Yext EVP Product & Strategy
Engineering Blog Articles
Uber and Yext Team Up to Offer Riders a Smarter Way to Get to...
This is a guest post from Yext’s EVP Product & Strategy, Marc Ferrentino.
Research Papers
Go-Explore: a New Approach for Hard-Exploration Problems
A. Ecoffet, J. Huizinga, J. Lehman, K. Stanley, J. Clune
A grand challenge in reinforcement learning is intelligent exploration, especially when rewards are sparse or deceptive. Two Atari games serve as benchmarks for such hard-exploration domains: Montezuma's Revenge and Pitfall. On both games, current RL algorithms perform poorly, even those with intrinsic motivation, which is the dominant method to improve performance on hard-exploration domains. [...] [PDF]
arXiv, 2019
A grand challenge in reinforcement learning is intelligent exploration, especially when rewards are sparse or deceptive. Two Atari games serve as benchmarks for such hard-exploration domains: Montezuma's Revenge and Pitfall. On both games, current RL algorithms perform poorly, even those with intrinsic motivation, which is the dominant method to improve performance on hard-exploration domains. [...] [PDF]
arXiv, 2019
An Atari Model Zoo for Analyzing, Visualizing, and Comparing Deep Reinforcement Learning Agents
F. Such, V. Madhavan, R. Liu, R. Wang, P. Castro, Y. Li, L. Schubert, M. Bellemare, J. Clune, J. Lehman
Much human and computational effort has aimed to improve how deep reinforcement learning algorithms perform on benchmarks such as the Atari Learning Environment. Comparatively less effort has focused on understanding what has been learned by such methods, and investigating and comparing the representations learned by different families of reinforcement learning (RL) algorithms. [...] [PDF]
arXiv, 2019
Much human and computational effort has aimed to improve how deep reinforcement learning algorithms perform on benchmarks such as the Atari Learning Environment. Comparatively less effort has focused on understanding what has been learned by such methods, and investigating and comparing the representations learned by different families of reinforcement learning (RL) algorithms. [...] [PDF]
arXiv, 2019
Paired Open-Ended Trailblazer (POET): Endlessly Generating Increasingly Complex and Diverse Learning Environments and Their...
R. Wang, J. Lehman, J. Clune, K. Stanley
While the history of machine learning so far encompasses a series of problems posed by researchers and algorithms that learn their solutions, an important question is whether the problems themselves can be generated by the algorithm at the same time as they are being solved. [...] [PDF]
arXiv, 2019
While the history of machine learning so far encompasses a series of problems posed by researchers and algorithms that learn their solutions, an important question is whether the problems themselves can be generated by the algorithm at the same time as they are being solved. [...] [PDF]
arXiv, 2019
Rotated Rectangles for Symbolized Building Footprint Extraction
M. Dickenson, L. Gueguen
Building footprints (BFP) provide useful visual context for users of digital maps when navigating in space. This paper proposes a method for extracting and symbolizing building footprints from satellite imagery using a convolutional neural network (CNN). [...] [PDF]
Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition (CVPR), 2018
Building footprints (BFP) provide useful visual context for users of digital maps when navigating in space. This paper proposes a method for extracting and symbolizing building footprints from satellite imagery using a convolutional neural network (CNN). [...] [PDF]
Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition (CVPR), 2018
LanczosNet: Multi-Scale Deep Graph Convolutional Networks
Renjie Liao, Zhizhen Zhao, Raquel Urtasun, Richard S. Zemel
Relational data can generally be represented as graphs. For processing such graph structured data, we propose LanczosNet, which uses the Lanczos algorithm to construct low rank approximations of the graph Laplacian for graph convolution. [...] [PDF]
Neural Information Processing Systems (NIPS), 2018
Relational data can generally be represented as graphs. For processing such graph structured data, we propose LanczosNet, which uses the Lanczos algorithm to construct low rank approximations of the graph Laplacian for graph convolution. [...] [PDF]
Neural Information Processing Systems (NIPS), 2018
Metropolis-Hastings Generative Adversarial Networks
R. Turner, J. Hung, Y. Saatci, J. Yosinski
We introduce the Metropolis-Hastings generative adversarial network (MH-GAN), which combines aspects of Markov chain Monte Carlo and GANs. The MH-GAN draws samples from the distribution implicitly defined by a GAN's discriminator-generator pair, as opposed to sampling in a standard GAN which draws samples from the distribution defined by the generator. [...] [PDF]
arXiv, 2018
We introduce the Metropolis-Hastings generative adversarial network (MH-GAN), which combines aspects of Markov chain Monte Carlo and GANs. The MH-GAN draws samples from the distribution implicitly defined by a GAN's discriminator-generator pair, as opposed to sampling in a standard GAN which draws samples from the distribution defined by the generator. [...] [PDF]
arXiv, 2018
Fast and Furious: Real Time End-to-End 3D Detection, Tracking and Motion Forecasting with a...
W. Luo, B. Yang, R. Urtasun
In this paper we propose a novel deep neural network that is able to jointly reason about 3D detection, tracking and motion forecasting given data captured by a 3D sensor. By jointly reasoning about these tasks, our holistic approach is more robust to occlusion as well as sparse data at range. [...] [PDF]
Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition (CVPR), 2018
In this paper we propose a novel deep neural network that is able to jointly reason about 3D detection, tracking and motion forecasting given data captured by a 3D sensor. By jointly reasoning about these tasks, our holistic approach is more robust to occlusion as well as sparse data at range. [...] [PDF]
Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition (CVPR), 2018
SurfConv: Bridging 3D and 2D Convolution for RGBD Images
H. Chu, W. Ma, K. Kundu, R. Urtasun, S. Fidler
The last few years have seen approaches trying to combine the increasing popularity of depth sensors and the success of the convolutional neural networks. Using depth as additional channel alongside the RGB input has the scale variance problem present in image convolution based approaches. [...] [PDF]
Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition (CVPR), 2018
The last few years have seen approaches trying to combine the increasing popularity of depth sensors and the success of the convolutional neural networks. Using depth as additional channel alongside the RGB input has the scale variance problem present in image convolution based approaches. [...] [PDF]
Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition (CVPR), 2018
IntentNet: Learning to Predict Intention from Raw Sensor Data
S. Casas, W. Luo, R. Urtasun
In order to plan a safe maneuver, self-driving vehicles need to understand the intent of other traffic participants. We define intent as a combination of discrete high level behaviors as well as continuous trajectories describing future motion. In this paper we develop a one-stage detector and forecaster that exploits both 3D point clouds produced by a LiDAR sensor as well as dynamic maps of the environment. [...] [PDF]
Conference on Robot Learning (CORL), 2018
In order to plan a safe maneuver, self-driving vehicles need to understand the intent of other traffic participants. We define intent as a combination of discrete high level behaviors as well as continuous trajectories describing future motion. In this paper we develop a one-stage detector and forecaster that exploits both 3D point clouds produced by a LiDAR sensor as well as dynamic maps of the environment. [...] [PDF]
Conference on Robot Learning (CORL), 2018
HDNET: Exploiting HD Maps for 3D Object Detection
B. Yang, M. Liang, R. Urtasun
In this paper we show that High-Definition (HD) maps provide strong priors that can boost the performance and robustness of modern 3D object detectors. Towards this goal, we design a single stage detector that extracts geometric and semantic features from the HD maps. [...] [PDF]
Conference on Robot Learning (CORL), 2018
In this paper we show that High-Definition (HD) maps provide strong priors that can boost the performance and robustness of modern 3D object detectors. Towards this goal, we design a single stage detector that extracts geometric and semantic features from the HD maps. [...] [PDF]
Conference on Robot Learning (CORL), 2018
Learning to Localize Using a LiDAR Intensity Map
I. Bârsan, S. Wang, A. Pokrovsky, R. Urtasun
In this paper we propose a real-time, calibration-agnostic and effective localization system for self-driving cars. Our method learns to embed the online LiDAR sweeps and intensity map into a joint deep embedding space. [...] [PDF]
Conference on Robot Learning (CORL), 2018
In this paper we propose a real-time, calibration-agnostic and effective localization system for self-driving cars. Our method learns to embed the online LiDAR sweeps and intensity map into a joint deep embedding space. [...] [PDF]
Conference on Robot Learning (CORL), 2018
IntentNet: Learning to Predict Intention from Raw Sensor Data
S. Casas, W. Luo, R. Urtasun
In order to plan a safe maneuver, self-driving vehicles need to understand the intent of other traffic participants. We define intent as a combination of discrete high level behaviors as well as continuous trajectories describing future motion. [...] [PDF]
Conference on Robot Learning (CORL), 2018
In order to plan a safe maneuver, self-driving vehicles need to understand the intent of other traffic participants. We define intent as a combination of discrete high level behaviors as well as continuous trajectories describing future motion. [...] [PDF]
Conference on Robot Learning (CORL), 2018
Pyro: Deep Universal Probabilistic Programming
E. Bingham, J. Chen, M. Jankowiak, F. Obermeyer, N. Pradhan, T. Karaletsos, R. Singh, P. Szerlip, P. Horsfall, N. Goodman
Pyro is a probabilistic programming language built on Python as a platform for developing advanced probabilistic models in AI research. [...] [PDF]
References & Citations: NASA ADS
Journal of Machine Learning Research (JMLR), 2018
Pyro is a probabilistic programming language built on Python as a platform for developing advanced probabilistic models in AI research. [...] [PDF]
References & Citations: NASA ADS
Journal of Machine Learning Research (JMLR), 2018
Incremental Few-Shot Learning with Attention Attractor Networks
M. Ren, R. Liao, E. Fetaya, R. Zemel
This paper addresses the problem, incremental few-shot learning, where a regular classification network has already been trained to recognize a set of base classes; and several extra novel classes are being considered, each with only a few labeled examples. [...] [PDF]
Neural Information Processing Systems (NIPS), 2018
This paper addresses the problem, incremental few-shot learning, where a regular classification network has already been trained to recognize a set of base classes; and several extra novel classes are being considered, each with only a few labeled examples. [...] [PDF]
Neural Information Processing Systems (NIPS), 2018
Predicting Motion of Vulnerable Road Users using High-Definition Maps and Efficient ConvNets
F. Chou, T.-H. Lin, H. Cui, V. Radosavljevic, T. Nguyen, T. Huang, M. Niedoba, J. Schneider, N. Djuric
Following detection and tracking of traffic actors, prediction of their future motion is the next critical component of a self-driving vehicle (SDV), allowing the SDV to move safely and efficiently in its environment. This is particularly important when it comes to vulnerable road users (VRUs), such as pedestrians and bicyclists. We present a deep learning method for predicting VRU movement where we rasterize high-definition maps and actor's surroundings into bird's-eye view image used as input to convolutional networks. [...] [PDF]
Neural Information Processing Systems (NeurIPS) - MLITS workshop, 2018
Following detection and tracking of traffic actors, prediction of their future motion is the next critical component of a self-driving vehicle (SDV), allowing the SDV to move safely and efficiently in its environment. This is particularly important when it comes to vulnerable road users (VRUs), such as pedestrians and bicyclists. We present a deep learning method for predicting VRU movement where we rasterize high-definition maps and actor's surroundings into bird's-eye view image used as input to convolutional networks. [...] [PDF]
Neural Information Processing Systems (NeurIPS) - MLITS workshop, 2018
Deep Continuous Fusion for Multi-Sensor 3D Object Detection
M. Liang, B. Yang, S. Wang, R. Urtasun
In this paper, we propose a novel 3D object detector that can exploit both LIDAR as well as cameras to perform very accurate localization. Towards this goal, we design an end-to-end learnable architecture that exploits continuous convolutions to fuse image and LIDAR feature maps at different levels of resolution. [...] [PDF]
European Conference on Computer Vision (ECCV), 2018
In this paper, we propose a novel 3D object detector that can exploit both LIDAR as well as cameras to perform very accurate localization. Towards this goal, we design an end-to-end learnable architecture that exploits continuous convolutions to fuse image and LIDAR feature maps at different levels of resolution. [...] [PDF]
European Conference on Computer Vision (ECCV), 2018
End-to-End Deep Structured Models for Drawing Crosswalks
J. Liang, R. Urtasun
In this paper we address the problem of detecting crosswalks from LiDAR and camera imagery. Towards this goal, given multiple Li-DAR sweeps and the corresponding imagery, we project both inputs onto the ground surface to produce a top down view of the scene. [...] [PDF]
Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition (CVPR), 2018
In this paper we address the problem of detecting crosswalks from LiDAR and camera imagery. Towards this goal, given multiple Li-DAR sweeps and the corresponding imagery, we project both inputs onto the ground surface to produce a top down view of the scene. [...] [PDF]
Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition (CVPR), 2018
LSQ++: lower running time and higher recall in multi-codebook quantization
J. Martinez, S. Zakhmi, H. Hoos, and J. Little
Multi-codebook quantization (MCQ) is the task of expressing a set of vectors as accurately as possible in terms of discrete entries in multiple bases. Work in MCQ is heavily focused on lowering quantization error, thereby improving distance estimation and recall on benchmarks of visual descriptors at a fixed memory budget. [...] [PDF]
European Conference on Computer Vision (ECCV), 2018
Multi-codebook quantization (MCQ) is the task of expressing a set of vectors as accurately as possible in terms of discrete entries in multiple bases. Work in MCQ is heavily focused on lowering quantization error, thereby improving distance estimation and recall on benchmarks of visual descriptors at a fixed memory budget. [...] [PDF]
European Conference on Computer Vision (ECCV), 2018
Efficient Convolutions for Real-Time Semantic Segmentation of 3D Point Clouds
C. Zhang, W. Luo, R. Urtasun
We propose an approach for semi-automatic annotation of object instances. While most current methods treat object segmentation as a pixel-labeling problem, we here cast it as a polygon prediction task, mimicking how most current datasets have been annotated. [...] [PDF]
International Conference on 3D Vision (3DV), 2018
We propose an approach for semi-automatic annotation of object instances. While most current methods treat object segmentation as a pixel-labeling problem, we here cast it as a polygon prediction task, mimicking how most current datasets have been annotated. [...] [PDF]
International Conference on 3D Vision (3DV), 2018
Multimodal Trajectory Predictions for Autonomous Driving using Deep Convolutional Networks
H. Cui, V. Radosavljevic, F. Chou, T.-H. Lin, T. Nguyen, T. Huang, J. Schneider, N. Djuric
Autonomous driving presents one of the largest problems that the robotics and artificial intelligence communities are facing at the moment, both in terms of difficulty and potential societal impact. Self-driving vehicles (SDVs) are expected to prevent road accidents and save millions of lives while improving the livelihood and life quality of many more. [...] [PDF]
International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), 2019
Autonomous driving presents one of the largest problems that the robotics and artificial intelligence communities are facing at the moment, both in terms of difficulty and potential societal impact. Self-driving vehicles (SDVs) are expected to prevent road accidents and save millions of lives while improving the livelihood and life quality of many more. [...] [PDF]
International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), 2019
