We investigate two novel mixed robust/average-case submodular data partitioning problems that we collectively call Submodular Partitioning. These problems generalize purely robust instances of the problem, namely max-min submodular fair allocation (SFA) [12] and min-max submodular load balancing (SLB) [25], and also average-case instances, that is the submodular welfare problem (SWP) [26] and submodular multiway partition (SMP) [5]. While the robust versions have been studied in the theory community [11, 12, 16, 25, 26], existing work has focused on tight approximation guarantees, and the resultant algorithms are not generally scalable to large real-world applications. This is in contrast to the average case, where most of the algorithms are scalable. In the present paper, we bridge this gap, by proposing several new algorithms (including greedy, majorization-minimization, minorization-maximization, and relaxation algorithms) that not only scale to large datasets but that also achieve theoretical approximation guarantees comparable to the state-of-the-art. We moreover provide new scalable algorithms that apply to additive combinations of the robust and average-case objectives. We show that these problems have many applications in machine learning (ML), including data partitioning and load balancing for distributed ML, data clustering, and image segmentation. We empirically demonstrate the efficacy of our algorithms on real-world problems involving data partitioning for distributed optimization (of convex and deep neural network objectives), and also purely unsupervised image segmentation.

Max-product Belief Propagation (BP) is a popular message-passing algorithm for computing a Maximum-A-Posteriori (MAP) assignment over a distribution represented by a Graphical Model (GM). It has been shown that BP can solve a number of combinatorial optimization problems including minimum weight matching, shortest path, network flow and vertex cover under the following common assumption: the respective Linear Programming (LP) relaxation is tight, i.e., no integrality gap is present. However, when LP shows an integrality gap, no model has been known which can be solved systematically via sequential applications of BP. In this paper, we develop the first such algorithm, coined Blossom-BP, for solving the minimum weight matching problem over arbitrary graphs. Each step of the sequential algorithm requires applying BP over a modified graph constructed by contractions and expansions of blossoms, i.e., odd sets of vertices.

We present a scalable Bayesian multi-label learning model based on learning lowdimensional label embeddings. Our model assumes that each label vector is generated as a weighted combination of a set of topics (each topic being a distribution over labels), where the combination weights (i.e., the embeddings) for each label vector are conditioned on the observed feature vector. This construction, coupled with a Bernoulli-Poisson link function for each label of the binary label vector, leads to a model with a computational cost that scales in the number of positive labels in the label matrix. This makes the model particularly appealing for real-world multi-label learning problems where the label matrix is usually very massive but highly sparse. Using a data-augmentation strategy leads to full local conjugacy in our model, facilitating simple and very efficient Gibbs sampling, as well as an Expectation Maximization algorithm for inference. Also, predicting the label vector at test time does not require doing an inference for the label embeddings and can be done in closed form. We report results on several benchmark data sets, comparing our model with various state-of-the art methods.

We propose a method for combining two sources of astronomical data, spectroscopy and photometry, that carry information about sources of light (e.g., stars, galaxies, and quasars) at extremely different spectral resolutions. Our model treats the spectral energy distribution (SED) of the radiation from a source as a latent variable that jointly explains both photometric and spectroscopic observations. We place a flexible, nonparametric prior over the SED of a light source that admits a physically interpretable decomposition, and allows us to tractably perform inference. We use our model to predict the distribution of the redshift of a quasar from five-band (low spectral resolution) photometric data, the so called "photoz" problem. Our method shows that tools from machine learning and Bayesian statistics allow us to leverage multiple resolutions of information to make accurate predictions with well-characterized uncertainties.

Large unweighted directed graphs are commonly used to capture relations between entities. A fundamental problem in the analysis of such networks is to properly define the similarity or dissimilarity between any two vertices. Despite the significance of this problem, statistical characterization of the proposed metrics has been limited. We introduce and develop a class of techniques for analyzing random walks on graphs using stochastic calculus. Using these techniques we generalize results on the degeneracy of hitting times and analyze a metric based on the Laplace transformed hitting time (LTHT). The metric serves as a natural, provably well-behaved alternative to the expected hitting time. We establish a general correspondence between hitting times of the Brownian motion and analogous hitting times on the graph. We show that the LTHT is consistent with respect to the underlying metric of a geometric graph, preserves clustering tendency, and remains robust against random addition of non-geometric edges. Tests on simulated and real-world data show that the LTHT matches theoretical predictions and outperforms alternatives.

In the quest for autonomous vehicles, autonomous vehicular Feedback Linearization (FL) is a well-established linearization platooning is a practical option that offers various technique capable of transforming a nonlinear advantages, including increased safety, reduced drag, and time-invariant model into an equivalent linear one [7]. However, greater performance in comparison to a single autonomous simplifying the robot's dynamics comes at the cost vehicle. Platoon in vehicular technologies is often defined as of increasing the complexity of its input constraints. As a group of vehicles traversing in a coordinated manner while a matter of fact, when FL is applied to linearize mobile communicating with each other and by using autonomous robot's kinematics, even simple-box-like input constraint driving technology [1].

Charts provide visual representations of data and are widely used for analyzing information, addressing queries, and conveying insights to others. Various chart-related downstream tasks have emerged recently, such as question-answering and summarization. A common strategy to solve these tasks is to fine-tune various models originally trained on vision tasks language. However, such task-specific models are not capable of solving a wide range of chart-related tasks, constraining their real-world applicability. To overcome these challenges, we introduce ChartInstruct: a novel chart-specific vision-language Instruction-following dataset comprising 191K instructions generated with 71K charts. We then present two distinct systems for instruction tuning on such datasets: (1) an end-to-end model that connects a vision encoder for chart understanding with a LLM; and (2) a pipeline model that employs a two-step approach to extract chart data tables and input them into the LLM. In experiments on four downstream tasks, we first show the effectiveness of our model--achieving a new set of state-of-the-art results. Further evaluation shows that our instruction-tuning approach supports a wide array of real-world chart comprehension and reasoning scenarios, thereby expanding the scope and applicability of our models to new kinds of tasks.

Deep learning-based, data-driven models are gaining prevalence in climate research, particularly for global weather prediction. However, training the global weather data at high resolution requires massive computational resources. Therefore, we present a new model named KARINA to overcome the substantial computational demands typical of this field. This model achieves forecasting accuracy comparable to higher-resolution counterparts with significantly less computational resources, requiring only 4 NVIDIA A100 GPUs and less than 12 hours of training. KARINA combines ConvNext, SENet, and Geocyclic Padding to enhance weather forecasting at a 2.5{\deg} resolution, which could filter out high-frequency noise. Geocyclic Padding preserves pixels at the lateral boundary of the input image, thereby maintaining atmospheric flow continuity in the spherical Earth. SENet dynamically improves feature response, advancing atmospheric process modeling, particularly in the vertical column process as numerous channels. In this vein, KARINA sets new benchmarks in weather forecasting accuracy, surpassing existing models like the ECMWF S2S reforecasts at a lead time of up to 7 days. Remarkably, KARINA achieved competitive performance even when compared to the recently developed models (Pangu-Weather, GraphCast, ClimaX, and FourCastNet) trained with high-resolution data having 100 times larger pixels. Conclusively, KARINA significantly advances global weather forecasting by efficiently modeling Earth's atmosphere with improved accuracy and resource efficiency.

As robots become smarter and more ubiquitous, optimizing the power consumption of intelligent compute becomes imperative towards ensuring the sustainability of technological advancements. Neuromorphic computing hardware makes use of biologically inspired neural architectures to achieve energy and latency improvements compared to conventional von Neumann computing architecture. Applying these benefits to robots has been demonstrated in several works in the field of neurorobotics, typically on relatively simple control tasks. Here, we introduce an example of neuromorphic computing applied to the real-world industrial task of object insertion. We trained a spiking neural network (SNN) to perform force-torque feedback control using a reinforcement learning approach in simulation. We then ported the SNN to the Intel neuromorphic research chip Loihi interfaced with a KUKA robotic arm. At inference time we show latency competitive with current CPU/GPU architectures, two orders of magnitude less energy usage in comparison to traditional low-energy edge-hardware. We offer this example as a proof of concept implementation of a neuromoprhic controller in real-world robotic setting, highlighting the benefits of neuromorphic hardware for the development of intelligent controllers for robots.

Avian-informed drones feature morphing wing and tail surfaces, enhancing agility and adaptability in flight. Despite their large potential, realising their full capabilities remains challenging due to the lack of generalized control strategies accommodating their large degrees of freedom and cross-coupling effects between their control surfaces. Here we propose a new body-rate controller for avian-informed drones that uses all available actuators to control the motion of the drone. The method exhibits robustness against physical perturbations, turbulent airflow, and even loss of certain actuators mid-flight. Furthermore, wing and tail morphing is leveraged to enhance energy efficiency at 8m/s, 10m/s and 12m/s using in-flight Bayesian optimization. The resulting morphing configurations yield significant gains across all three speeds of up to 11.5% compared to non-morphing configurations and display a strong resemblance to avian flight at different speeds. This research lays the groundwork for the development of autonomous avian-informed drones that operate under diverse wind conditions, emphasizing the role of morphing in improving energy efficiency.