Fast Kernel Density Estimator (Multivariate)

A very fast multivariate bandwidth calculation for KDE that can even be calculated from a GMM.
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Updated 8 May 2013

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The code implements an approximation of the multivariate bandwidth calculation from [1]. In contrast to other multivariate bandwidth estimators, it can be estimated from a preclustered sample distribution offering a simple way of estimating compact and accurate KDEs with variable kernels.

The code provides a C source code for the engine of calculation and a routine to compile it automatically in Matlab.

The code includes three demos:
1. Multivariate KDE: demoBW_Estimation.m (it also compiles your code)
2. 1D KDE: demoBW_Estimation1D.m
3. Multivariate KDE with preclustering: demoBW_with_preclustering


Reasons to use the bandwidth estimator from [1]:
* Reasonably fast computation
* Handles multivariate bandwidths
* Can use weighted data
* Generally produces good estimates of the bandwidths
* Can be calculated from a Gaussian mixture model, not only directly from the samples
* Avoids numerical evaluations and iterative computation -- the bandwidth is analytically computed (even from a GMM) under some approximations.

Some advice:
If you're trying to estimate the KDE from "really" large datasets, then I suggest one of two things: (i) precluster the data first and apply [1]. (2) Use the online KDE, which learns the model by one data at a time -- the Matlab code for the oKDE is available from the author's homepage (http://www.vicos.si/People/Matejk).

[1] M. Kristan, A. Leonardis, D. Skočaj, "Multivariate online Kernel Density Estimation with Gaussian Kernels", Pattern Recognition, 2011.

Cite As

Matej Kristan (2024). Fast Kernel Density Estimator (Multivariate) (https://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/fileexchange/41187-fast-kernel-density-estimator-multivariate), MATLAB Central File Exchange. Retrieved .

MATLAB Release Compatibility
Created with R2011a
Compatible with any release
Platform Compatibility
Windows macOS Linux

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Version Published Release Notes
1.7.0.0

Corrected plotting of a 1d distribution and some includes for properly installing the path to plotting tools.

1.5.0.0

added link to homepage

1.4.0.0

updated the "Description" field.

1.3.0.0

Some correction of the code for moment matching "momentMatchPdf.m" and additional example of very fast 1D KDE estimation "demoBW_Estimation1D.m".

1.0.0.0