Bayesian networks such as those represented by the hidden Markov model (HMM) and coupled Hidden Markov (CHMM) models have long been used to model data for the purposes of pattern recognition. Any discrete time and space dynamical system governed by such a Bayesian network emits a sequence of observable outputs with one output (observation) for each state in a trajectory of such states. From the observable sequence of outputs, the most likely dynamical system can be calculated. The result is a model for the underlying process. Alternatively, given a sequence of outputs, the most likely sequence of states can be determined.
For example, one dimensional HMMs have been widely used in speech recognition to model phonemes, words, or even phrases, and two dimensional HMMs have been used for image processing tasks. One of the important characteristics of a HMM is its ability to cope with variations in feature space, allowing data modeling with variations along different dimensions. Coupled hidden Markov models can be similarly employed, since they correspond to a generalization of a HMM. A CHMM may comprise a collection of HMMs, each of which corresponds to a data channel.