Graph matching by configurational relaxation

Abstract

This paper describes a symbolic approach to relational matching. The novelty of the method lies in its Bayesian modelling of relational consistency through the use of an explicit constraint corruption process. In consequence of this assumed model the consistency of match is gauged by a compound exponential function of a higher-order Hamming distance between symbolic relations, providing a natural mechanism for constraint softening. Unlike many alternatives in the literature, the method is not limited to the use of binary constraints; it can accommodate N-ary relations of varying order.