Introducing

Machine Learning
What is Machine Learning?

Machine learning teaches computers to do what comes naturally to

humans and animals: learn from experience. Machine learning algorithms
use computational methods to “learn” information directly from data
without relying on a predetermined equation as a model. The algorithms
adaptively improve their performance as the number of samples available
for learning increases.
More Data, More Questions, Better Answers

Machine learning algorithms find natural patterns in data Real World Applications
that generate insight and help you make better decisions
and predictions. They are used every day to make critical With the rise in big data, machine learning has become
decisions in medical diagnosis, stock trading, energy load particularly important for solving problems in areas like these:
forecasting, and more. Media sites rely on machine learning • Computational finance, for credit scoring and
to sift through millions of options to give you song or movie algorithmic trading
recommendations. Retailers use it to gain insight into their
customers’ purchasing behavior. • Image processing and computer vision, for face recognition,
motion detection, and object detection

• Computational biology, for tumor detection, drug discovery,

and DNA sequencing

• Energy production, for price and load forecasting

• Automotive, aerospace, and manufacturing, for

predictive maintenance

• Natural language processing

Introducing Machine Learning 3

How Machine Learning Works

Machine learning uses two types of techniques: supervised

learning, which trains a model on known input and output data
so that it can predict future outputs, and unsupervised learning,
which finds hidden patterns or intrinsic structures in input data.

UNSUPERVISED
LEARNING
CLUSTERING
Group and interpret
data based only
on input data

MACHINE LEARNING
CLASSIFICATION
SUPERVISED
LEARNING
Develop predictive
model based on both
input and output data
REGRESSION

Introducing Machine Learning 4

Supervised Learning

The aim of supervised machine learning is to build a model Using Supervised Learning to Predict Heart Attacks
that makes predictions based on evidence in the presence of
uncertainty. A supervised learning algorithm takes a known Suppose clinicians want to predict whether someone will have a
set of input data and known responses to the data (output) heart attack within a year. They have data on previous patients,
and trains a model to generate reasonable predictions for the including age, weight, height, and blood pressure. They know
response to new data. whether the previous patients had heart attacks within a year. So
the problem is combining the existing data into a model that can
Supervised learning uses classification and regression predict whether a new person will have a heart attack
techniques to develop predictive models. within a year.
• Classification techniques predict discrete responses—for
example, whether an email is genuine or spam, or
whether a tumor is cancerous or benign. Classification
models classify input data into categories. Typical
applications include medical imaging, speech recognition,
and credit scoring.

• Regression techniques predict continuous responses—

for example, changes in temperature or fluctuations in
power demand. Typical applications include electricity
load forecasting and algorithmic trading.

Introducing Machine Learning 5

Unsupervised Learning

Unsupervised learning finds hidden patterns or intrinsic structures in

data. It is used to draw inferences from datasets consisting of input
data without labeled responses.

Clustering is the most common unsupervised learning technique.

It is used for exploratory data analysis to find hidden patterns or
Clustering
groupings in data.
Patterns in
Applications for clustering include gene sequence analysis, market the Data
research, and object recognition.

Clustering
Patterns in
the Data
Clustering Patterns
in the Data

Clustering
Patterns in
the Data

Introducing Machine Learning 6

How Do You Decide Which Algorithm to Use?

Choosing the right algorithm can seem overwhelming—there MACHINE LEARNING

are dozens of supervised and unsupervised machine learning

algorithms, and each takes a different approach to learning.

There is no best method or one size fits all. Finding the right
algorithm is partly just trial and error—even highly experienced SUPERVISED UNSUPERVISED
data scientists can’t tell whether an algorithm will work without LEARNING LEARNING
trying it out. But algorithm selection also depends on the size and
type of data you’re working with, the insights you want to get from
the data, and how those insights will be used.

CLASSIFICATION REGRESSION CLUSTERING

Support Vector Linear Regression, K-Means, K-Medoids

Machines GLM Fuzzy C-Means

Discriminant
SVR, GPR Hierarchical
Analysis

Naive Bayes Ensemble Methods Gaussian Mixture

Nearest Neighbor Decision Trees Neural Networks

Hidden Markov
Neural Networks
Model

Introducing Machine Learning 7

When Should You Use Machine Learning?

Consider using machine learning when you have a complex task or

problem involving a large amount of data and lots of variables, but
no existing formula or equation. For example, machine learning is
a good option if you need to handle situations like these:

• Hand-written rules and equations are too complex—as in face

recognition and speech recognition.

• The rules of a task are constantly changing—as in fraud

detection from transaction records.

• The nature of the data keeps changing, and the program needs
to adapt—as in automated trading, energy demand forecasting,
and predicting shopping trends.

Introducing Machine Learning 8

Real World Examples

Creating Algorithms that Can Analyze Works of Art

Researchers at the Art and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory at

Rutgers University wanted to see whether a computer algorithm
could classify paintings by style, genre, and artist as easily as a
human. They began by identifying visual features for classifying a
painting’s style. The algorithms they developed classified the styles
of paintings in the database with 60% accuracy, outperforming
typical non-expert humans.

The researchers hypothesized that visual features useful for style

classification (a supervised learning problem) could also be used to
determine artistic influences (an unsupervised problem).

They used classification algorithms trained on Google images to

identify specific objects. They tested the algorithms on more than
1,700 paintings from 66 different artists working over a span
of 550 years. The algorithm readily identified connected works,
including the influence of Diego Velazquez’s “Portrait of Pope
Innocent X” on Francis Bacon’s “Study After Velazquez’s Portrait of
Pope Innocent X.”

Introducing Machine Learning 9

Real World Examples

Optimizing HVAC Energy Usage in Large Buildings

The heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems

in office buildings, hospitals, and other large-scale commercial
buildings are often inefficient because they do not take into
account changing weather patterns, variable energy costs, or the
building’s thermal properties.

Building IQ’s cloud-based software platform addresses this

problem. The platform uses advanced algorithms and machine
learning methods to continuously process gigabytes of information
from power meters, thermometers, and HVAC pressure sensors, as
well as weather and energy cost. In particular, machine learning
is used to segment data and determine the relative contributions
of gas, electric, steam, and solar power to heating and cooling
processes. The building IQ platform reduces HVAC energy
consumption in large-scale commercial buildings by 10% - 25%
during normal operation.

Introducing Machine Learning 10

Real World Examples

Detecting Low-Speed Car Crashes

With more than 8 million members, the RAC is one of the UK’s
largest motoring organizations, providing roadside assistance,
insurance, and other services to private and business motorists.

To enable rapid response to roadside incidents, reduce crashes,

and mitigate insurance costs, the RAC developed an onboard
crash sensing system that uses advanced machine learning
algorithms to detect low-speed collisions and distinguish these
events from more common driving events, such as driving over
speed bumps or potholes. Independent tests showed the RAC
system to be 92% accurate in detecting test crashes.

Introducing Machine Learning 11

 Learn More

Ready for a deeper dive? Explore these resources to learn more about
machine learning methods, examples, and tools.
Watch
Machine Learning Made Easy 34:34
Signal Processing and Machine Learning Techniques for Sensor Data Analytics 42:45

Read
Machine Learning Blog Posts: Social Network Analysis, Text Mining, Bayesian Reasoning, and more
The Netflix Prize and Production Machine Learning Systems: An Insider Look
Machine Learning Challenges: Choosing the Best Model and Avoiding Overfitting

Explore
MATLAB Machine Learning Examples
Machine Learning Solutions
Classify Data with the Classification Learner App

© 2016 The MathWorks, Inc. MATLAB and Simulink are registered trademarks of The MathWorks, Inc. See mathworks.com/trademarks for a list of additional trademarks.
Other product or brand names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.
92991v00