Related papers: Probabilistically Faulty Searching on a Half-Line
The problem of estimating the probability p=P(g(X<0) is considered when X represents a multivariate stochastic input of a monotone function g. First, a heuristic method to bound p is formally described, involving a specialized design of…
In many contemporary optimization problems such as those arising in machine learning, it can be computationally challenging or even infeasible to evaluate an entire function or its derivatives. This motivates the use of stochastic…
This article presents a new search algorithm for the NP-hard problem of optimizing functions of binary variables that decompose according to a graphical model. It can be applied to models of any order and structure. The main novelty is a…
We give the first agnostic, efficient, proper learning algorithm for monotone Boolean functions. Given $2^{\tilde{O}(\sqrt{n}/\varepsilon)}$ uniformly random examples of an unknown function $f:\{\pm 1\}^n \rightarrow \{\pm 1\}$, our…
The problem of detecting anomalies in multiple processes is considered. We consider a composite hypothesis case, in which the measurements drawn when observing a process follow a common distribution with an unknown parameter (vector), whose…
A graph environment must be explored by a collection of mobile robots. Some of the robots, a priori unknown, may turn out to be unreliable. The graph is weighted and each node is assigned a deadline. The exploration is successful if each…
In this paper, the monotone submodular maximization problem (SM) is studied. SM is to find a subset of size $\kappa$ from a universe of size $n$ that maximizes a monotone submodular objective function $f$. We show using a novel analysis…
We study the classic problem in which a Searcher must locate a hidden point, also called the Hider in a network, starting from a root point. The network may be either bounded or unbounded, thus generalizing well-known settings such as…
In this paper, we propose a deterministic algorithm that approximates the optimal path cover on weighted undirected graphs. Based on the 1/2-Approximation Path Cover Algorithm by Moran et al., we add a procedure to remove the redundant…
We study the kinetics for the search of an immobile target by randomly moving searchers that detect it only upon encounter. The searchers perform intermittent random walks on a one-dimensional lattice. Each searcher can step on a nearest…
Many combinatorial optimization problems can be formulated as the search for a subgraph that satisfies certain properties and minimizes the total weight. We assume here that the vertices correspond to points in a metric space and can take…
We consider optimal route planning when the objective function is a general nonlinear and non-monotonic function. Such an objective models user behavior more accurately, for example, when a user is risk-averse, or the utility function needs…
Consider the following generalization of the classic binary search problem: a searcher is required to find a hidden vertex $x$ in a tree $T$. To do so, they iteratively perform queries to an oracle, each about a chosen vertex $v$. After…
We introduce and study the general setting of weighted search in which a number of targets, each with a certain weight, are hidden in a star-like environment that consists of $m$ infinite, concurrent rays, with a common origin. A mobile…
We consider an agent seeking to obtain an item, potentially available at different locations in a physical environment. The traveling costs between locations are known in advance, but there is only probabilistic knowledge regarding the…
Feature subset selection, as a special case of the general subset selection problem, has been the topic of a considerable number of studies due to the growing importance of data-mining applications. In the feature subset selection problem…
Constrained submodular maximization problems have long been studied, with near-optimal results known under a variety of constraints when the submodular function is monotone. The case of non-monotone submodular maximization is less…
A new pattern search method for bound constrained optimization is introduced. The proposed algorithm employs the coordinate directions, in a suitable way, with a nonmonotone line search for accepting the new iterate, without using…
We consider the bi-criteria shortest-path problem where we want to compute shortest paths on a graph that simultaneously balance two cost functions. While this problem has numerous applications, there is usually no path minimizing both cost…
We consider the problem of finding a door along a wall with a blind robot that neither knows the distance to the door nor the direction towards of the door. This problem can be solved with the well-known doubling strategy yielding an…