Techniques for querying a hierarchical model to identify a class from multiple classes

A non-transitory computer readable medium storing a plurality of instructions executable by one or more processors, wherein the plurality of instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, causes the one or more processors to perform processing comprising:

• receiving an input by a hierarchical classification model configured to associate the input with a class in a plurality of classes, wherein:
• the hierarchical classification model includes a plurality of classification models and has a tree structure that includes a plurality of nodes on multiple layers, the plurality of nodes including leaf-nodes and non-leaf nodes, and the non-leaf nodes including a root node on a first layer of the multiple layers;
• each of the leaf nodes and the non-leaf nodes is associated with a respective classification model in the plurality of classification models of the hierarchical classification model;
• each leaf node is associated with at least two but fewer than a threshold number of classes;
• and
• each non-leaf node has two child nodes, each child node associated with a respective set of classes in the plurality of classes, a difference between numbers of classes in the two sets of classes being zero or one, and the classification model associated with the non-leaf node configured to classify inputs into the two sets of classes;
• and
• classifying, sequentially by a set of classification models associated with a set of nodes in the tree structure, the input as associated with the class in the plurality of classes, wherein:
• the set of nodes includes one node on each layer of the tree structure and forms a path from the root node to a leaf node;
• and
• each node in the set of nodes other than the root node is a child node of a node on an immediate upper layer of the tree structure.

A system comprising:

• one or more processors;
• and
• a memory coupled to the one or more processors, the memory storing instructions, which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the system to:
• receive an input by a hierarchical classification model configured to associate the input with a class in a plurality of classes, wherein:
• the hierarchical classification model includes a plurality of classification models and has a tree structure that includes a plurality of nodes on multiple layers, the plurality of nodes including leaf-nodes and non-leaf nodes, and the non-leaf nodes including a root node on a first layer of the multiple layers;
• each of the leaf nodes and the non-leaf nodes is associated with a respective classification model in the plurality of classification models of the hierarchical classification model;
• each leaf node is associated with at least two but fewer than a threshold number of classes;
• and
• each non-leaf node has two child nodes, each child node associated with a respective set of classes in the plurality of classes, a difference between numbers of classes in the two sets of classes being zero or one, and the classification model associated with the non-leaf node configured to classify inputs into the two sets of classes;
• and
• classify, sequentially by a set of classification models associated with a set of nodes in the tree structure, the input as associated with the class in the plurality of classes, wherein:
• the set of nodes includes one node on each layer of the tree structure and forms a path from the root node to a leaf node;
• and
• each node in the set of nodes other than the root node is a child node of a node on an immediate upper layer of the tree structure.