Article
Multi-utility Learning: Structured-Output Learning with Multiple Annotation-Specific Loss Functions
Structured-output learning is a challenging problem; particularly so because of the difficulty in obtaining large datasets of fully labelled instances for training. In this paper we try to overcome this difficulty by presenting a multi-utility learning framework for structured prediction that can learn from training instances with different forms of supervision. We propose a unified technique for inferring the loss functions most suitable for quantifying the consistency of solutions with the given weak annotation. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our framework on the challenging semantic image segmentation problem for which a wide variety of annotations can be used. For instance, the popular training datasets for semantic segmentation are composed of images with hard-to-generate full pixel labellings, as well as images with easy-to-obtain weak annotations, such as bounding boxes around objects, or image-level labels that specify which object categories are present in an image. Experimental evaluation shows that the use of annotation-specific loss functions dramatically improves segmentation accuracy compared to the baseline system where only one type of weak annotation is used.
Inference in high-order graphical models has become important in recent years. Several approaches are based, for example, on generalized message-passing, or on transformation to a pairwise model with extra 'auxiliary' variables. We focus on a special case where a much more efficient transformation is possible. Instead of adding variables, we transform the original problem into a comparatively small instance of submodular vertex-cover. These vertex-cover instances can then be attacked by existing algorithms (e.g. belief propagation, QPBO), where they often run 4-15 times faster and find better solutions than when applied to the original problem. We evaluate our approach on synthetic data, then we show applications within a fast hierarchical clustering and model-fitting framework.
In this paper we consider the Shape Boltzmann Machine(SBM) and its multi-label version MSBM. We present an algorithm for training MSBM using only binary masks of objects and the seeds which approximately correspond to the locations of objects parts.
In the paper we present a new framework for dealing with probabilistic graphical models. Our approach relies on the recently proposed Tensor Train format (TT-format) of a tensor that while being compact allows for efficient application of linear algebra operations. We present a way to convert the energy of a Markov random field to the TT-format and show how one can exploit the properties of the TT-format to attack the tasks of the partition function estimation and the MAP-inference. We provide theoretical guarantees on the accuracy of the proposed algorithm for estimating the partition function and compare our methods against several state-of-the-art algorithms.
We discuss a model for image segmentation that is able to overcome the short-boundary bias observed in standard pairwise random field based approaches. To wit, we show that a random field with multi-layered hidden units can encode boundary preserving higher order potentials such as the ones used in the cooperative cuts model of [11] while still allowing for fast and exact MAP inference. Exact inference allows our model to outperform previous image segmentation methods, and to see the true effect of coupling graph edges. Finally, our model can be easily extended to handle segmentation instances with multiple labels, for which it yields promising results.
In the paper we present a new framework for dealing with probabilistic graphical models. Our approach relies on the recently proposed Tensor Train format (TT-format) of a tensor that while being compact allows for efficient application of linear algebra operations. We present a way to convert the energy of a Markov random field to the TT-format and show how one can exploit the properties of the TT-format to attack the tasks of the partition function estimation and the MAP-inference. We provide theoretical guarantees on the accuracy of the proposed algorithm for estimating the partition function and compare our methods against several state-of-the-art algorithms.
In this paper we address the problem of finding the most probable state of a discrete Markov random field (MRF), also known as the MRF energy minimization problem. The task is known to be NP-hard in general and its practical importance motivates numerous approximate algorithms. We propose a submodular relaxation approach (SMR) based on a Lagrangian relaxation of the initial problem. Unlike the dual decomposition approach of Komodakis et al., 2011 SMR does not decompose the graph structure of the initial problem but constructs a submodular energy that is minimized within the Lagrangian relaxation. Our approach is applicable to both pairwise and high-order MRFs and allows to take into account global potentials of certain types. We study theoretical properties of the proposed approach and evaluate it experimentally.