Neural Encoder Sequence Alignment Using Cycle Consistency

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing neural networks struggle to align and annotate sequences of data items efficiently, particularly in real-world environments, without requiring extensive human interaction or labeled training data.

Innovation Solution

An encoder neural network is trained using cycle consistency to align and associate data sequences, enabling automated annotation and control in real-time, utilizing a self-supervised learning approach that aligns sequences by minimizing distance measures and generating annotation data without human intervention.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Productivity

If traditional neural networks are used to align and annotate data sequences, then the system can process real-world data, but it requires extensive labeled training data and human interaction which reduces efficiency

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvealignment and annotation efficiencyVSAvoidlabeled training data requirement
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSQuantity of substance

Solution Approach 1:

The system employs self-supervised learning where the encoder neural network automatically learns to align data sequences from unlabeled real-world data without requiring human annotation. The network serves itself by generating its own training signals through cycle consistency constraints, eliminating the need for extensive labeled training data and human interaction while maintaining high alignment efficiency

Inventive Principle:
Principle #25Self-service

Solution Approach 2:

The encoder neural network is pre-trained using cycle consistency constraints on unlabeled data before being deployed for alignment tasks. This preliminary self-supervised training phase allows the network to learn meaningful representations without labeled data, preparing it for subsequent alignment and annotation operations where it can then process new data sequences efficiently without requiring labeled examples

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

2Measurement precision

If manual annotation methods are used for data sequences, then accuracy can be maintained, but the process requires extensive human interaction which increases time consumption

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvealignment accuracyVSAvoidannotation time
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent replaces manual human annotation processes with an automated encoder neural network system. The network automatically aligns data sequences by computing encoded representations and matching them through cycle consistency constraints, substituting the mechanical human annotation process with an automated computational system that maintains accuracy while dramatically reducing time consumption

Inventive Principle:
Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

Solution Approach 2:

The system implements cycle consistency constraints as a feedback mechanism where the encoder neural network's alignments are continuously refined by checking whether round-trip mappings preserve consistency. This feedback loop automatically enforces accuracy constraints without human intervention, maintaining measurement precision while eliminating the time loss associated with manual verification

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

3Reliability

If extensive labeled training data is collected for model training, then model performance can be improved, but the data collection and labeling process increases system complexity

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvemodel performanceVSAvoiddata collection and labeling complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The encoder neural network performs self-supervised learning by automatically generating training signals from unlabeled data through cycle consistency constraints. The network serves itself by identifying its own learning objectives and optimizing without external labeled data, thereby improving reliability through self-learning while eliminating the complex data collection and labeling infrastructure that would otherwise be required

Inventive Principle:
Principle #25Self-service

Data Source

PatentEP4586143A1Aligning sequences by generating encoded representations of data items
Publication Date: 2025.07.16 DEEPMIND TECH LTD
  • EP4586143A1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP4586143A1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP4586143A1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

An encoder neural network is described which can encode a data item, such as a frame of a video, to form a respective encoded data item. Data items of a first data sequence are associated with respective data items of a second sequence, by determining which of the encoded data items of the second sequence is closest to the encoded data item produced from each data item of the first sequence. Thus, the two data sequences are aligned. The encoder neural network is trained automatically using a training set of data sequences, by an iterative process of successively increasing cycle consistency between pairs of the data sequences.