Using feature attributions for post-hoc explanations is a common practice to understand and verify the predictions of opaque machine learning models. Despite the numerous techniques available, individual methods often produce inconsistent and unstable results, putting their overall reliability into question. In this work, we aim to systematically improve the quality of feature attributions by combining multiple explanations across distinct methods or their variations. For this purpose, we propose a novel approach to derive optimal convex combinations of feature attributions that yield provable improvements of desired quality criteria such as robustness or faithfulness to the model behavior. Through extensive experiments involving various model architectures and popular feature attribution techniques, we demonstrate that our combination strategy consistently outperforms individual methods and existing baselines.

Deep Learning has already been successfully applied to analyze industrial sensor data in a variety of relevant use cases. However, the opaque nature of many well-performing methods poses a major obstacle for real-world deployment. Explainable AI (XAI) and especially feature attribution techniques promise to enable insights about how such models form their decision. But the plain application of such methods often fails to provide truly informative and problem-specific insights to domain experts. In this work, we focus on the specific task of detecting faults in rolling element bearings from vibration signals. We propose a novel and domain-specific feature attribution framework that allows us to evaluate how well the underlying logic of a model corresponds with expert reasoning. Utilizing the framework we are able to validate the trustworthiness and to successfully anticipate the generalization ability of different well-performing deep learning models. Our methodology demonstrates how signal processing tools can effectively be used to enhance Explainable AI techniques and acts as a template for similar problems.

Concept-based explanation methods, such as Concept Activation Vectors, are potent means to quantify how abstract or high-level characteristics of input data influence the predictions of complex deep neural networks. However, applying them to industrial prediction problems is challenging as it is not immediately clear how to define and access appropriate concepts for individual use cases and specific data types. In this work, we investigate how to leverage established concept-based explanation techniques in the context of bearing fault detection with deep neural networks trained on vibration signals. Since bearings are prevalent in almost every rotating equipment, ensuring the reliability of intransparent fault detection models is crucial to prevent costly repairs and downtimes of industrial machinery. Our evaluations demonstrate that explaining opaque models in terms of vibration concepts enables human-comprehensible and intuitive insights about their inner workings, but the underlying assumptions need to be carefully validated first.

Modern AI techniques open up ever-increasing possibilities for autonomous vehicles, but how to appropriately verify the reliability of such systems remains unclear. A common approach is to conduct safety validation based on a predefined Operational Design Domain (ODD) describing specific conditions under which a system under test is required to operate properly. However, collecting sufficient realistic test cases to ensure comprehensive ODD coverage is challenging. In this paper, we report our practical experiences regarding the utility of data simulation with deep generative models for scenario-based ODD validation. We consider the specific use case of a camera-based rail-scene segmentation system designed to support autonomous train operation. We demonstrate the capabilities of semantically editing railway scenes with deep generative models to make a limited amount of test data more representative. We also show how our approach helps to analyze the degree to which a system complies with typical ODD requirements. Specifically, we focus on evaluating proper operation under different lighting and weather conditions as well as while transitioning between them.

In this paper, we investigate the practical relevance of explainable artificial intelligence (XAI) with a special focus on the producing industries and relate them to the current state of academic XAI research. Our findings are based on an extensive series of interviews regarding the role and applicability of XAI along the Machine Learning (ML) lifecycle in current industrial practice and its expected relevance in the future. The interviews were conducted among a great variety of roles and key stakeholders from different industry sectors. On top of that, we outline the state of XAI research by providing a concise review of the relevant literature. This enables us to provide an encompassing overview covering the opinions of the surveyed persons as well as the current state of academic research. By comparing our interview results with the current research approaches we reveal several discrepancies. While a multitude of different XAI approaches exists, most of them are centered around the model evaluation phase and data scientists. Their versatile capabilities for other stages are currently either not sufficiently explored or not popular among practitioners. In line with existing work, our findings also confirm that more efforts are needed to enable also non-expert users' interpretation and understanding of opaque AI models with existing methods and frameworks.