Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence (May 2021)

A Survey of Topological Machine Learning Methods

  • Felix Hensel,
  • Felix Hensel,
  • Michael Moor,
  • Michael Moor,
  • Bastian Rieck,
  • Bastian Rieck

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/frai.2021.681108
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 4

Abstract

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The last decade saw an enormous boost in the field of computational topology: methods and concepts from algebraic and differential topology, formerly confined to the realm of pure mathematics, have demonstrated their utility in numerous areas such as computational biology personalised medicine, and time-dependent data analysis, to name a few. The newly-emerging domain comprising topology-based techniques is often referred to as topological data analysis (TDA). Next to their applications in the aforementioned areas, TDA methods have also proven to be effective in supporting, enhancing, and augmenting both classical machine learning and deep learning models. In this paper, we review the state of the art of a nascent field we refer to as “topological machine learning,” i.e., the successful symbiosis of topology-based methods and machine learning algorithms, such as deep neural networks. We identify common threads, current applications, and future challenges.

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