Region-Based Active Learning

We study a scenario of active learning where the input space is partitioned into different regions and where a distinct hypothesis is learned for each region. We first introduce a new active learning algorithm (EIWAL), which is an enhanced version of the IWAL algorithm, based on a finer analysis that results in more favorable learning guarantees. Then, we present a new learning algorithm for region-based active learning, ORIWAL, in which either IWAL or EIWAL serve as a subroutine. ORIWAL optimally allocates points to the subroutine algorithm for each region. We give a detailed theoretical analysis of ORIWAL, including generalization error guarantees and bounds on the number of points labeled, in terms of both the hypothesis set used in each region and the probability mass of that region. We also report the results of several experiments for our algorithm which demonstrate substantial benefits over existing non-region-based active learning algorithms, such as IWAL, and over passive learning.