Semi-supervised Learning via Semiparametric Regularization

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative Solutions
Generate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Existing semi-supervised learning methods often rely on the cluster assumption and struggle to effectively incorporate the geometric structure of the marginal distribution of data, leading to suboptimal performance in classification tasks due to the limited use of unlabeled data.

Innovation Solution

A semi-parametric regularization approach that uses Kernel Principal Component Analysis (KPCA) to learn a parametric function from both labeled and unlabeled data, which is then incorporated into supervised learning to reflect the geometric structure of the marginal distribution, enabling better adaptation of the decision function to the data distribution.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If only labeled data are used for learning the decision function, then the learning process is simple and fast, but the classification performance is poor when labeled data are limited

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveclassification performanceVSAvoidamount of labeled data
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSQuantity of substance

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces an intermediary mapping function φ that transforms input data into a high-dimensional feature space where the decision boundary can be more effectively learned. This intermediary transformation allows the model to leverage both labeled and unlabeled data more effectively, improving classification performance when labeled data are limited

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent employs kernel methods to implicitly map data from the original input space to a high-dimensional Reproducing Kernel Hilbert Space (RKHS). This dimensionality change enables the learning algorithm to capture complex patterns and geometric structures in the data that are not apparent in the original feature space, thereby improving classification reliability with limited labeled data

Inventive Principle:
Principle #17Another dimension (Dimensionality change)

2Reliability

If unlabeled data are incorporated to reflect the geometric structure of the marginal distribution, then the classification performance improves, but the complexity of the learning process increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveclassification performanceVSAvoidlearning process complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent extracts the geometric structure of the marginal distribution from unlabeled data by computing the mapping function φ on these data points. This extracted geometric information is then used to guide the supervised learning process on labeled data, allowing the model to benefit from the structure without requiring complex joint optimization

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent divides the learning process into two separate stages: (1) an unsupervised stage where the mapping function is learned from unlabeled data to capture geometric structure, and (2) a supervised stage where this pre-learned structure is used to improve classification on labeled data. This segmentation reduces overall complexity compared to simultaneous optimization

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

3Reliability

If a parametric function is learned from the whole data set including unlabeled data, then the geometric structure of the marginal distribution is captured, but the computational cost increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveadaptation to data distributionVSAvoidcomputational time
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent performs preliminary learning on the unlabeled data to establish the mapping function φ before conducting supervised learning on the labeled data. This preliminary action captures the geometric structure of the marginal distribution in advance, allowing the subsequent supervised learning to proceed more efficiently with better-initialized parameters and improved convergence

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentUS8527432B1Semi-supervised learning based on semiparametric regularization
Publication Date: 2013.09.03 THE RES FOUNDATION FOR THE STATE UNIV OF NEW YORK
  • US8527432B1 patent drawing
  • US8527432B1 patent drawing
  • US8527432B1 patent drawing

AI summary

Semi-supervised learning plays an important role in machine learning and data mining. The semi-supervised learning problem is approached by developing semiparametric regularization, which attempts to discover the marginal distribution of the data to learn the parametric function through exploiting the geometric distribution of the data. This learned parametric function can then be incorporated into the supervised learning on the available labeled data as the prior knowledge. A semi-supervised learning approach is provided which incorporates the unlabeled data into the supervised learning by a parametric function learned from the whole data including the labeled and unlabeled data. The parametric function reflects the geometric structure of the marginal distribution of the data. Furthermore, the proposed approach which naturally extends to the out-of-sample data is an inductive learning method in nature.