We present YOLO, a new approach to object detection. Prior work on object detection repurposes classifiers to perform detection. Instead, we frame object detection as a regression problem to spatially separated bounding boxes and associated class probabilities. A single neural network predicts bounding boxes and class probabilities directly from full images in one evaluation. Since the whole detection pipeline is a single network, it can be optimized end-to-end directly on detection performance. Our unified architecture is extremely fast. Our base YOLO model processes images in real-time at 45 frames per second. A smaller version of the network, Fast YOLO, processes an astounding 155 frames per second while still achieving double the mAP of other real-time detectors. Compared to state-of-the-art detection systems, YOLO makes more localization errors but is less likely to predict false positives on background. Finally, YOLO learns very general representations of objects. It outperforms other detection methods, including DPM and R-CNN, when generalizing from natural images to other domains like artwork.

/pdf/you-only-look-once-unified-real-time-object-detection-3gan6roe1o.pdf

You Only Look Once: Unified, Real-Time Object Detection

Machine Learning is the study of methods for programming computers to learn. Computers are applied to a wide range of tasks, and for most of these it is relatively easy for programmers to design and implement the necessary software. However, there are many tasks for which this is difficult or impossible. These can be divided into four general categories. First, there are problems for which there exist no human experts. For example, in modern automated manufacturing facilities, there is a need to predict machine failures before they occur by analyzing sensor readings. Because the machines are new, there are no human experts who can be interviewed by a programmer to provide the knowledge necessary to build a computer system. A machine learning system can study recorded data and subsequent machine failures and learn prediction rules. Second, there are problems where human experts exist, but where they are unable to explain their expertise. This is the case in many perceptual tasks, such as speech recognition, hand-writing recognition, and natural language understanding. Virtually all humans exhibit expert-level abilities on these tasks, but none of them can describe the detailed steps that they follow as they perform them. Fortunately, humans can provide machines with examples of the inputs and correct outputs for these tasks, so machine learning algorithms can learn to map the inputs to the outputs. Third, there are problems where phenomena are changing rapidly. In finance, for example, people would like to predict the future behavior of the stock market, of consumer purchases, or of exchange rates. These behaviors change frequently, so that even if a programmer could construct a good predictive computer program, it would need to be rewritten frequently. A learning program can relieve the programmer of this burden by constantly modifying and tuning a set of learned prediction rules. Fourth, there are applications that need to be customized for each computer user separately. Consider, for example, a program to filter unwanted electronic mail messages. Different users will need different filters. It is unreasonable to expect each user to program his or her own rules, and it is infeasible to provide every user with a software engineer to keep the rules up-to-date. A machine learning system can learn which mail messages the user rejects and maintain the filtering rules automatically. Machine learning addresses many of the same research questions as the fields of statistics, data mining, and psychology, but with differences of emphasis. Statistics focuses on understanding the phenomena that have generated the data, often with the goal of testing different hypotheses about those phenomena. Data mining seeks to find patterns in the data that are understandable by people. Psychological studies of human learning aspire to understand the mechanisms underlying the various learning behaviors exhibited by people (concept learning, skill acquisition, strategy change, etc.).

Machine learning

Probability Distributions.- Linear Models for Regression.- Linear Models for Classification.- Neural Networks.- Kernel Methods.- Sparse Kernel Machines.- Graphical Models.- Mixture Models and EM.- Approximate Inference.- Sampling Methods.- Continuous Latent Variables.- Sequential Data.- Combining Models.

Pattern Recognition and Machine Learning

We consider the problem of automatically recognizing human faces from frontal views with varying expression and illumination, as well as occlusion and disguise. We cast the recognition problem as one of classifying among multiple linear regression models and argue that new theory from sparse signal representation offers the key to addressing this problem. Based on a sparse representation computed by C1-minimization, we propose a general classification algorithm for (image-based) object recognition. This new framework provides new insights into two crucial issues in face recognition: feature extraction and robustness to occlusion. For feature extraction, we show that if sparsity in the recognition problem is properly harnessed, the choice of features is no longer critical. What is critical, however, is whether the number of features is sufficiently large and whether the sparse representation is correctly computed. Unconventional features such as downsampled images and random projections perform just as well as conventional features such as eigenfaces and Laplacianfaces, as long as the dimension of the feature space surpasses certain threshold, predicted by the theory of sparse representation. This framework can handle errors due to occlusion and corruption uniformly by exploiting the fact that these errors are often sparse with respect to the standard (pixel) basis. The theory of sparse representation helps predict how much occlusion the recognition algorithm can handle and how to choose the training images to maximize robustness to occlusion. We conduct extensive experiments on publicly available databases to verify the efficacy of the proposed algorithm and corroborate the above claims.

/pdf/robust-face-recognition-via-sparse-representation-4bfqv6y74o.pdf

Robust Face Recognition via Sparse Representation

Computational single-cell RNA-seq (scRNA-seq) methods have been successfully applied to experiments representing a single condition, technology, or species to discover and define cellular phenotypes. However, identifying subpopulations of cells that are present across multiple data sets remains challenging. Here, we introduce an analytical strategy for integrating scRNA-seq data sets based on common sources of variation, enabling the identification of shared populations across data sets and downstream comparative analysis. We apply this approach, implemented in our R toolkit Seurat (http://satijalab.org/seurat/), to align scRNA-seq data sets of peripheral blood mononuclear cells under resting and stimulated conditions, hematopoietic progenitors sequenced using two profiling technologies, and pancreatic cell 'atlases' generated from human and mouse islets. In each case, we learn distinct or transitional cell states jointly across data sets, while boosting statistical power through integrated analysis. Our approach facilitates general comparisons of scRNA-seq data sets, potentially deepening our understanding of how distinct cell states respond to perturbation, disease, and evolution.

/pdf/integrating-single-cell-transcriptomic-data-across-different-3dtsi5w7ob.pdf

Integrating single-cell transcriptomic data across different conditions, technologies, and species.

This paper presents a system that is able to track multiple faces under varying pose (tilted and rotated) reliably in real-time. The system consists of two interactive modules. The first module performs detection of face subject to rotations. The second does online learning based face tracking. A mechanism of switching between the two modules is embedded into the system to automatically decide the best strategy for reliable tracking. The mechanism enables smooth transit between the detection and tracking module when one of them gives no results or unreliable results. Results demonstrate that the system can make reliable real-time tracking of multiple faces in complex background under out-of-plane rotation, up to 90 degree tilting, fast nonlinear motion, partial occlusion, large scale changes, and camera motion.

Reliable and Fast Tracking of Faces under Varying Pose.

Softmax loss is arguably one of the most popular losses to train CNN models for image classification. However, recent works have exposed its limitation on feature discriminability. This paper casts a new viewpoint on the weakness of softmax loss. On the one hand, the CNN features learned using the softmax loss are often inadequately discriminative. We hence introduce a soft-margin softmax function to explicitly encourage the discrimination between different classes. On the other hand, the learned classifier of softmax loss is weak. We propose to assemble multiple these weak classifiers to a strong one, inspired by the recognition that the diversity among weak classifiers is critical to a good ensemble. To achieve the diversity, we adopt the Hilbert-Schmidt Independence Criterion (HSIC). Considering these two aspects in one framework, we design a novel loss, named as Ensemble soft-Margin Softmax (EM-Softmax). Extensive experiments on benchmark datasets are conducted to show the superiority of our design over the baseline softmax loss and several state-of-the-art alternatives.

Ensemble Soft-Margin Softmax Loss for Image Classification

Modeling subspaces of a distribution of interest in high dimensional spaces is a challenging problem in pattern analysis. In this paper, we present a novel framework for pose invariant face detection through. multi-view face distribution modeling. The approach is aimed to learn a set of low-dimensional subspaces from an originally nonlinear distribution by using the mixtures of probabilistic PCA. From the experiments, we found the learned PPCA models are of low dimensionality and exhibit high local linearity, and consequently offer an efficient representation for visual recognition. The model is then used to extract features and select "representative" negative training samples. Multi-view face detection is performed in the derived feature space by classifying each face into one of the view classes or into the nonface class, by using a multi-class SVM array classifier. The classification results from each view are fused together and yields the final classification results. The experimental results demonstrate the performance superiority of our proposed framework while performing multi-view face detection.

/pdf/learning-probabilistic-distribution-model-for-multi-view-2e58o1j8xb.pdf

Learning probabilistic distribution model for multi-view face detection

In this paper, we propose a novel approach based on a single convolutional neural network (CNN) for age estimation. In our proposed network architecture, we first model the randomness of aging with the Gaussian distribution which is used to calculate the Gaussian integral of an age interval. Then, we present a soft softmax regression function used in the network. The new function applies the aging modeling to compute the function loss. Compared with the traditional softmax function, the new function considers not only the chronological age but also the interval nearby true age. Moreover, owing to the complex of Gaussian integral in soft softmax function, a look up table is built to accelerate this process. All the integrals of age values are calculated offline in advance. We evaluate our method on two public datasets: MORPH II and Cross-Age Celebrity Dataset (CACD), and experimental results have shown that the proposed method has gained superior performances compared to the state of the art.

Age Estimation Based on a Single Network with Soft Softmax of Aging Modeling

Applying intelligence algorithms to conceive nanoscale meta-devices becomes a flourishing and extremely active scientific topic over the past few years. Inverse design of functional nanostructures is at the heart of this topic, in which artificial intelligence (AI) furnishes various optimization toolboxes to speed up prototyping of photonic layouts with enhanced performance. In this review, we offer a systemic view on recent advancements in nanophotonic components designed by intelligence algorithms, manifesting a development trend from performance optimizations towards inverse creations of novel designs. To illustrate interplays between two fields, AI and photonics, we take meta-atom spectral manipulation as a case study to introduce algorithm operational principles, and subsequently review their manifold usages among a set of popular meta-elements. As arranged from levels of individual optimized piece to practical system, we discuss algorithm-assisted nanophotonic designs to examine their mutual benefits. We further comment on a set of open questions including reasonable applications of advanced algorithms, expensive data issue, and algorithm benchmarking, etc. Overall, we envision mounting photonic-targeted methodologies to substantially push forward functional artificial meta-devices to profit both fields.

/pdf/intelligent-designs-in-nanophotonics-from-optimization-2cwl6jxeyz.pdf

Stan Z. Li

Papers

Reliable and Fast Tracking of Faces under Varying Pose.

Ensemble Soft-Margin Softmax Loss for Image Classification

Learning probabilistic distribution model for multi-view face detection

Age Estimation Based on a Single Network with Soft Softmax of Aging Modeling

Intelligent designs in nanophotonics: from optimization towards inverse creation