Data Augmentation via Clustering and Quality Labels

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Solution Overview

Problem

Machine learning models tend to perform poorly when faced with real-world data that differs from their training data, and existing testing sets often fail to represent the diverse scenarios they will encounter, leading to inadequate evaluation of model performance in real-world conditions.

Innovation Solution

The method involves accessing a repository of private data items to augment testing or training sets by clustering and sampling additional examples based on feature maps and quality labels, ensuring the augmented sets better represent real-world conditions without exposing sensitive information, thus improving model accuracy and generalization.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Measurement precision

If existing testing sets are used for machine learning models, then the testing process is simple and fast, but the model performance evaluation is inaccurate because the testing sets do not represent diverse real-world scenarios

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvemodel performance evaluation accuracyVSAvoidtesting set construction complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary clustering analysis on private data items before augmenting the testing set. By pre-identifying under-represented classifications through clustering algorithms and quality labels, the system prepares the augmented testing set in advance, ensuring comprehensive real-world scenario coverage without compromising evaluation accuracy

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system introduces an intermediary augmentation process that bridges existing testing sets and private data repositories. Through classification-based sampling and quality label filtering, it creates an intermediate augmented testing set that represents diverse real-world scenarios while maintaining manageable complexity

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Adaptability or versatility

If private data items are used to augment testing sets, then the representativeness of real-world scenarios is improved, but data privacy and security risks increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improverepresentativeness of real-world scenariosVSAvoiddata privacy and security risks
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The system creates copies of private data items through clustering-based classification and quality label assignment rather than directly using raw private data. By working with derived features and aggregated classifications, it preserves the representativeness of real-world scenarios while minimizing direct exposure of sensitive information

Inventive Principle:
Principle #26Copying

Solution Approach 2:

The system introduces classification categories and quality labels as intermediaries between private data and the augmented testing set. This intermediary layer aggregates and anonymizes individual data characteristics, maintaining real-world scenario diversity while reducing privacy and security risks

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

3Reliability

If comprehensive testing sets covering all real-world scenarios are created, then model generalization improves, but the time and resources required for testing increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvemodel generalization capabilityVSAvoidtesting and training time
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system applies local quality enhancement by identifying and augmenting only the under-represented classifications in the testing set. Through clustering analysis and quality label evaluation, it selectively adds data from specific classifications that need improvement, rather than uniformly expanding the entire testing set, thus improving model generalization efficiently

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

4Manufacturing precision

If additional diverse examples are added to training sets, then model accuracy on real-world data improves, but the complexity of data preparation and processing increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvemodel training accuracyVSAvoiddata preparation and processing complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Manufacturing precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary clustering and classification of private data items before incorporating them into the training set. By pre-organizing data into meaningful categories and assigning quality labels in advance, it simplifies the subsequent data preparation and processing steps while ensuring high model training accuracy through diverse, well-organized training examples

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentUS20230125150A1Augmentation of testing or training sets for machine learning models
Publication Date: 2023.04.27 MICROSOFT TECHNOLOGY LICENSING LLC
  • US20230125150A1 patent drawing
  • US20230125150A1 patent drawing
  • US20230125150A1 patent drawing

AI summary

This document generally relates to techniques for testing or training data augmentation. One example includes a method or technique that can include accessing a repository of private data items. The repository can provide a distribution of the private data items that is representative of a designated real-world scenario for a machine learning model. The method or technique can also include assigning classifications to the private data items in the repository. The method or technique can also include augmenting a testing or training set for the machine learning model based at least on the classifications of the private data items to obtain an augmented testing or training set that is relatively more representative of the distribution of classifications in the repository.