Hidden Markov Processes: Basic Properties

Abstract

This chapter considers the basic properties of hidden Markov processes (HMPs) or hidden Markov models (HMMs), a special type of stochastic process. It begins with a discussion of three distinct types of HMMs and shows that they are all equivalent from the standpoint of their expressive power or modeling ability: Type 1 hidden Markov model, or a HMM of the deterministic function of a Markov chain type; hidden Markov model of Type 2, or a HMM of the random function of a Markov chain type; and hidden Markov model of Type 3, or a HMM of the joint Markov process type. The chapter also examines various issues related to the computation of likelihoods in a HMM before concluding with an overview of the Viterbi algorithm and the Baum–Welch algorithm.