arXiv subjects

Nicolas Bianco

Publications and source records attributed to Nicolas Bianco.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Probabilistic Object Detection with Conformal Prediction

Conformal Prediction (CP) is a distribution-free method for constructing prediction sets with marginal finite-sample coverage guarantees, making it a suitable framework for reliable uncertainty quantification in safety-critical object detection. However, object detection introduces structured multi-output predictions, complicating the application of classical CP theory developed for single outputs. In addition, standard, unscaled CP produces fixed-width prediction intervals across inputs, leading to unnecessary width for low-uncertainty predictions. While scaled CP addresses this by adapting the interval width to an input-dependent uncertainty estimate, prior work has neither systematically compared unscaled and scaled CP for multi-class object detection, nor integrated CP with a complementary uncertainty quantification method in this setting. We fill this gap by: (i) applying CP coordinate-wise to bounding box corners with a Bonferroni correction for box-level guarantees; (ii) scaling the resulting intervals using per-prediction aleatoric uncertainty estimates derived from a probabilistic object detector trained with loss attenuation, evaluated in uncalibrated and two calibrated variants; (iii) extending to a two-step pipeline that constructs prediction sets for the class using RAPS and conditions the conformalized bounding boxes on the predicted class set. Across three autonomous driving datasets (KITTI, BDD, CODA), including a cross-domain setting under distribution shift, scaled CP consistently improves interval sharpness over unscaled CP, achieving up to 19% higher IoU and 39% lower interval scores, without sacrificing coverage. Class-wise calibration further improves coverage for both variants with a negligible effect on sharpness. Together, these improvements yield more actionable uncertainty estimates for real-time, real-world object detection.

cs.CV↗

arXiv2026

Scalable and Robust Spatial Prediction via Multi-Resolution Ensembles of Predictive Processes

Gaussian processes provide a flexible framework for spatial prediction, but their computational cost limits applicability to large-scale data with large sample size $n$. Predictive processes (PPs), a popular low-rank approximation, mitigate this burden by projecting the original process onto a reduced set of $m\ll n$ inducing points. However, existing theory requires $m$ to grow with $n$, creating a trade-off between accuracy and computational efficiency. We address this challenge by introducing an ensemble of PPs based on spatial partitioning, and propose a novel partitioning and patching scheme with desirable properties. By generalizing the convergence results of PPs, it becomes possible to explicitly balance scalability and accuracy: increasing the number of ensemble components slows down the convergence but substantially improves computational efficiency. We further show theoretically that, despite the limited approximation accuracy of PPs with fixed $m$, they are asymptotically robust to data contamination. Motivated by this insight, we finally introduce a multi-resolution ensemble that combines PPs with fixed $m$ with multiple ensembles defined over possibly overlapping coarse to fine partitions. Simulations and large-scale geostatistical applications demonstrate that our approach delivers accurate, robust predictions with computational gains, providing a practical and broadly applicable solution for spatial prediction.

stat.ME↗

arXiv2026

Computationally efficient segmentation for non-stationary time series with oscillatory patterns

We propose a novel approach for change-point detection and parameter learning in multivariate non-stationary time series exhibiting oscillatory behaviour. We approximate the process through a piecewise function defined by a sum of sinusoidal functions with unknown frequencies and amplitudes plus noise. The inference for this model is non-trivial. However, discretising the parameter space allows us to recast this complex estimation problem into a more tractable linear model, where the covariates are Fourier basis functions. Then, any change-point detection algorithms for segmentation can be used. The advantage of our proposal is that it bypasses the need for trans-dimensional Markov chain Monte Carlo algorithms used by state-of-the-art methods. Through simulations, we demonstrate that our method is significantly faster than existing approaches while maintaining comparable numerical accuracy. We also provide high probability bounds on the change-point localization error. We apply our methodology to climate and EEG sleep data.

stat.ME↗

arXiv2025

Scalable Variational Bayes Inference for Dynamic Variable Selection

We develop a variational Bayes approach for dynamic variable selection in high-dimensional regression models with time-varying parameters and predictors that exhibit a predefined group structure. Through comprehensive simulation studies, we demonstrate that our method yields more accurate parameter estimates than existing Bayesian static and dynamic variable selection approaches while maintaining computational efficiency. We illustrate the performance of our approach within the context of a popular problem in economics: forecasting inflation based on a large set of macroeconomic predictors. Our approach demonstrates significant improvements in out-of-sample point and density forecasting accuracy. A retrospective analysis of the time-varying parameter estimates reveals economically interpretable patterns in inflation dynamics.

stat.ME↗

arXiv2023

Variational inference for large Bayesian vector autoregressions

We propose a novel variational Bayes approach to estimate high-dimensional vector autoregression (VAR) models with hierarchical shrinkage priors. Our approach does not rely on a conventional structural VAR representation of the parameter space for posterior inference. Instead, we elicit hierarchical shrinkage priors directly on the matrix of regression coefficients so that (1) the prior structure directly maps into posterior inference on the reduced-form transition matrix, and (2) posterior estimates are more robust to variables permutation. An extensive simulation study provides evidence that our approach compares favourably against existing linear and non-linear Markov Chain Monte Carlo and variational Bayes methods. We investigate both the statistical and economic value of the forecasts from our variational inference approach within the context of a mean-variance investor allocating her wealth in a large set of different industry portfolios. The results show that more accurate estimates translate into substantial statistical and economic out-of-sample gains. The results hold across different hierarchical shrinkage priors and model dimensions.

econ.EM↗

arXiv2022

Flexible variational approximations for stochastic volatility-managed portfolios

This paper investigates volatility-managed portfolios through a variational Bayes approach that smooths stochastic volatility forecasts. Our algorithm exhibits competitive performance relative to established methods both in terms of inferential accuracy and computational efficiency. Analyzing equity factors and characteristic-based portfolios, we show that smoothing reduces excess leverage and turnover, significantly improving risk-adjusted returns after transaction costs. Importantly, our smoothed stochastic volatility method achieves positive net performance while avoiding extreme negative outcomes, a combination no competing approach attains. We demonstrate that superior forecasting accuracy does not guarantee superior portfolio performance, revealing a fundamental trade-off between model precision and economic utility.

econ.EM↗