"We introduce an algorithm that, given n objects, learns a similarity matrix over all n^2 pairs, from crowdsourced data alone. The algorithm samples responses to adaptively chosen triplet-based relative-similarity queries. Each query has the form "is object 'a' more similar to 'b' or to 'c'?" and is chosen to be maximally informative given the preceding responses. The output is an embedding of the objects into Euclidean space (like MDS); we refer to this as the "crowd kernel." SVMs reveal that the crowd kernel captures prominent and subtle features across a number of domains, such as "is striped" among neckties and "vowel vs. consonant" among letters."

"We present two methods for detecting patterns and clusters in high dimensional time-dependent functional data. Our methods are based on wavelet-based similarity measures, since wavelets are well suited for identifying highly discriminant local time and scale features. The multiresolution aspect of the wavelet transform provides a time-scale decomposition of the signals allowing to visualize and to cluster the functional data into homogeneous groups. For each input function, through its empirical orthogonal wavelet transform the first method uses the distribution of energy across scales generate a handy number of features that can be sufficient to still make the signals well distinguishable. Our new similarity measure combined with an efficient feature selection technique in the wavelet domain is then used within more or less classical clustering algorithms to effectively differentiate among high dimensional populations. The second method uses dissimilarity measures between the whole time-scale representations and are based on wavelet-coherence tools. The clustering is then performed using a k-centroid algorithm starting from these dissimilarities. Practical performance of these methods that jointly designs both the feature selection in the wavelet domain and the classification distance is demonstrated through simulations as well as daily profiles of the French electricity power demand."