k-Median clustering under discrete Fréchet and Hausdorff distances

Abstract: We give the first near-linear time $(1+\eps)$-approximation algorithm for $k$-median clustering of polygonal trajectories under the discrete Fr\'{e}chet distance, and the first polynomial time $(1+\eps)$-approximation algorithm for $k$-median clustering of finite point sets under the Hausdorff distance, provided the cluster centers, ambient dimension, and $k$ are bounded by a constant. The main technique is a general framework for solving clustering problems where the cluster centers are restricted to come from a \emph{simpler} metric space. We precisely characterize conditions on the simpler metric space of the cluster centers that allow faster $(1+\eps)$-approximations for the $k$-median problem. We also show that the $k$-median problem under Hausdorff distance is \textsc{NP-Hard}.