用伯恩斯坦基表示概率轨迹,实现更平滑精准的分布回归。
Wasserstein Regression as a Variational Approximation of Probabilistic Trajectories through the Bernstein Basis
- 用伯恩斯坦多项式参数化高斯成分的均值与协方差,构建平滑概率轨迹。
- 在复杂非线性轨迹上,Wasserstein距离、能量距离等指标优于或相当现有方法。
- 模型兼具几何准确性、计算效率与可解释性,适合需要透明建模的场景。
本文研究分布回归问题,该问题在机器学习中日益重要。现有方法常忽略概率空间的几何结构或计算成本过高。为此,提出一种新方法:结合伯恩斯坦基对概率轨迹进行参数化,并最小化分布间的Wasserstein距离。核心思路是将条件分布建模为光滑轨迹,由高斯分量加权构成,其均值与协方差作为输入变量的函数,通过伯恩斯坦多项式构造。损失函数为预测高斯分布与经验数据间平均平方Wasserstein距离,体现分布几何特性。采用基于自动微分的优化方法训练模型。在含复杂轨迹的合成数据集上实验表明,该方法在Wasserstein距离、能量距离和RMSE指标上表现优异,尤其在强非线性情形下优势明显。模型轨迹平滑性优于或相当其他方法,对数据结构变化具有鲁棒性,且因显式控制点参数化而保持高可解释性。该方法在几何精度、计算实用性与可解释性之间取得良好平衡。未来方向包括扩展至非高斯分布、引入熵正则化加速计算,以及应用于高维数据以逼近曲面与复杂结构。
原文摘要 · Abstract (English)
This paper considers the problem of regression over distributions, which is becoming increasingly important in machine learning. Existing approaches often ignore the geometry of the probability space or are computationally expensive. To overcome these limitations, a new method is proposed that combines the parameterization of probability trajectories using a Bernstein basis and the minimization of the Wasserstein distance between distributions. The key idea is to model a conditional distribution as a smooth probability trajectory defined by a weighted sum of Gaussian components whose parameters -- the mean and covariance -- are functions of the input variable constructed using Bernstein polynomials. The loss function is the averaged squared Wasserstein distance between the predicted Gaussian distributions and the empirical data, which takes into account the geometry of the distributions. An autodiff-based optimization method is used to train the model. Experiments on synthetic datasets that include complex trajectories demonstrated that the proposed method provides competitive approximation quality in terms of the Wasserstein distance, Energy Distance, and RMSE metrics, especially in cases of pronounced nonlinearity. The model demonstrates trajectory smoothness that is better than or comparable to alternatives and robustness to changes in data structure, while maintaining high interpretability due to explicit parameterization via control points. The developed approach represents a balanced solution that combines geometric accuracy, computational practicality, and interpretability. Prospects for further research include extending the method to non-Gaussian distributions, applying entropy regularization to speed up computations, and adapting the approach to working with high-dimensional data for approximating surfaces and more complex structures.
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