation and machine learning, MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, USA, September 2006 (book)

Abstract
In the field of machine learning, semi-supervised learning (SSL) occupies the middle ground, between supervised learning (in which all training examples are labeled) and unsupervised learning (in which no label data are given). Interest in SSL has increased in recent years, particularly because of application domains in which unlabeled data are plentiful, such as images, text, and bioinformatics. This first comprehensive overview of SSL presents state-of-the-art algorithms, a taxonomy of the field, selected applications, benchmark experiments, and perspectives on ongoing and future research. Semi-Supervised Learning first presents the key assumptions and ideas underlying the field: smoothness, cluster or low-density separation, manifold structure, and transduction. The core of the book is the presentation of SSL methods, organized according to algorithmic strategies. After an examination of generative models, the book describes algorithms that implement the low-density separation assumption, graph-based methods, and algorithms that perform two-step learning. The book then discusses SSL applications and offers guidelines for SSL practitioners by analyzing the results of extensive benchmark experiments. Finally, the book looks at interesting directions for SSL research. The book closes with a discussion of the relationship between semi-supervised learning and transduction.

ei

Web [BibTex]

2006


Web [BibTex]


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Kernel PCA for Image Compression

Huhle, B.

Biologische Kybernetik, Eberhard-Karls-Universität, Tübingen, Germany, April 2006 (diplomathesis)

ei

PDF [BibTex]

PDF [BibTex]


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Gaussian Processes for Machine Learning

Rasmussen, CE., Williams, CKI.

pages: 248, Adaptive Computation and Machine Learning, MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, USA, January 2006 (book)

Abstract
Gaussian processes (GPs) provide a principled, practical, probabilistic approach to learning in kernel machines. GPs have received increased attention in the machine-learning community over the past decade, and this book provides a long-needed systematic and unified treatment of theoretical and practical aspects of GPs in machine learning. The treatment is comprehensive and self-contained, targeted at researchers and students in machine learning and applied statistics. The book deals with the supervised-learning problem for both regression and classification, and includes detailed algorithms. A wide variety of covariance (kernel) functions are presented and their properties discussed. Model selection is discussed both from a Bayesian and a classical perspective. Many connections to other well-known techniques from machine learning and statistics are discussed, including support-vector machines, neural networks, splines, regularization networks, relevance vector machines and others. Theoretical issues including learning curves and the PAC-Bayesian framework are treated, and several approximation methods for learning with large datasets are discussed. The book contains illustrative examples and exercises, and code and datasets are available on the Web. Appendixes provide mathematical background and a discussion of Gaussian Markov processes.

ei

Web [BibTex]

Web [BibTex]

2005


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Implicit Surfaces For Modelling Human Heads

Steinke, F.

Biologische Kybernetik, Eberhard-Karls-Universität, Tübingen, September 2005 (diplomathesis)

ei

[BibTex]

2005


[BibTex]


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Efficient Adaptive Sampling of the Psychometric Function by Maximizing Information Gain

Tanner, TG.

Biologische Kybernetik, Eberhard-Karls University Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany, May 2005 (diplomathesis)

Abstract
A common task in psychophysics is to measure the psychometric function. A psychometric function can be described by its shape and four parameters: offset or threshold, slope or width, false alarm rate or chance level and miss or lapse rate. Depending on the parameters of interest some points on the psychometric function may be more informative than others. Adaptive methods attempt to place trials on the most informative points based on the data collected in previous trials. A new Bayesian adaptive psychometric method placing trials by minimising the expected entropy of the posterior probabilty dis- tribution over a set of possible stimuli is introduced. The method is more flexible, faster and at least as efficient as the established method (Kontsevich and Tyler, 1999). Comparably accurate (2dB) threshold and slope estimates can be obtained after about 30 and 500 trials, respectively. By using a dynamic termination criterion the efficiency can be further improved. The method can be applied to all experimental designs including yes/no designs and allows acquisition of any set of free parameters. By weighting the importance of parameters one can include nuisance parameters and adjust the relative expected errors. Use of nuisance parameters may lead to more accurate estimates than assuming a guessed fixed value. Block designs are supported and do not harm the performance if a sufficient number of trials are performed. The method was evaluated by computer simulations in which the role of parametric assumptions, its robustness, the quality of different point estimates, the effect of dynamic termination criteria and many other settings were investigated.

ei

[BibTex]

[BibTex]