Section: Research Program

Statistical learning

Sparse graph structures are useful in a number of information processing tasks where the computational problem can be described as follows: infer the values of a large collection of random variables, given a set of constraints or observations, that induce relations among them. Similar design ideas have been proposed in sensing and signal processing and have applications in coding [52] , network measurements, group testing or multi-user detection. While the computational problem is generally hard, sparse graphical structures lead to low-complexity algorithms that are very effective in practice. We develop tools in order to contribute to a precise analysis of these algorithms and of their gap to optimal inference which remains a largely open problem.

A second line of activities concerns the design of protocols and algorithms enabling a transmitter to learn its environment (the statistical properties of the channel quality to the corresponding receiver, as well as their interfering neighbouring transmitters) so as to optimise their transmission strategies and to fairly and efficiently share radio resources. This second objective calls for the development and use of machine learning techniques (e.g. bandit optimisation).