Understanding terrain topology at long-range is crucial for the success of off-road robotic missions, especially when navigating at high-speeds. LiDAR sensors, which are currently heavily relied upon for geometric mapping, provide sparse measurements when mapping at greater distances. To address this challenge, we present a novel learning-based approach capable of predicting terrain elevation maps at long-range using only onboard egocentric images in real-time. Our proposed method is comprised of three main elements. First, a transformer-based encoder is introduced that learns cross-view associations between the egocentric views and prior bird-eye-view elevation map predictions. Second, an orientation-aware positional encoding is proposed to incorporate the 3D vehicle pose information over complex unstructured terrain with multi-view visual image features. Lastly, a history-augmented learn-able map embedding is proposed to achieve better temporal consistency between elevation map predictions to facilitate the downstream navigational tasks. We experimentally validate the applicability of our proposed approach for autonomous offroad robotic navigation in complex and unstructured terrain using real-world offroad driving data. Furthermore, the method is qualitatively and quantitatively compared against the current state-of-the-art methods. Extensive field experiments demonstrate that our method surpasses baseline models in accurately predicting terrain elevation while effectively capturing the overall terrain topology at long-ranges. Finally, ablation studies are conducted to highlight and understand the effect of key components of the proposed approach and validate their suitability to improve offroad robotic navigation capabilities.
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Understanding the potential of generative AI (GenAI)-based attacks on the power grid is a fundamental challenge that must be addressed in order to protect the power grid by realizing and validating risk in new attack vectors. In this paper, a novel zero trust framework for a power grid supply chain (PGSC) is proposed. This framework facilitates early detection of potential GenAI-driven attack vectors (e.g., replay and protocol-type attacks), assessment of tail risk-based stability measures, and mitigation of such threats. First, a new zero trust system model of PGSC is designed and formulated as a zero-trust problem that seeks to guarantee for a stable PGSC by realizing and defending against GenAI-driven cyber attacks. Second, in which a domain-specific generative adversarial networks (GAN)-based attack generation mechanism is developed to create a new vulnerability cyberspace for further understanding that threat. Third, tail-based risk realization metrics are developed and implemented for quantifying the extreme risk of a potential attack while leveraging a trust measurement approach for continuous validation. Fourth, an ensemble learning-based bootstrap aggregation scheme is devised to detect the attacks that are generating synthetic identities with convincing user and distributed energy resources device profiles. Experimental results show the efficacy of the proposed zero trust framework that achieves an accuracy of 95.7% on attack vector generation, a risk measure of 9.61% for a 95% stable PGSC, and a 99% confidence in defense against GenAI-driven attack.
In the big data era, the need to reevaluate traditional statistical methods is paramount due to the challenges posed by vast datasets. While larger samples theoretically enhance accuracy and hypothesis testing power without increasing false positives, practical concerns about inflated Type-I errors persist. The prevalent belief is that larger samples can uncover subtle effects, necessitating dual consideration of p-value and effect size. Yet, the reliability of p-values from large samples remains debated. This paper warns that larger samples can exacerbate minor issues into significant errors, leading to false conclusions. Through our simulation study, we demonstrate how growing sample sizes amplify issues arising from two commonly encountered violations of model assumptions in real-world data and lead to incorrect decisions. This underscores the need for vigilant analytical approaches in the era of big data. In response, we introduce a permutation-based test to counterbalance the effects of sample size and assumption discrepancies by neutralizing them between actual and permuted data. We demonstrate that this approach effectively stabilizes nominal Type I error rates across various sample sizes, thereby ensuring robust statistical inferences even amidst breached conventional assumptions in big data. For reproducibility, our R codes are publicly available at: \url{//github.com/ubcxzhang/bigDataIssue}.
Rehabilitation therapies are widely employed to assist people with motor impairments in regaining control over their affected body parts. Nevertheless, factors such as fatigue and low self-efficacy can hinder patient compliance during extensive rehabilitation processes. Utilizing hand redirection in virtual reality (VR) enables patients to accomplish seemingly more challenging tasks, thereby bolstering their motivation and confidence. While previous research has investigated user experience and hand redirection among able-bodied people, its effects on motor-impaired people remain unexplored. In this paper, we present a VR rehabilitation application that harnesses hand redirection. Through a user study and semi-structured interviews, we examine the impact of hand redirection on the rehabilitation experiences of people with motor impairments and its potential to enhance their motivation for upper limb rehabilitation. Our findings suggest that patients are not sensitive to hand movement inconsistency, and the majority express interest in incorporating hand redirection into future long-term VR rehabilitation programs.
With good explanatory power and controllability, rule-based methods play an important role in many tasks such as knowledge reasoning and decision support. However, existing studies primarily focused on learning chain-like rules, which limit their semantic expressions and accurate prediction abilities. As a result, chain-like rules usually fire on the incorrect grounding values, producing inaccurate or even erroneous reasoning results. In this paper, we propose the concept of tree-like rules on knowledge graphs to expand the application scope and improve the reasoning ability of rule-based methods. Meanwhile, we propose an effective framework for refining chain-like rules into tree-like rules. Experimental comparisons on four public datasets show that the proposed framework can easily adapt to other chain-like rule induction methods and the refined tree-like rules consistently achieve better performances than chain-like rules on link prediction. The data and code of this paper can be available at //anonymous.4open.science/r/tree-rule-E3CD/.
Optimal decision-making for trajectory tracking in partially observable, stochastic environments where the number of active localization updates -- the process by which the agent obtains its true state information from the sensors -- are limited, presents a significant challenge. Traditional methods often struggle to balance resource conservation, accurate state estimation and precise tracking, resulting in suboptimal performance. This problem is particularly pronounced in environments with large action spaces, where the need for frequent, accurate state data is paramount, yet the capacity for active localization updates is restricted by external limitations. This paper introduces ComTraQ-MPC, a novel framework that combines Deep Q-Networks (DQN) and Model Predictive Control (MPC) to optimize trajectory tracking with constrained active localization updates. The meta-trained DQN ensures adaptive active localization scheduling, while the MPC leverages available state information to improve tracking. The central contribution of this work is their reciprocal interaction: DQN's update decisions inform MPC's control strategy, and MPC's outcomes refine DQN's learning, creating a cohesive, adaptive system. Empirical evaluations in simulated and real-world settings demonstrate that ComTraQ-MPC significantly enhances operational efficiency and accuracy, providing a generalizable and approximately optimal solution for trajectory tracking in complex partially observable environments.
Optimal decision-making presents a significant challenge for autonomous systems operating in uncertain, stochastic and time-varying environments. Environmental variability over time can significantly impact the system's optimal decision making strategy for mission completion. To model such environments, our work combines the previous notion of Time-Varying Markov Decision Processes (TVMDP) with partial observability and introduces Time-Varying Partially Observable Markov Decision Processes (TV-POMDP). We propose a two-pronged approach to accurately estimate and plan within the TV-POMDP: 1) Memory Prioritized State Estimation (MPSE), which leverages weighted memory to provide more accurate time-varying transition estimates; and 2) an MPSE-integrated planning strategy that optimizes long-term rewards while accounting for temporal constraint. We validate the proposed framework and algorithms using simulations and hardware, with robots exploring a partially observable, time-varying environments. Our results demonstrate superior performance over standard methods, highlighting the framework's effectiveness in stochastic, uncertain, time-varying domains.
Shared space reduces segregation between vehicles and pedestrians and encourages them to share roads without imposed traffic rules. The behaviour of road users (RUs) is then controlled by social norms, and interactions are more versatile than on traditional roads. Autonomous vehicles (AVs) will need to adapt to these norms to become socially acceptable RUs in shared spaces. However, to date, there is not much research into pedestrian-vehicle interaction in shared-space environments, and prior efforts have predominantly focused on traditional roads and crossing scenarios. We present a video observation investigating pedestrian reactions to a small, automation-capable vehicle driven manually in shared spaces based on a long-term naturalistic driving dataset. We report various pedestrian reactions (from movement adjustment to prosocial behaviour) and situations pertinent to shared spaces at this early stage. Insights drawn can serve as a foundation to support future AVs navigating shared spaces, especially those with a high pedestrian focus.
We study a setting in which a community wishes to identify a strongly supported proposal from a space of alternatives, in order to change the status quo. We describe a deliberation process in which agents dynamically form coalitions around proposals that they prefer over the status quo. We formulate conditions on the space of proposals and on the ways in which coalitions are formed that guarantee deliberation to succeed, that is, to terminate by identifying a proposal with the largest possible support. Our results provide theoretical foundations for the analysis of deliberative processes such as the ones that take place in online systems for democratic deliberation support.
Face recognition technology has advanced significantly in recent years due largely to the availability of large and increasingly complex training datasets for use in deep learning models. These datasets, however, typically comprise images scraped from news sites or social media platforms and, therefore, have limited utility in more advanced security, forensics, and military applications. These applications require lower resolution, longer ranges, and elevated viewpoints. To meet these critical needs, we collected and curated the first and second subsets of a large multi-modal biometric dataset designed for use in the research and development (R&D) of biometric recognition technologies under extremely challenging conditions. Thus far, the dataset includes more than 350,000 still images and over 1,300 hours of video footage of approximately 1,000 subjects. To collect this data, we used Nikon DSLR cameras, a variety of commercial surveillance cameras, specialized long-rage R&D cameras, and Group 1 and Group 2 UAV platforms. The goal is to support the development of algorithms capable of accurately recognizing people at ranges up to 1,000 m and from high angles of elevation. These advances will include improvements to the state of the art in face recognition and will support new research in the area of whole-body recognition using methods based on gait and anthropometry. This paper describes methods used to collect and curate the dataset, and the dataset's characteristics at the current stage.
Sampling methods (e.g., node-wise, layer-wise, or subgraph) has become an indispensable strategy to speed up training large-scale Graph Neural Networks (GNNs). However, existing sampling methods are mostly based on the graph structural information and ignore the dynamicity of optimization, which leads to high variance in estimating the stochastic gradients. The high variance issue can be very pronounced in extremely large graphs, where it results in slow convergence and poor generalization. In this paper, we theoretically analyze the variance of sampling methods and show that, due to the composite structure of empirical risk, the variance of any sampling method can be decomposed into \textit{embedding approximation variance} in the forward stage and \textit{stochastic gradient variance} in the backward stage that necessities mitigating both types of variance to obtain faster convergence rate. We propose a decoupled variance reduction strategy that employs (approximate) gradient information to adaptively sample nodes with minimal variance, and explicitly reduces the variance introduced by embedding approximation. We show theoretically and empirically that the proposed method, even with smaller mini-batch sizes, enjoys a faster convergence rate and entails a better generalization compared to the existing methods.
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