Random Forest Tutorial

This is slide deck from a lecture.  It is a good introduction to RDF's with advantages and disadvantages compared with other methods.

www.dabi.temple.edu/~hbling/8590.002/Montillo_RandomForests_4-2-2009.pdf

Decision Forests for Computer Vision and Medical Image Analysis book from Microsoft Research

This is the best resource I have found for understanding and using decision tree based machine learning algorithms.  It is very thorough on both theory and practical use with comparisons with other algorithms such as SVM's and AdaBoost.

There are also a bunch of supplemental materials available for free including a very nice PowerPoint with great explanations.  The supplemental materials include C++ and C# code.

Decision Forests - Microsoft Research

Decision Forests for Classification, Regression, Density Estimation, Manifold Learning and Semi-Supervised Learning

This technical report from Microsoft Research is an A-Z tutorial on how decision tree machine learning algorithms work.  It includes in depth explanations of random forests, extra tree classifiers, random ferns and other variations for both classification and regression.

It is in report format and compares decision forests to other types of machine learning algorithms such as SVM.  Some simple toy problems give the basics and some real life applications such as body position recognition and medical image are included.

There is also an accompanying PowerPoint with some nice animations.

http://research.microsoft.com/pubs/155552/decisionForests_MSR_TR_2011_114.pdf is not available

Alternatives to support vector machines in neuroimaging ensembles of decision trees for classification and information mapping with predictive models

This is a nice tutorial for using random decision forests for classifying medical images.  There is a comparison with some other methods, especially SVM's.

http://web.stanford.edu/~richiard/slides/PRNI2013Tutorial_export.pdf is not available

Detection of malicious code by applying machine learning classifiers on static features: A state-of-the-art survey

This journal article discusses the application of various machine learning methods to malware detection and information security.


This research synthesizes a taxonomy for classifying detection methods of new malicious code by Machine Learning (ML) methods based on static features extracted from executables. The taxonomy is then operationalized to classify research on this topic and pinpoint critical open research issues in light of emerging threats. The article addresses various facets of the detection challenge, including: file representation and feature selection methods, classification algorithms, weighting ensembles, as well as the imbalance problem, active learning, and chronological evaluation. From the survey we conclude that a framework for detecting new malicious code in executable files can be designed to achieve very high accuracy while maintaining low false positives (i.e. misclassifying benign files as malicious). The framework should include training of multiple classifiers on various types of features (mainly OpCode and byte n-grams and Portable Executable Features), applying weighting algorithm on the classification results of the individual classifiers, as well as an active learning mechanism to maintain high detection accuracy. The training of classifiers should also consider the imbalance problem by generating classifiers that will perform accurately in a real-life situation where the percentage of malicious files among all files is estimated to be approximately 10%.


Detection of malicious code by applying machine learning classifiers on static features: A state-of-the-art survey

Texturecam: Autonomous Image Analysis For Astrobiology Survey

This is a paper about a project to include software on robotic rover spacecraft that uses a random forest algorithm to allow the rover to autonomously classify rocks by texture.  This helps the rover to search for signs of life.

ml.jpl.nasa.gov/papers/thompson/thompson-2012-lpsc.pdf

Exploiting tree-based variable importances to selectively identify relevant variables

This paper proposes a novel statistical procedure based on permutation tests for extracting a subset of truly relevant variables from multivariate importance rankings derived from tree-based supervised learning methods. It shows also that the direct extension of the classical approach based on permutation tests for estimating false discovery rates of univariate variable scoring procedures does not extend very well to the case of multivariate tree-based importance measures.



jmlr.org/proceedings/papers/v4/huynhthu08a/huynhthu08a.pdf

Large-scale prediction of long disordered regions in proteins using random forests

Many proteins contain disordered regions that lack fixed three-dimensional (3D) structure under physiological conditions but have important biological functions. Prediction of disordered regions in protein sequences is important for understanding protein function and in high-throughput determination of protein structures. Machine learning techniques, including neural networks and support vector machines have been widely used in such predictions. Predictors designed for long disordered regions are usually less successful in predicting short disordered regions. Combining prediction of short and long disordered regions will dramatically increase the complexity of the prediction algorithm and make the predictor unsuitable for large-scale applications. Efficient batch prediction of long disordered regions alone is of greater interest in large-scale proteome studies.

BMC Bioinformatics | Full text | Large-scale prediction of long disordered regions in proteins using random forests

Extremely randomized trees by Pierre Geurts Damien Ernst Louis Wehenkel

This paper proposes a new tree-based ensemble method for supervised classification and regression problems. It essentially consists of randomizing strongly both attribute and cut-point choice while splitting a tree node. In the extreme case, it builds totally randomized trees whose structures are independent of the output values of the learning sample. The strength of the randomization can be tuned to problem specifics by the appropriate choice of a parameter. We evaluate the robustness of the default choice of this parameter, and we also provide insight on how to adjust it in particular situations. Besides accuracy, the main strength of the resulting algorithm is computational efficiency. A bias/variance analysis of the Extra-Trees algorithm is also provided as well as a geometrical and a kernel characterization of the models induced.

orbi.ulg.ac.be/bitstream/2268/9357/1/geurts-mlj-advance.pdf