Bayesian Multimodal Data Analytics: AnIntroduction

Bayesian methods for multimodal data have attracted the interest of re-searchers and practitioners in a variety of real-world applications. In-deed, Bayesian statistics provide an effective framework to deal with mix-tures of unimodal distributions allowing one to incorporate prior infor-mation, when available, and to model posterior distribution in distinct modes. This introductory chapter presents a brief overview of the Bayes-ian perspective in the field of multimodal data, as well as a brief over-view of salient applications. This chapter additionally offers the reader an introduction to two subsequent studies, wherein Bayesian modeling methods are presented for addressing multimodal data in the context of risk analysis and gestural human-machine interaction problems, respec-tively.