# Tk-merge: Computationally Efficient Robust Clustering Under General Assumptions

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2201.06391 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2201.06391/

## Key facts

- No citing papers in the map yet (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 1 of its 48 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 17 Jan 2022.

## Builds on (most cited first, 1 of 1)

- [Merging K-means with hierarchical clustering for identifying general-shaped groups](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1712.08786/) (2017)

## Abstract (arXiv)

We address general-shaped clustering problems under very weak parametric assumptions with a two-step hybrid robust clustering algorithm based on trimmed k-means and hierarchical agglomeration. The algorithm has low computational complexity and effectively identifies the clusters also in presence of data contamination. We also present natural generalizations of the approach as well as an adaptive procedure to estimate the amount of contamination in a data-driven fashion. Our proposal outperforms state-of-the-art robust, model-based methods in our numerical simulations and real-world applications related to color quantization for image analysis, human mobility patterns based on GPS data, biomedical images of diabetic retinopathy, and functional data across weather stations.