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arXiv · 2309.10656

A spectrum of physics-informed Gaussian processes for regression in engineering

Elizabeth J Cross·Timothy J Rogers·Daniel J Pitchforth·Samuel J Gibson·Matthew R Jones
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Abstract

Despite the growing availability of sensing and data in general, we remain unable to fully characterise many in-service engineering systems and structures from a purely data-driven approach. The vast data and resources available to capture human activity are unmatched in our engineered world, and, even in cases where data could be referred to as ``big,'' they will rarely hold information across operational windows or life spans. This paper pursues the combination of machine learning technology and physics-based reasoning to enhance our ability to make predictive models with limited data. By explicitly linking the physics-based view of stochastic processes with a data-based regression approach, a spectrum of possible Gaussian process models are introduced that enable the incorporation of different levels of expert knowledge of a system. Examples illustrate how these approaches can significantly reduce reliance on data collection whilst also increasing the interpretability of the model, another important consideration in this context.

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Elizabeth J Cross, Timothy J Rogers, Daniel J Pitchforth, Samuel J Gibson, Matthew R Jones. 2023-09-19. A spectrum of physics-informed Gaussian processes for regression in engineering. https://arxiv.org/abs/2309.10656

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