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ST-Booster: An Iterative SpatioTemporal Perception Booster for Vision-and-Language Navigation in Continuous Environments
Yue, Lu, Zhou, Dongliang, Xie, Liang, Yin, Erwei, Zhang, Feitian
Abstract--Vision-and-Language Navigation in Continuous Environments (VLN-CE) requires agents to navigate previously unseen and continuous spaces based on natural language instructions. Compared to discrete settings, VLN-CE poses two core perception challenges. First, the absence of predefined observation points leads to heterogeneous visual memories and weakened global spatial correlations. Second, cumulative reconstruction errors in three-dimensional scenes introduce structural noise, impairing local feature perception. T o address these challenges, this paper proposes ST -Booster, an iterative spatiotemporal booster that enhances navigation performance through multi-granularity perception and instruction-aware reasoning. ST -Booster consists of three key modules -- Hierarchical SpatioT emporal Encoding (HSTE), Multi-Granularity Aligned Fusion (MGAF), and V alue-Guided Waypoint Generation (VGWG). The resulting representations are iteratively refined through pretraining tasks. During reasoning, VGWG generates Guided Attention Heatmaps (GAHs) to explicitly model environment-instruction relevance and optimize waypoint selection. Extensive comparative experiments and performance analyses are conducted, demonstrating that ST -Booster outperforms existing state-of-the-art methods, particularly in complex, disturbance-prone environments.
Dominated Actions in Imperfect-Information Games
Dominance is a fundamental concept in game theory. In normal-form games dominated strategies can be identified in polynomial time. As a consequence, iterative removal of dominated strategies can be performed efficiently as a preprocessing step for reducing the size of a game before computing a Nash equilibrium. For imperfect-information games in extensive form, we could convert the game to normal form and then iteratively remove dominated strategies in the same way; however, this conversion may cause an exponential blowup in game size. In this paper we define and study the concept of dominated actions in imperfect-information games. Our main result is a polynomial-time algorithm for determining whether an action is dominated (strictly or weakly) by any mixed strategy in n-player games, which can be extended to an algorithm for iteratively removing dominated actions. This allows us to efficiently reduce the size of the game tree as a preprocessing step for Nash equilibrium computation. We explore the role of dominated actions empirically in "All In or Fold" No-Limit Texas Hold'em poker.
On the Temporal Question-Answering Capabilities of Large Language Models Over Anonymized Data
Ruiz, Alfredo Garrachรณn, de la Rosa, Tomรกs, Borrajo, Daniel
The applicability of Large Language Models (LLMs) in temporal reasoning tasks over data that is not present during training is still a field that remains to be explored. In this paper we work on this topic, focusing on structured and semi-structured anonymized data. We not only develop a direct LLM pipeline, but also compare various methodologies and conduct an in-depth analysis. We identified and examined seventeen common temporal reasoning tasks in natural language, focusing on their algorithmic components. To assess LLM performance, we created the \textit{Reasoning and Answering Temporal Ability} dataset (RATA), featuring semi-structured anonymized data to ensure reliance on reasoning rather than on prior knowledge. We compared several methodologies, involving SoTA techniques such as Tree-of-Thought, self-reflexion and code execution, tuned specifically for this scenario. Our results suggest that achieving scalable and reliable solutions requires more than just standalone LLMs, highlighting the need for integrated approaches.
Channel State Information Analysis for Jamming Attack Detection in Static and Dynamic UAV Networks -- An Experimental Study
Mykytyn, Pavlo, Chitauro, Ronald, Dyka, Zoya, Langendoerfer, Peter
--Networks built on the IEEE 802.11 standard have experienced rapid growth in the last decade. Their field of application is vast, including smart home applications, Internet of Things (IoT), and short-range high throughput static and dynamic inter-vehicular communication networks. Within such networks, Channel State Information (CSI) provides a detailed view of the state of the communication channel and represents the combined effects of multipath propagation, scattering, phase shift, fading, and power decay. In this work, we investigate the problem of jamming attack detection in static and dynamic vehicular networks. We utilize ESP32-S3 modules to set up a communication network between an Unmanned Aerial V ehicle (UA V) and a Ground Control Station (GCS), to experimentally test the combined effects of a constant jammer on recorded CSI parameters, and the feasibility of jamming detection through CSI analysis in static and dynamic communication scenarios. The rapid expansion of IEEE 802.11 networks over the past decade has revolutionized wireless communications, particularly in such applications as smart homes [1], Internet of Things (IoT) [2], industrial automation, and short-range high-throughput vehicular networks [3]. This can be contributed to their high throughput capabilities, ease of deployment, and increasingly growing demand for internet connectivity. However, the widespread usage and extensive deployment of these networks make them an attractive target for malicious actors, and thus, more exposed and susceptible to jamming attacks.
IAEmu: Learning Galaxy Intrinsic Alignment Correlations
Pandya, Sneh, Yang, Yuanyuan, Van Alfen, Nicholas, Blazek, Jonathan, Walters, Robin
The intrinsic alignments (IA) of galaxies, a key contaminant in weak lensing analyses, arise from correlations in galaxy shapes driven by tidal interactions and galaxy formation processes. Accurate IA modeling is essential for robust cosmological inference, but current approaches rely on perturbative methods that break down on nonlinear scales or on expensive simulations. We introduce IAEmu, a neural network-based emulator that predicts the galaxy position-position ($ฮพ$), position-orientation ($ฯ$), and orientation-orientation ($ฮท$) correlation functions and their uncertainties using mock catalogs based on the halo occupation distribution (HOD) framework. Compared to simulations, IAEmu achieves ~3% average error for $ฮพ$ and ~5% for $ฯ$, while capturing the stochasticity of $ฮท$ without overfitting. The emulator provides both aleatoric and epistemic uncertainties, helping identify regions where predictions may be less reliable. We also demonstrate generalization to non-HOD alignment signals by fitting to IllustrisTNG hydrodynamical simulation data. As a fully differentiable neural network, IAEmu enables $\sim$10,000$\times$ speed-ups in mapping HOD parameters to correlation functions on GPUs, compared to CPU-based simulations. This acceleration facilitates inverse modeling via gradient-based sampling, making IAEmu a powerful surrogate model for galaxy bias and IA studies with direct applications to Stage IV weak lensing surveys.
StereoDetect: Detecting Stereotypes and Anti-stereotypes the Correct Way Using Social Psychological Underpinnings
Shejole, Kaustubh Shivshankar, Bhattacharyya, Pushpak
Stereotypes are known to have very harmful effects, making their detection critically important. However, current research predominantly focuses on detecting and evaluating stereotypical biases, thereby leaving the study of stereotypes in its early stages. Our study revealed that many works have failed to clearly distinguish between stereotypes and stereotypical biases, which has significantly slowed progress in advancing research in this area. Stereotype and Anti-stereotype detection is a problem that requires social knowledge; hence, it is one of the most difficult areas in Responsible AI. This work investigates this task, where we propose a five-tuple definition and provide precise terminologies disentangling stereotypes, anti-stereotypes, stereotypical bias, and general bias. We provide a conceptual framework grounded in social psychology for reliable detection. We identify key shortcomings in existing benchmarks for this task of stereotype and anti-stereotype detection. To address these gaps, we developed StereoDetect, a well curated, definition-aligned benchmark dataset designed for this task. We show that sub-10B language models and GPT-4o frequently misclassify anti-stereotypes and fail to recognize neutral overgeneralizations. We demonstrate StereoDetect's effectiveness through multiple qualitative and quantitative comparisons with existing benchmarks and models fine-tuned on them. The dataset and code is available at https://github.com/KaustubhShejole/StereoDetect.
Integrating Identity-Based Identification against Adaptive Adversaries in Federated Learning
Szelag, Jakub Kacper, Chin, Ji-Jian, Ansell, Lauren, Yip, Sook-Chin
Federated Learning (FL) has recently emerged as a promising paradigm for privacy-preserving, distributed machine learning. However, FL systems face significant security threats, particularly from adaptive adversaries capable of modifying their attack strategies to evade detection. One such threat is the presence of Reconnecting Malicious Clients (RMCs), which exploit FLs open connectivity by reconnecting to the system with modified attack strategies. To address this vulnerability, we propose integration of Identity-Based Identification (IBI) as a security measure within FL environments. By leveraging IBI, we enable FL systems to authenticate clients based on cryptographic identity schemes, effectively preventing previously disconnected malicious clients from re-entering the system. Our approach is implemented using the TNC-IBI (Tan-Ng-Chin) scheme over elliptic curves to ensure computational efficiency, particularly in resource-constrained environments like Internet of Things (IoT). Experimental results demonstrate that integrating IBI with secure aggregation algorithms, such as Krum and Trimmed Mean, significantly improves FL robustness by mitigating the impact of RMCs. We further discuss the broader implications of IBI in FL security, highlighting research directions for adaptive adversary detection, reputation-based mechanisms, and the applicability of identity-based cryptographic frameworks in decentralized FL architectures. Our findings advocate for a holistic approach to FL security, emphasizing the necessity of proactive defence strategies against evolving adaptive adversarial threats.
A Real-time Face Mask Detection and Social Distancing System for COVID-19 using Attention-InceptionV3 Model
Asif, Abdullah Al, Tisha, Farhana Chowdhury
One of the deadliest pandemics is now happening in the current world due to COVID-19. This contagious virus is spreading like wildfire around the whole world. To minimize the spreading of this virus, World Health Organization (WHO) has made protocols mandatory for wearing face masks and maintaining 6 feet physical distance. In this paper, we have developed a system that can detect the proper maintenance of that distance and people are properly using masks or not. We have used the customized attention-inceptionv3 model in this system for the identification of those two components. We have used two different datasets along with 10,800 images including both with and without Face Mask images. The training accuracy has been achieved 98% and validation accuracy 99.5%. The system can conduct a precision value of around 98.2% and the frame rate per second (FPS) was 25.0. So, with this system, we can identify high-risk areas with the highest possibility of the virus spreading zone. This may help authorities to take necessary steps to locate those risky areas and alert the local people to ensure proper precautions in no time.
A long lost silver dollar may be worth 5 million
The'King of American Coins' remained hidden in a late collector's archive for decades. Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. One of the country's rarest coins is rarer than even expert coin collectors believed. After the surprise discovery of a long-lost 1804 dollar (aka the " King of American Coins "), the rarity's total known count now stands at 16. Regardless of its ranking, the silver coin is expected to fetch significantly more than its original worth when it hits the auction block on December 9. According to auctioneers at Stack's Bowers Galleries, the story begins with former President Andrew Jackson.
Haaland joins Premier League 100 club - who else is in it?
Haaland joins Premier League 100 club - who else is in it? Erling Haaland has become the 35th footballer to join the Premier League's '100 club' by reaching a century of goals in the competition with the opener in Manchester City's fixture at Fulham. The Norwegian striker has also become the fastest player to reach the milestone, with his 100th goal coming in his 111th game - beating Alan Shearer's previous record, set in 1995, by 13 appearances. Haaland's total goals-per-game rate in the Premier League is now 0.90, and he may eventually challenge for Shearer's overall goals record of 260 in the division, which launched in 1992-93 when it broke away from the English Football League. Haaland's City contract - a record nine-and-a-half-year deal announced in January - runs through to the end of the 2033-34 season.