Tactical Rewind: Self-Correction via Backtracking in Vision-and-Language Navigation (1903.02547v2)

Abstract: We present the Frontier Aware Search with backTracking (FAST) Navigator, a general framework for action decoding, that achieves state-of-the-art results on the Room-to-Room (R2R) Vision-and-Language navigation challenge of Anderson et. al. (2018). Given a natural language instruction and photo-realistic image views of a previously unseen environment, the agent was tasked with navigating from source to target location as quickly as possible. While all current approaches make local action decisions or score entire trajectories using beam search, ours balances local and global signals when exploring an unobserved environment. Importantly, this lets us act greedily but use global signals to backtrack when necessary. Applying FAST framework to existing state-of-the-art models achieved a 17% relative gain, an absolute 6% gain on Success rate weighted by Path Length (SPL).

An Overview of "LaTeX Author Guidelines for CVPR Proceedings"

The paper "LaTeX Author Guidelines for CVPR Proceedings" is an instructional document designed to assist authors in preparing their manuscripts for submission to the IEEE Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition (CVPR) conference proceedings. This paper meticulously details the formatting, submission, and review process requirements for authors.

The document addresses several critical components essential for authors to comply with the CVPR formatting guidelines. The intent is to standardize the presentation of research papers, thus ensuring uniformity and facilitating an objective review process.

Key Highlights

1. Manuscript Composition: The document prescribes that all manuscripts must adhere to a two-column format, a standard for CVPR submissions. This design choice optimizes readability and conforms to the conference's publication aesthetics.
2. Paper Length: Authors are instructed on the eight-page limit for manuscripts, excluding references, with no provision for extra charges for exceeding this limit. This constraint ensures that all submissions are concise and focused on the most significant contributions.
3. Blind Review Process: The guidelines emphasize maintaining anonymity during the submission process. Authors must avoid self-citation indicators such as "my" or "our," instead opting for neutral phrasing. This practice preserves the integrity of the blind review methodology, a crucial element for unbiased peer review.
4. Technical Specifications: Detailed instructions on type-styles, fonts, and figure positioning are provided to maintain consistency across all submissions. Authors are advised on using specific typographical settings, such as Times New Roman for text and Helvetica for callouts, as well as maintaining proper spacing and alignment.
5. Use of LaTeX: The document advises employing LaTeX for manuscript preparation, benefiting from its capabilities for managing complex structuring, such as figure placements and mathematical notations. The recommendation includes using specific LaTeX commands for optimal formatting compliance.
6. Ethical Guidelines: The document underscores the importance of ethical considerations such as avoiding dual submissions and ensuring that papers are standalone without reliance on technical reports for comprehension.

Implications for Research and Future Directions

The systematic approach presented in these guidelines not only influences the CVPR submissions but also sets a precedent for standard practices in other conferences and publications within the computer vision community. By enforcing a uniform system, the paper facilitates equitable consideration of diverse research papers, focusing attention on the content rather than presentation discrepancies.

Looking forward, such guidelines may evolve to accommodate new technologies or trends in paper presentation, such as interactive graphics or multimedia inclusions, while balancing the principles of clarity and accessibility. Furthermore, automation of compliance checks through advanced LaTeX packages or integration with submission portals could enhance accuracy and reduce the burden on authors.

Overall, the document serves as a rigorous framework guiding authors through the intricacies of manuscript preparation, reflecting CVPR's commitment to maintaining high standards in academic publishing. The adherence to such precise guidelines ensures that the contributions are evaluated based on merit and content fidelity.