Few developments have influenced the field of computer vision in the last decade more than the introduction of statistical machine learning techniques. Particularly kernel-based classifiers, such as the support vector machine, have become indispensable tools, providing a unified framework for solving a wide range of image-related prediction tasks, including face recognition, object detection and action classification. By emphasizing the geometric intuition that all kernel methods rely on, Kernel Methods in Computer Vision provides an introduction to kernel-based machine learning techniques accessible to a wide audience including students, researchers and practitioners alike, without sacrificing mathematical correctness. It covers not only support vector machines but also less known techniques for kernel-based regression, outlier detection, clustering and dimensionality reduction. Additionally, it offers an outlook on recent developments in kernel methods that have not yet made it into the regular textbooks: structured prediction, dependency estimation and learning of the kernel function. Each topic is illustrated with examples of successful application in the computer vision literature, making Kernel Methods in Computer Vision a useful guide not only for those wanting to understand the working principles of kernel methods, but also for anyone wanting to apply them to real-life problems.

Offering a fundamental basis in kernel-based learning theory, this book covers both statistical and algebraic principles. It provides over 30 major theorems for kernel-based supervised and unsupervised learning models. The first of the theorems establishes a condition, arguably necessary and sufficient, for the kernelization of learning models. In addition, several other theorems are devoted to proving mathematical equivalence between seemingly unrelated models. With over 25 closed-form and iterative algorithms, the book provides a step-by-step guide to algorithmic procedures and analysing which factors to consider in tackling a given problem, enabling readers to improve specifically designed learning algorithms, build models for new applications and develop efficient techniques suitable for green machine learning technologies. Numerous real-world examples and over 200 problems, several of which are Matlab-based simulation exercises, make this an essential resource for graduate students and professionals in computer science, electrical and biomedical engineering. Solutions to problems are provided online for instructors.

Publisher Description

"This book presents an extensive introduction to the field of kernel methods and real world applications. The book is organized in four parts: the first is an introductory chapter providing a framework of kernel methods; the others address Bioegineering, Signal Processing and Communications and Image Processing"--Provided by publisher.

An overview of the theory and application of kernel classification methods. Linear classifiers in kernel spaces have emerged as a major topic within the field of machine learning. The kernel technique takes the linear classifier—a limited, but well-established and comprehensively studied model—and extends its applicability to a wide range of nonlinear pattern-recognition tasks such as natural language processing, machine vision, and biological sequence analysis. This book provides the first comprehensive overview of both the theory and algorithms of kernel classifiers, including the most recent developments. It begins by describing the major algorithmic advances: kernel perceptron learning, kernel Fisher discriminants, support vector machines, relevance vector machines, Gaussian processes, and Bayes point machines. Then follows a detailed introduction to learning theory, including VC and PAC-Bayesian theory, data-dependent structural risk minimization, and compression bounds. Throughout, the book emphasizes the interaction between theory and algorithms: how learning algorithms work and why. The book includes many examples, complete pseudo code of the algorithms presented, and an extensive source code library.

This book provides a unique treatment of an important area of machine learning and answers the question of how kernel methods can be applied to structured data. Kernel methods are a class of state-of-the-art learning algorithms that exhibit excellent learning results in several application domains. Originally, kernel methods were developed with data in mind that can easily be embedded in a Euclidean vector space. Much real-world data does not have this property but is inherently structured. An example of such data, often consulted in the book, is the (2D) graph structure of molecules formed by their atoms and bonds. The book guides the reader from the basics of kernel methods to advanced algorithms and kernel design for structured data. It is thus useful for readers who seek an entry point into the field as well as experienced researchers.

This second edition focuses on audio, image and video data, the three main types of input that machines deal with when interacting with the real world. A set of appendices provides the reader with self-contained introductions to the mathematical background necessary to read the book. Divided into three main parts, From Perception to Computation introduces methodologies aimed at representing the data in forms suitable for computer processing, especially when it comes to audio and images. Whilst the second part, Machine Learning includes an extensive overview of statistical techniques aimed at addressing three main problems, namely classification (automatically assigning a data sample to one of the classes belonging to a predefined set), clustering (automatically grouping data samples according to the similarity of their properties) and sequence analysis (automatically mapping a sequence of observations into a sequence of human-understandable symbols). The third part Applications shows how the abstract problems defined in the second part underlie technologies capable to perform complex tasks such as the recognition of hand gestures or the transcription of handwritten data. Machine Learning for Audio, Image and Video Analysis is suitable for students to acquire a solid background in machine learning as well as for practitioners to deepen their knowledge of the state-of-the-art. All application chapters are based on publicly available data and free software packages, thus allowing readers to replicate the experiments.