  We discuss the problem in which an autonomous vehicle must classify an object
based on multiple views. We focus on the active classification setting, where
the vehicle controls which views to select to best perform the classification.
The problem is formulated as an extension to Bayesian active learning, and we
show connections to recent theoretical guarantees in this area. We formally
analyze the benefit of acting adaptively as new information becomes available.
The analysis leads to a probabilistic algorithm for determining the best views
to observe based on information theoretic costs. We validate our approach in
two ways, both related to underwater inspection: 3D polyhedra recognition in
synthetic depth maps and ship hull inspection with imaging sonar. These tasks
encompass both the planning and recognition aspects of the active
classification problem. The results demonstrate that actively planning for
informative views can reduce the number of necessary views by up to 80% when
compared to passive methods.
