Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “classification algorithms”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 1,099 records · Page 61

Multiple directed graph large-class multi-spectral processor

Numerical analysis techniques for the interpretation of high-resolution imaging-spectrometer data are described and demonstrated. The method proposed involves the use of (1) a hierarchical classifier with a tree structure generated automatically by a Fisher linear-discriminant-function algorithm and (2) a novel multiple-directed-graph scheme which reduces the local maxima and the number of perturbations required. Results for a 500-class test problem involving simulated imaging-spectrometer data are presented in tables and graphs; 100-percent-correct classification is achieved with an improvement factor of 5.

Casasent, David↗

Adaptive fuzzy leader clustering of complex data sets in pattern recognition

A modular, unsupervised neural network architecture for clustering and classification of complex data sets is presented. The adaptive fuzzy leader clustering (AFLC) architecture is a hybrid neural-fuzzy system that learns on-line in a stable and efficient manner. The initial classification is performed in two stages: a simple competitive stage and a distance metric comparison stage. The cluster prototypes are then incrementally updated by relocating the centroid positions from fuzzy C-means system equations for the centroids and the membership values. The AFLC algorithm is applied to the Anderson Iris data and laser-luminescent fingerprint image data. It is concluded that the AFLC algorithm successfully classifies features extracted from real data, discrete or continuous.

Newton, Scott C.↗

The Sensitivity of US Wildfire Occurrence to Pre-Season Soil Moisture Conditions Across Ecosystems

It is well accepted that drought and low moisture conditions are linked with increased wildfire occurrence. However, quantifying the sensitivity of wildfire to surface moisture state has been challenging due to a lack of soil moisture observations at an appropriate spatial scale. Here we apply model simulations of surface soil moisture that numerically assimilate observations from NASA’s Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) mission, combined in a predictive algorithm with the US Forest Service’s Fire-Occurrence Database. We estimate a relationship between historic surface moisture and wildfire occurrence to produce annual probable wildfire occurrence and burned area at 0.25-degree resolution for the contiguous United States by land-cover classification. Cross-validation indicates increased frequency of smaller fires when the months preceding fire season are wet, while larger fires are more frequent when soils are dry. This demonstrates that assimilated GRACE data holds information that could aid national-scale fire potential assessments for early decision-support.

Fire-Occurrence database↗

Machine Learning Applied to Zeolite Synthesis: The Missing Link for Realizing High-Throughput Discovery

Zeolites are microporous crystalline materials with well-defined cavities and pores, which can be prepared under different pore topologies and chemical compositions. Their preparation is typically defined by multiple interconnected variables (e.g., reagent sources, molar ratios, aging treatments, reaction time and temperature, among others), but unfortunately their distinctive influence, particularly on the nucleation and crystallization processes, is still far from being understood. Thus, the discovery and/or optimization of specific zeolites is closely related to the exploration of the parametric space through trial-and-error methods, generally by studying the influence of each parameter individually. In the past decade, machine learning (ML) methods have rapidly evolved to address complex problems involving highly nonlinear or massively combinatorial processes that conventional approaches cannot solve. Considering the vast and interconnected multiparametric space in zeolite synthesis, coupled with our poor understanding of the mechanisms involved in their nucleation and crystallization, the use of ML is especially timely for improving zeolite synthesis. Indeed, the complex space of zeolite synthesis requires drawing inferences from incomplete and imperfect information, for which ML methods are very well-suited to replace the intuition-based approaches traditionally used to guide experimentation. In this Account, we contend that both existing and new ML approaches can provide the “missing link” needed to complete the traditional zeolite synthesis workflow used in our quest to rationalize zeolite synthesis. Within this context, we have made important efforts on developing ML tools in different critical areas, such as (1) data-mining tools to process the large amount of data generated using high-throughput platforms; (2) novel complex algorithms to predict the formation of energetically stable hypothetical zeolites and guide the synthesis of new zeolite structures; (3) new “ab initio” organic structure directing agent predictions to direct the synthesis of hypothetical or known zeolites; (4) an automated tool for nonsupervised data extraction and classification from published research articles. ML has already revolutionized many areas in materials science by enhancing our ability to map intricate behavior to process variables, especially in the absence of well-understood mechanisms. Undoubtedly, ML is a burgeoning field with many future opportunities for further breakthroughs to advance the design of molecular sieves. For this reason, this Account includes an outlook of future research directions based on current challenges and opportunities. We envision this Account will become a hallmark reference for both well-established and new researchers in the field of zeolite synthesis.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Photometric redshift estimation with convolutional neural networks and galaxy images: Case study of resolving biases in data-driven methods

Deep-learning models have been increasingly exploited in astrophysical studies, but these data-driven algorithms are prone to producing biased outputs that are detrimental for subsequent analyses. In this work, we investigate two main forms of biases: class-dependent residuals, and mode collapse. We do this in a case study, in which we estimate photometric redshift as a classification problem using convolutional neural networks (CNNs) trained with galaxy images and associated spectroscopic redshifts. We focus on point estimates and propose a set of consecutive steps for resolving the two biases based on CNN models, involving representation learning with multichannel outputs, balancing the training data, and leveraging soft labels. The residuals can be viewed as a function of spectroscopic redshift or photometric redshift, and the biases with respect to these two definitions are incompatible and should be treated individually. We suggest that a prerequisite for resolving biases in photometric space is resolving biases in spectroscopic space. Experiments show that our methods can better control biases than benchmark methods, and they are robust in various implementing and training conditions with high-quality data. Our methods hold promises for future cosmological surveys that require a good constraint of biases, and they may be applied to regression problems and other studies that make use of data-driven models. Nonetheless, the bias-variance tradeoff and the requirement of sufficient statistics suggest that we need better methods and optimized data usage strategies.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Chaconne: A Statistical Approach to Nonlocal Compression for Supervised Learning, Semi-Supervised Learning, and Anomaly Detection

This project developed a novel statistical understanding of compression analytics (CA), which has challenged and clarified some core assumptions about CA, and enabled the development of novel techniques that address vital challenges of national security. Specifically, this project has yielded the development of novel capabilities including 1. Principled metrics for model selection in CA, 2. Techniques for deriving/applying optimal classification rules and decision theory to supervised CA, including how to properly handle class imbalance and differing costs of misclassification, 3. Two techniques for handling nonlocal information in CA, 4. A novel technique for unsupervised CA that is agnostic with regard to the underlying compression algorithm, 5. A framework for semisupervised CA when a small number of labels are known in an otherwise large unlabeled dataset. 6. The academic alliance component of this project has focused on the development of a novel exemplar-based Bayesian technique for estimating variable length Markov models (closely related to PPM [prediction by partial matching] compression techniques). We have developed examples illustrating the application of our work to text, video, genetic sequences, and unstructured cybersecurity log files.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗

Studying fish near ocean energy devices using underwater video

The effects of energy devices on fish populations are not well-understood, and studying the interactions of fish with tidal and instream turbines is challenging. To address this problem, we have evaluated algorithms to automatically detect fish in underwater video and propose a semi-automated method for ocean and river energy device ecological monitoring. The key contributions of this work are the demonstration of a background subtraction algorithm (ViBE) that detected 87% of human-identified fish events and is suitable for use in a real-time system to reduce data volume, and the demonstration of a statistical model to classify detections as fish or not fish that achieved a correct classification rate of 85% overall and 92% for detections larger than 5 pixels. Specific recommendations for underwater video acquisition to better facilitate automated processing are given. The recommendations will help energy developers put effective monitoring systems in place, and could lead to a standard approach that simplifies the monitoring effort and advances the scientific understanding of the ecological impacts of ocean and river energy devices.

Matzner, Shari↗

Arctic multiyear ice classification and summer ice cover using passive microwave satellite data

Passive microwave data collected by Nimbus 7 were used to classify and monitor the Arctic multilayer sea ice cover. Sea ice concentration maps during several summer minima are analyzed to obtain estimates of ice floes that survived summer, and the results are compared with multiyear-ice concentrations derived from these data by using an algorithm that assumes a certain emissivity for multiyear ice. The multiyear ice cover inferred from the winter data was found to be about 25 to 40 percent less than the summer ice-cover minimum, indicating that the multiyear ice cover in winter is inadequately represented by the passive microwave winter data and that a significant fraction of the Arctic multiyear ice floes exhibits a first-year ice signature.

Comiso, J. C.↗

Correlation signatures of wet soils and snows

Interpretation, analysis, and development of algorithms have provided the necessary computational programming tools for soil data processing, data handling and analysis. Algorithms that have been developed thus far, are adequate and have been proven successful for several preliminary and fundamental applications such as software interfacing capabilities, probability distributions, grey level print plotting, contour plotting, isometric data displays, joint probability distributions, boundary mapping, channel registration and ground scene classification. A description of an Earth Resources Flight Data Processor, (ERFDP), which handles and processes earth resources data under a users control is provided.

Phillips, M. R.↗

Processing LiDAR Data to Predict Natural Hazards

ELF-Base and ELF-Hazards (wherein 'ELF' signifies 'Extract LiDAR Features' and 'LiDAR' signifies 'light detection and ranging') are developmental software modules for processing remote-sensing LiDAR data to identify past natural hazards (principally, landslides) and predict future ones. ELF-Base processes raw LiDAR data, including LiDAR intensity data that are often ignored in other software, to create digital terrain models (DTMs) and digital feature models (DFMs) with sub-meter accuracy. ELF-Hazards fuses raw LiDAR data, data from multispectral and hyperspectral optical images, and DTMs and DFMs generated by ELF-Base to generate hazard risk maps. Advanced algorithms in these software modules include line-enhancement and edge-detection algorithms, surface-characterization algorithms, and algorithms that implement innovative data-fusion techniques. The line-extraction and edge-detection algorithms enable users to locate such features as faults and landslide headwall scarps. Also implemented in this software are improved methodologies for identification and mapping of past landslide events by use of (1) accurate, ELF-derived surface characterizations and (2) three LiDAR/optical-data-fusion techniques: post-classification data fusion, maximum-likelihood estimation modeling, and hierarchical within-class discrimination. This software is expected to enable faster, more accurate forecasting of natural hazards than has previously been possible.

Fairweather, Ian↗

Triton: Igiugig Fish Video Analysis (Project Report)

This document summarizes the analysis of video data collected around the Ocean Renewable Power Company’s RivGen® device in the Kvichak River during July and August 2015. Human (manual) analysis of the data was undertaken and used to develop automated algorithms to detect fish in the frames and describe interaction behavior. In addition, a web application, EyeSea, was developed to combine manual and automated processing, so that ultimately the automated algorithms could be used to identify where human analysis was needed (i.e., when fish are present in video frames). The aim of the project was to develop algorithms that could identify video frames with fish present that could then be used to enable faster manual analysis. However, the project has also identified recommendations for future data collection, and research that could help analysis and interpretation. The manual analysis started to look at all data from the start of the deployment; this was to ensure rare events were seen, and initially focused on night-time data when more fish were present. This process highlighted the amount of time taken to identify fish, and ultimately only 42.33 hours of video were reviewed due to the time-consuming analysis. The data were classified as ‘Fish’, when the reviewer was confident it was a fish, and ‘Maybe’ fish, when it was difficult to distinguish. This was based on the movement, shape and color characteristics. ‘Fish’ were further classified as ‘adult’, ‘juvenile’, or ‘unidentifiable’. Behavioral attributes were noted, which were broadly divided into passive and avoidance activities. In over 42 hours data, there were only 20 potential contact interactions, of which 3 were ‘Maybe’ classifications, 12 were juveniles and 5 were adults; on only one occasion was an actual contact confirmed, and this was an adult fish with the camera, not the turbine itself. This also highlights the difficulties associated with confirming a strike or collision event as occurring or being a near-miss. More interactions were detected at night; this was probably biased by nighttime artificial light use, which may have attracted fish, but also could have increased detection probability as the light is reflected from the fish itself. For the algorithm development, background subtraction, optical flow, and deep learning techniques were considered. The deep learning approach was determined as needing too much training data for this application, and therefore was not continued. The optical flow analysis was considered promising, but did not give immediate results, so would need further investigation. Therefore, background subtraction was the main focus. Three methods of background subtraction were tried: Robust Principal Components Analysis (RPCA), Gaussian Mixture Model (GMM) and Video Background Extraction(ViBE). A classification technique was then applied to the foreground images to determine fish presence. Using this combination, it was found that fish could be accurately detected when occupying more pixels (>200 pixels, 98.2% correct; 100-200 pixels, 99.6% correct; 5-100 pixels, 85.4% correct; 2-5 pixels, 66.3% correct). In parallel, EyeSea was developed to convert the video data to a usable form and to enable manual and automated analysis of the data that would have a standardized output. Recommendations for further research, and standardized methods for data collection are given.

13 HYDRO ENERGY↗

GMFOLD: Subgraph matching for high-throughput DNA-aptamer secondary structure classification and machine learning interpretability

Aptamers are oligonucleotide receptors that bind to their targets with high affinity. Here, we consider aptamers comprised of single-stranded DNA that undergo target-binding-induced conformational changes, giving rise to unique secondary and tertiary structures. Given a specific aptamer primary sequence, there are well-established computational tools (notably mfold) to predict the secondary structure via free energy minimization algorithms. While mfold generates secondary structures for individual sequences, there is a need for a high-throughput process whereby thousands of DNA structures can be predicted in real-time for use in an interactive setting, when combined with aptamer selections that generate candidate pools that are too large to be experimentally interrogated. We developed a new Python code for high-throughput aptamer secondary structure determination (GMfold). GMfold uses subgraph matching methods to group aptamer candidates by secondary structure similarities. We also improve an open-source code, SeqFold, to incorporate subgraph matching concepts. We represent each secondary structure as a lowest-energy bipartite subgraph matching of the DNA graph to itself. These new tools enable thousands of DNA sequences to be compared based on their secondary structures, using machine-learning algorithms. This process is advantageous when analyzing sequences that arise from aptamer selections via systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment (SELEX). This work is a building block for future machine-learning-informed DNA-aptamer selection processes to identify aptamers with improved target affinity and selectivity and advance aptamer biosensors and therapeutics.

Aptamer↗

Distilling Knowledge from Ensembles of Cluster-Constrained-Attention Multiple-Instance Learners for Whole Slide Image Classification

The peculiar nature of whole slide imaging (WSI), digitizing conventional glass slides to obtain multiple high resolution images which capture microscopic details of a patient’s histopathological features, has garnered increased interest from the computer vision research community over the last two decades. Given the unique computational space and time complexity inherent to gigapixel-size whole slide image data, researchers have proposed novel machine learning algorithms to aid in the performance of diagnostic tasks in clinical pathology. One effective algorithm represents a Whole slide image as a bag of smaller image patches, which can be represented as low-dimension image patch embeddings. Weakly supervised deep-learning methods, such as cluster-constrained-attention multiple instance learning (CLAM), have shown promising results when combined with image patch embeddings. While traditional ensemble classifiers yield improved task performance, such methods come with a steep cost in model complexity. Through knowledge distillation, it is possible to retain some performance improvements from an ensemble, while minimizing costs to model complexity. In this work, we implement a weakly supervised ensemble using clustering-constrained-attention multiple-instance learners (CLAM), which uses attention and instance-level clustering to identify task salient regions and feature extraction in whole slides. By applying logit-based and attention-based knowledge distillation, we show it is possible to retain some performance improvements resulting from the ensemble at zero cost to model complexity.

Alamudun, Folami↗

Multivariate Density Estimation and Remote Sensing

Current efforts to develop methods and computer algorithms to effectively represent multivariate data commonly encountered in remote sensing applications are described. While this may involve scatter diagrams, multivariate representations of nonparametric probability density estimates are emphasized. The density function provides a useful graphical tool for looking at data and a useful theoretical tool for classification. This approach is called a thunderstorm data analysis.

Scott, D. W.↗

Automated cloud screening of AVHRR imagery using split-and-merge clustering

Previous methods to segment clouds from ocean in AVHRR imagery have shown varying degrees of success, with nighttime approaches being the most limited. An improved method of automatic image segmentation, the principal component transformation split-and-merge clustering (PCTSMC) algorithm, is presented and applied to cloud screening of both nighttime and daytime AVHRR data. The method combines spectral differencing, the principal component transformation, and split-and-merge clustering to sample objectively the natural classes in the data. This segmentation method is then augmented by supervised classification techniques to screen clouds from the imagery. Comparisons with other nighttime methods demonstrate its improved capability in this application. The sensitivity of the method to clustering parameters is presented; the results show that the method is insensitive to the split-and-merge thresholds.

Gallaudet, Timothy C.↗

Thunderstorm Cloud-Type Classification from Space-Based Lightning Imagers

The organization and structure of thunderstorms determines the extent and severity of their hazards to the general public and their consequences for the Earth system. Distinguishing vigorous convective regions that produce heavy rain and hail from adjacent regions of stratiform clouds or overhanging anvil clouds that produce light to no rainfall is valuable in operations and physical research. Cloud-type algorithms that partition convection from stratiform regions have been developed for space-based radar, passive microwave, and now Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES) Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) multispectral products. However, there are limitations for each of these products including temporal availability, spatial coverage, and the degree to which they based on cloud microphysics. We report we have developed a cloud-type algorithm for GOES Geostationary Lightning Mapper (GLM) observations that identifies convective/nonconvective regions in thunderstorms based on signatures of interactions with nonconvective charge structures in the lightning flash data. The GLM sensor permits a rapid (20 s) update cycle over the combined GOES-16–GOES-17 domain across all hours of the day. Storm regions that do not produce lightning will not be classified by our algorithm, however. The GLM cloud-type product is intended to provide situational awareness of electrified nonconvective clouds and to complement other cloud-type retrievals by providing a contemporary assessment tied to lightning physics. We propose that a future combined ABI–GLM cloud-type algorithm would be a valuable product that could draw from the strengths of each instrument and approach.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Unsupervised classification and areal measurement of land and water coastal features on the Texas coast

Multispectral scanner (MSS) digital data from ERTS-1 was used to delineate coastal land, vegetative, and water features in two portions of the Texas Coastal Zone. Data (Scene ID's 1037-16244 and 1037-16251) acquired on August 29, 1972, were analyzed on NASA Johnson Space Center systems through the use of two clustering algorithms. Seventeen to 30 spectrally homogeneous classes were so defined. Many classes were identified as being pure features such as water masses, salt marsh, beaches, pine, hardwoods, and exposed soil or construction materials. Most classes were identified to be mixtures of the pure class types. Using an objective technique for measuring the percentage of wetland along salt marsh boundaries, an analysis was made of the accuracy of areal measurement of salt marshes. Accuracies ranged from 89 to 99 percent. Aircraft photography was used as the basis for determining the true areal size of salt marshes in the study sites.

Flores, L. M.↗

A Morphological Model to Separate Resolved–Unresolved Sources in the DESI Legacy Surveys: Application in the LS4 Alert Stream

Separating resolved and unresolved sources in large imaging surveys is a fundamental step to enable downstream science, such as searching for extragalactic transients in wide-field time-domain surveys. Here we present our method to effectively separate point sources from the resolved, extended sources in the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) Legacy Surveys (LS). We develop a supervised machine learning model based on the Gradient Boosting algorithm XGBoost. The features input to the model are purely morphological and are derived from the tabulated LS data products. We train the model using ∼2 × 10 5 LS sources in the COSMOS field with HST morphological labels and evaluate the model performance on LS sources with spectroscopic classification from the DESI Data Release 1 (∼2 × 10 7 objects) and the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 17 (∼3 × 10 6 objects), as well as on ∼2 × 10 8 Gaia stars. A significant fraction of LS sources are not observed in every LS filter, and we therefore build a “Hybrid” model as a linear combination of two XGBoost models, each containing features combining aperture flux measurements from the “blue” (gr) and “red” (iz) filters. The Hybrid model shows a reasonable balance between sensitivity and robustness, and achieves higher accuracy and flexibility compared to the LS morphological typing. With the Hybrid model, we provide classification scores for ∼3 × 10 9 LS sources, making this the largest ever machine learning catalog separating resolved and unresolved sources. The catalog has been incorporated into the real-time pipeline of the La Silla Schmidt Southern Survey (LS4), enabling the identification of extragalactic transients within the LS4 alert stream.

astrostatistics↗