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Publications
Learning and Aligning Structured Random Feature Networks
Artificial neural networks (ANNs) are considered "black boxes'' due to the difficulty of interpreting their learned weights.
While choosing… (see more) the best features is not well understood, random feature networks (RFNs) and wavelet scattering ground some ANN learning mechanisms in function space with tractable mathematics. Meanwhile, the genetic code has evolved over millions of years, shaping the brain to develop variable neural circuits with reliable structure that resemble RFNs. We explore a similar approach, embedding neuro-inspired, wavelet-like weights into multilayer RFNs. These can outperform scattering and have kernels that describe their function space at large width. We build learnable and deeper versions of these models where we can optimize separate spatial and channel covariances of the convolutional weight distributions. We find that these networks can perform comparatively with conventional ANNs while dramatically reducing the number of trainable parameters. Channel covariances are most influential, and both weight and activation alignment are needed for classification performance. Our work outlines how neuro-inspired configurations may lead to better performance in key cases and offers a potentially tractable reduced model for ANN learning.
High throughput satellites (HTSs) outpace traditional satellites due to their multi-beam transmission. The rise of low Earth orbit mega cons… (see more)tellations amplifies HTS data rate demands to terabits/second with acceptable latency. This surge in data rate necessitates multiple modems, often exceeding single device capabilities. Consequently, satellites employ several processors, forming a complex packet-switch network. This can lead to potential internal congestion and challenges in adhering to strict quality of service (QoS) constraints. While significant research exists on constellation-level routing, a literature gap remains on the internal routing within a single HTS. The intricacy of this internal network architecture presents a significant challenge to achieve high data rates. This paper introduces an online optimal flow allocation and scheduling method for HTSs. The problem is presented as a multi-commodity flow instance with different priority data streams. An initial full time horizon model is proposed as a benchmark. We apply a model predictive control (MPC) approach to enable adaptive routing based on current information and the forecast within the prediction time horizon while allowing for deviation of the latter. Importantly, MPC is inherently suited to handle uncertainty in incoming flows. Our approach minimizes the packet loss by optimally and adaptively managing the priority queue schedulers and flow exchanges between satellite processing modules. Central to our method is a routing model focusing on optimal priority scheduling to enhance data rates and maintain QoS. The model's stages are critically evaluated, and results are compared to traditional methods via numerical simulations. Through simulations, our method demonstrates performance nearly on par with the hindsight optimum, showcasing its efficiency and adaptability in addressing satellite communication challenges.
This article presents a three-layer hierarchical distributed framework for optimal electric vehicle charging scheduling (EVCS). The proposed… (see more) hierarchical EVCS structure includes a distribution system operator (DSO) at the top layer, electric vehicle aggregators (EVAs) at the middle layer, and electric vehicles (EVs) charging stations at the bottom layer. A single-loop iterative algorithm is developed to solve the EVCS problem by combining the alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM) and the distribution line power flow model (DistFlow). Using the single-loop structure, the primal variables of all agents are updated simultaneously at every iteration resulting in a reduced number of iterations and faster convergence. The developed framework is employed to provide charging cost minimization at the EV charging stations level, peak load shaving at the EVAs level, and voltage regulation at the DSO level. In order to further improve the performance of the optimization framework, a neural network-based load forecasting model is implemented to include the uncertainties related to non-EV residential load demand. The efficiency and the optimality of the proposed EVCS framework are evaluated through numerical simulations, conducted for a modified IEEE 13 bus test feeder with different EV penetration levels.
2024-03-01
IEEE Transactions on Transportation Electrification (published)
This article presents a three-layer hierarchical distributed framework for optimal electric vehicle charging scheduling (EVCS). The proposed… (see more) hierarchical EVCS structure includes a distribution system operator (DSO) at the top layer, electric vehicle aggregators (EVAs) at the middle layer, and electric vehicles (EVs) charging stations at the bottom layer. A single-loop iterative algorithm is developed to solve the EVCS problem by combining the alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM) and the distribution line power flow model (DistFlow). Using the single-loop structure, the primal variables of all agents are updated simultaneously at every iteration resulting in a reduced number of iterations and faster convergence. The developed framework is employed to provide charging cost minimization at the EV charging stations level, peak load shaving at the EVAs level, and voltage regulation at the DSO level. In order to further improve the performance of the optimization framework, a neural network-based load forecasting model is implemented to include the uncertainties related to non-EV residential load demand. The efficiency and the optimality of the proposed EVCS framework are evaluated through numerical simulations, conducted for a modified IEEE 13 bus test feeder with different EV penetration levels.
2024-03-01
IEEE Transactions on Transportation Electrification (published)
This article presents a three-layer hierarchical distributed framework for optimal electric vehicle charging scheduling (EVCS). The proposed… (see more) hierarchical EVCS structure includes a distribution system operator (DSO) at the top layer, electric vehicle aggregators (EVAs) at the middle layer, and electric vehicles (EVs) charging stations at the bottom layer. A single-loop iterative algorithm is developed to solve the EVCS problem by combining the alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM) and the distribution line power flow model (DistFlow). Using the single-loop structure, the primal variables of all agents are updated simultaneously at every iteration resulting in a reduced number of iterations and faster convergence. The developed framework is employed to provide charging cost minimization at the EV charging stations level, peak load shaving at the EVAs level, and voltage regulation at the DSO level. In order to further improve the performance of the optimization framework, a neural network-based load forecasting model is implemented to include the uncertainties related to non-EV residential load demand. The efficiency and the optimality of the proposed EVCS framework are evaluated through numerical simulations, conducted for a modified IEEE 13 bus test feeder with different EV penetration levels.
2024-03-01
IEEE Transactions on Transportation Electrification (published)
Domain adaptation methods for object detection (OD) strive to mitigate the impact of distribution shifts by promoting feature alignment acro… (see more)ss source and target domains. Multi-source domain adaptation (MSDA) allows leveraging multiple annotated source datasets and unlabeled target data to improve the accuracy and robustness of the detection model. Most state-of-the-art MSDA methods for OD perform feature alignment in a class-agnostic manner. This is challenging since the objects have unique modality information due to variations in object appearance across domains. A recent prototype-based approach proposed a class-wise alignment, yet it suffers from error accumulation caused by noisy pseudo-labels that can negatively affect adaptation with imbalanced data. To overcome these limitations, we propose an attention-based class-conditioned alignment method for MSDA, designed to align instances of each object category across domains. In particular, an attention module combined with an adversarial domain classifier allows learning domain-invariant and class-specific instance representations. Experimental results on multiple benchmarking MSDA datasets indicate that our method outperforms state-of-the-art methods and exhibits robustness to class imbalance, achieved through a conceptually simple class-conditioning strategy. Our code is available at: https://github.com/imatif17/ACIA.
Why are some individuals better at recognising faces? Uncovering the neural mechanisms supporting face recognition ability has proven elusiv… (see more)e. To tackle this challenge, we used a multi-modal data-driven approach combining neuroimaging, computational modelling, and behavioural tests. We recorded the high-density electroencephalographic brain activity of individuals with extraordinary face recognition abilities—super-recognisers—and typical recognisers in response to diverse visual stimuli. Using multivariate pattern analyses, we decoded face recognition abilities from 1 second of brain activity with up to 80% accuracy. To better understand the mechanisms subtending this decoding, we compared computations in the brains of our participants with those in artificial neural network models of vision and semantics, as well as with those involved in human judgments of shape and meaning similarity. Compared to typical recognisers, we found stronger associations between early brain computations of super-recognisers and mid-level computations of vision models as well as shape similarity judgments. Moreover, we found stronger associations between late brain representations of super-recognisers and computations of the artificial semantic model as well as meaning similarity judgments. Overall, these results indicate that important individual variations in brain processing, including neural computations extending beyond purely visual processes, support differences in face recognition abilities. They provide the first empirical evidence for an association between semantic computations and face recognition abilities. We believe that such multi-modal data-driven approaches will likely play a critical role in further revealing the complex nature of idiosyncratic face recognition in the human brain. Significance The ability to robustly recognise faces is crucial to our success as social beings. Yet, we still know little about the brain mechanisms allowing some individuals to excel at face recognition. This study builds on a sizeable neural dataset measuring the brain activity of individuals with extraordinary face recognition abilities—super-recognisers—to tackle this challenge. Using state-of-the-art computational methods, we show robust prediction of face recognition abilities in single individuals from a mere second of brain activity, and revealed specific brain computations supporting individual differences in face recognition ability. Doing so, we provide direct empirical evidence for an association between semantic computations and face recognition abilities in the human brain—a key component of prominent face recognition models.
Dissecting Deep RL with High Update Ratios: Combatting Value Overestimation and Divergence
Marcel Hussing
Claas Voelcker
Igor Gilitschenski
Amir-massoud Farahmand
Eric Eaton
We show that deep reinforcement learning can maintain its ability to learn without resetting network parameters in settings where the number… (see more) of gradient updates greatly exceeds the number of environment samples. Under such large update-to-data ratios, a recent study by Nikishin et al. (2022) suggested the emergence of a primacy bias , in which agents overfit early interactions and downplay later experience, impairing their ability to learn. In this work, we dissect the phenomena underlying the primacy bias. We inspect the early stages of training that ought to cause the failure to learn and find that a fundamental challenge is a long-standing acquaintance: value overestimation. Overinflated Q-values are found not only on out-of-distribution but also in-distribution data and can be traced to unseen action prediction propelled by optimizer momentum. We employ a simple unit-ball normalization that enables learning under large update ratios, show its efficacy on the widely used dm_control suite, and obtain strong performance on the challenging dog tasks, competitive with model-based approaches. Our results question, in parts, the prior explanation for sub-optimal learning due to overfitting on early data.
Federated learning (FL) is a key solution for datadriven the Artificial Intelligence of Things (AIoT). Although much progress has been made,… (see more) scalability remains a core challenge for real-world FL deployments. Existing solutions either suffer from accuracy loss or do not fully address the connectivity dynamicity of FL systems. In this article, we tackle the scalability issue with a novel, adaptive FL framework called FedSwarm, which improves system scalability for AIoT by deploying multiple collaborative edge servers. FedSwarm has two novel features: 1) adaptiveness on the number of local updates and 2) dynamicity of the synchronization between edge devices and edge servers. We formulate FedSwarm as a local update adaptation and perdevice dynamic server selection problem and prove FedSwarm‘s convergence bound. We further design a control mechanism consisting of a learning-based algorithm for collaboratively providing local update adaptation on the servers’ side and a bonus-based strategy for spurring dynamic per-device server selection on the devices’ side. Our extensive evaluation shows that FedSwarm significantly outperforms other studies with better scalability, lower energy consumption, and higher model accuracy.
Federated learning (FL) is a key solution for datadriven the Artificial Intelligence of Things (AIoT). Although much progress has been made,… (see more) scalability remains a core challenge for real-world FL deployments. Existing solutions either suffer from accuracy loss or do not fully address the connectivity dynamicity of FL systems. In this article, we tackle the scalability issue with a novel, adaptive FL framework called FedSwarm, which improves system scalability for AIoT by deploying multiple collaborative edge servers. FedSwarm has two novel features: 1) adaptiveness on the number of local updates and 2) dynamicity of the synchronization between edge devices and edge servers. We formulate FedSwarm as a local update adaptation and perdevice dynamic server selection problem and prove FedSwarm‘s convergence bound. We further design a control mechanism consisting of a learning-based algorithm for collaboratively providing local update adaptation on the servers’ side and a bonus-based strategy for spurring dynamic per-device server selection on the devices’ side. Our extensive evaluation shows that FedSwarm significantly outperforms other studies with better scalability, lower energy consumption, and higher model accuracy.
Heterogeneous ensemble prediction model of CO emission concentration in municipal solid waste incineration process using virtual data and real data hybrid-driven
