Kernels for Structured Data

Thomas Gärtner, John W. Lloyd, Peter A. Flach

Abstract: Learning from structured data is becoming increasingly important. However, most prior work on kernel methods has focused on learning from attribute-value data. Only recently have researchers started investigating kernels for structured data. This paper describes how kernel definitions can be simplified by identifying the structure of the data and how kernels can be defined on this structure. We propose a kernel for structured data, prove that it is positive definite, and show how it can be adapted in practical applications.