Tag: Vertex AI

  • Google BigQuery

    Google BigQuery is a fully managed, serverless, and cost-effective data warehouse that enables super-fast SQL queries using the processing power of Google’s infrastructure. It’s designed for analyzing massive datasets1 (petabytes and beyond) with high performance and scalability.

    Here’s a breakdown of its key features and concepts:

    Core Concepts:

    • Serverless: You don’t need to manage any infrastructure like servers or storage. Google handles provisioning, scaling, and maintenance automatically.
    • Massively Parallel Processing (MPP): BigQuery utilizes a distributed architecture that breaks down SQL queries and processes them in parallel across thousands of nodes, enabling extremely fast query execution on large datasets.
    • Columnar Storage: Data in BigQuery is stored in a columnar format rather than row-based. This is highly efficient for analytical queries that typically only need to access a subset of columns. Columnar storage allows BigQuery to read only the necessary data, significantly reducing I/O and improving query performance.
    • SQL Interface: You interact with BigQuery using standard SQL (with some extensions). This makes it accessible to data analysts and SQL developers.
    • Scalability: BigQuery can automatically scale storage and compute resources up or down based on your data volume and query complexity.
    • Cost-Effectiveness: You are primarily charged based on the amount of data processed by your queries and the amount of data stored. This pay-as-you-go model can be very cost-effective for large-scale data analysis.
    • Real-time Analytics: BigQuery supports streaming data ingestion, allowing you to analyze data in near real-time.
    • Integration with Google Cloud: It seamlessly integrates with other Google Cloud services like Cloud Storage, Dataflow, Dataproc, Vertex , and Looker.
    • Security and Governance: BigQuery offers robust security features, including encryption at rest and in transit, access controls, and audit logging. It also provides features for data governance and compliance.

    Key Features:

    • SQL Querying: Run complex analytical SQL queries on massive datasets.
    • Data Ingestion: Load data from various sources, including Cloud Storage, Google Sheets, Cloud SQL, and streaming data.
    • Data Exploration and Visualization: Integrate with tools like Looker and other BI platforms for data exploration and visualization.
    • Machine Learning (BigQuery ML): Build and deploy machine learning models directly within BigQuery using SQL.
    • Geospatial Analysis (BigQuery GIS): Analyze and visualize geospatial data using SQL with built-in geographic functions.
    • Data Sharing: Securely share datasets and query results with others.
    • Scheduled Queries: Automate the execution of queries at specific intervals.
    • User-Defined Functions (UDFs): Extend BigQuery’s functionality with custom code written in JavaScript or SQL.
    • External Tables: Query data stored in other data sources like Cloud Storage without loading it into BigQuery.
    • Table Partitioning and Clustering: Optimize query performance and control costs by partitioning tables based on time or other columns and clustering data within partitions.
    • Data Transfer Service: Automate data movement from various SaaS applications and on-premises data warehouses into BigQuery.

    Use Cases:

    • Business Intelligence and Reporting: Analyzing sales data, customer behavior, and other business metrics to generate reports and dashboards.
    • Data Warehousing: Building a scalable and cost-effective data warehouse for enterprise-wide data analysis.
    • Log Analytics: Analyzing large volumes of application and system logs for troubleshooting and insights.
    • Clickstream Analysis: Understanding user interactions on websites and applications.
    • Fraud Detection: Identifying patterns in financial data to detect fraudulent activities.
    • Personalization: Building recommendation systems and personalizing user experiences.
    • Geospatial Analytics: Analyzing location-based data for insights in areas like logistics, urban planning, and marketing.
    • Machine Learning Feature Engineering: Preparing and transforming data for machine learning models.

    In summary, Google BigQuery is a powerful and versatile cloud data warehouse designed for large-scale data analytics. Its serverless architecture, MPP engine, and columnar storage make it a popular choice for organizations looking to gain fast and cost-effective insights from their massive datasets.

  • Vertex AI

    is Google Cloud’s unified platform for machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (). It’s designed to help data scientists and ML engineers build, deploy, and scale ML models faster and more effectively. Vertex AI integrates various Google Cloud ML services into a single, seamless development environment.

    Key Features of Google Vertex AI:

    • Unified Platform: Provides a single interface for the entire ML lifecycle, from data preparation and model training to deployment, monitoring, and management.
    • Vertex AI Studio: A web-based UI for rapid prototyping and testing of generative AI models, offering access to Google’s foundation models like Gemini and PaLM 2.
    • Model Garden: A catalog where you can discover, test, customize, and deploy Vertex AI and select open-source models.
    • AutoML: Enables training high-quality models on tabular, image, text, and video data with minimal code and data preparation.
    • Custom Training: Offers the flexibility to use your preferred ML frameworks (TensorFlow, PyTorch, scikit-learn) and customize the training process.
    • Vertex AI Pipelines: Allows you to orchestrate complex ML workflows in a scalable and repeatable manner.
    • Feature Store: A centralized repository for storing, serving, and managing ML features.
    • Model Registry: Helps you manage and version your trained models.
    • Explainable AI: Provides insights into how your models make predictions, improving transparency and trust.
    • AI Platform Extensions: Connects your trained models with real-time data from various sources and enables the creation of AI-powered agents.
    • Vertex Builder: Simplifies the process of building and deploying enterprise-ready generative AI agents with features for grounding, orchestration, and customization.
    • Vertex AI (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) Engine: A managed orchestration service to build Gen AI applications that retrieve information from knowledge bases to improve accuracy and reduce hallucinations.
    • Managed Endpoints: Simplifies model deployment for online and batch predictions.
    • MLOps Tools: Provides capabilities for monitoring model performance, detecting drift, and ensuring the reliability of deployed models.
    • Enterprise-Grade Security and Governance: Offers robust security features to protect your data and models.
    • Integration with Google Cloud Services: Seamlessly integrates with other Google Cloud services like BigQuery and Cloud Storage.
    • Support for Foundation Models: Offers access to and tools for fine-tuning and deploying Google’s state-of-the-art foundation models, including the Gemini family.

    Google Vertex AI Pricing:

    Vertex AI’s pricing structure is based on a pay-as-you-go model, meaning you are charged only for the resources you consume. The cost varies depending on several factors, including:

    • Compute resources used for training and prediction: Different machine types and accelerators (GPUs, TPUs) have varying hourly rates.
    • Usage of managed services: AutoML training and prediction, Vertex AI Pipelines, Feature Store, and other managed components have their own pricing structures.
    • The volume of data processed and stored.
    • The number of requests made to deployed models.
    • Specific foundation models and their usage costs.

    Key things to note about Vertex AI pricing:

    • Free Tier: Google Cloud offers a free tier that includes some free credits and usage of Vertex AI services, allowing new users to explore the platform.
    • Pricing Calculator: Google Cloud provides a pricing calculator to estimate the cost of using Vertex AI based on your specific needs and configurations.
    • Committed Use Discounts: For sustained usage, Committed Use Discounts (CUDs) can offer significant cost savings.
    • Monitoring Costs: It’s crucial to monitor your usage and set up budget alerts to manage costs effectively.
    • Differences with Google AI Studio: While both offer access to Gemini models, Vertex AI is a more comprehensive enterprise-grade platform with additional deployment, scalability, and management features, which can result in different overall costs compared to the more usage-based pricing of Google AI Studio for experimentation.

    For the most up-to-date and detailed pricing information, it’s recommended to consult the official Google Cloud Vertex AI pricing page.

  • Google BigQuery and Vertex AI Together

    Google BigQuery and are powerful components of Google Cloud’s /ML ecosystem and are designed to work seamlessly together to facilitate the entire machine learning lifecycle. Here’s how they integrate and how you can leverage them together:

    Key Integration Points and Use Cases:

    1. Data Preparation and Feature Engineering (BigQuery to Vertex AI):
      • Data Storage: BigQuery serves as an excellent data warehouse to store and manage the large datasets needed for training ML models in Vertex AI.
      • Data Exploration and Analysis: You can use BigQuery’s SQL capabilities to explore, clean, and analyze your data before training.
      • Feature Engineering: Perform feature engineering directly within BigQuery using SQL or User-Defined Functions (UDFs). This allows you to create the features needed for your models at scale.
      • Exporting Data for Training: Easily query and export prepared feature data from BigQuery to Cloud Storage, which Vertex AI can then access for training. Vertex AI’s managed datasets can directly connect to BigQuery tables.
    2. Model Training (Vertex AI using BigQuery Data):
      • Managed Datasets: Vertex AI allows you to create managed datasets directly from BigQuery tables. This simplifies the process of accessing and using your BigQuery data for training AutoML models or custom-trained models.
      • AutoML Training: Train AutoML models (for tabular data, images, text, video) directly on BigQuery tables without writing any training code. Vertex AI handles data splitting, model selection, hyperparameter tuning, and evaluation.
      • Custom Training: When using custom training jobs in Vertex AI (with TensorFlow, PyTorch, scikit-learn, etc.), you can configure your training script to read data directly from BigQuery using the BigQuery client library or by staging data in Cloud Storage first.
    3. Feature Store (Vertex AI Feature Store with BigQuery):
      • Centralized Feature Management: Vertex AI Feature Store can use BigQuery as its online and offline storage backend. This allows you to:
        • Store and serve features consistently for both training and online/batch inference.
        • Manage feature metadata and track feature lineage.
        • Easily access features prepared in BigQuery for model training in Vertex AI.
    4. Model Deployment and Prediction (Vertex AI using Models Trained on BigQuery Data):
      • Deploy Models: Once you’ve trained a model in Vertex AI (whether using AutoML or custom training with BigQuery data), you can deploy it to Vertex AI Endpoints for online or batch predictions.
      • Batch Prediction: Vertex AI Batch Prediction jobs can read input data directly from BigQuery tables and write predictions back to BigQuery tables, making it easy to process large volumes of data.
      • Online Prediction: For real-time predictions, your deployed Vertex AI Endpoint can receive prediction requests. The features used for these predictions can be retrieved from Vertex AI Feature Store (which might be backed by BigQuery).
    5. MLOps and Monitoring:
      • Data Monitoring: You can use BigQuery to analyze logs and monitoring data from your deployed Vertex AI models to track performance, detect drift, and troubleshoot issues.
      • Pipeline Orchestration (Vertex AI Pipelines): Vertex AI Pipelines can include steps that interact with BigQuery (e.g., data extraction, feature engineering) and steps that involve model training and deployment in Vertex AI.

    Example Workflow:

    1. Store raw data in BigQuery.
    2. Use BigQuery SQL to explore, clean, and engineer features.
    3. Create a Vertex AI Managed Dataset directly from the BigQuery table.
    4. Train an AutoML Tabular model in Vertex AI using the Managed Dataset.
    5. Deploy the trained model to a Vertex AI Endpoint.
    6. For batch predictions, provide input data as a BigQuery table and configure the Vertex AI Batch Prediction job to write results back to BigQuery.
    7. Monitor model performance using logs stored and analyzed in BigQuery.

    Code Snippet (Conceptual – Python with Vertex AI SDK and BigQuery Client):

    Python

    from google.cloud import bigquery
    from google.cloud import aiplatform
    
    # Initialize BigQuery client
    bq_client = bigquery.Client(location="US")  # Adjust location as needed
    
    # Initialize Vertex AI client
    aiplatform.init(location="us-central1")  # Adjust location as needed
    
    # --- Data Preparation in BigQuery ---
    query = """
    SELECT
        feature1,
        feature2,
        target
    FROM
        your_project.your_dataset.your_table
    WHERE
        split = 'train'
    """
    train_table = bq_client.query(query).result().to_dataframe()
    
    # --- Upload data to GCS (if not using Managed Datasets) ---
    # from google.cloud import storage
    # gcs_client = storage.Client()
    # bucket = gcs_client.bucket("your-gcs-bucket")
    # blob = bucket.blob("training_data.csv")
    # blob.upload_from_string(train_table.to_csv(index=False), "text/csv")
    # train_uri = "gs://your-gcs-bucket/training_data.csv"
    
    # --- Create Vertex AI Managed Dataset from BigQuery ---
    dataset = aiplatform.TabularDataset.create(
        display_name="your_dataset_name",
        bq_source="bq://your_project.your_dataset.your_table",
    )
    
    # --- Train AutoML Tabular Model ---
    job = aiplatform.AutoMLTabularTrainingJob(
        display_name="automl_model_training",
        objective_column="target",
    )
    model = job.run(
        dataset=dataset,
        target_column="target",
        # ... other training parameters
    )
    
    # --- Deploy the Model to an Endpoint ---
    endpoint = aiplatform.Endpoint.create(
        display_name="your_endpoint_name",
    )
    deployed_model = endpoint.deploy(model=model)
    
    # --- Get Batch Predictions from BigQuery Data ---
    batch_prediction_job = aiplatform.BatchPredictionJob.create(
        display_name="batch_prediction_job",
        model=deployed_model,
        bigquery_source="bq://your_project.your_dataset.prediction_input_table",
        bigquery_destination="bq://your_project.your_dataset.prediction_output_table",
    )
    
    print(f"Batch Prediction Job: {batch_prediction_job.name}")
    

    In essence, BigQuery provides the scalable and efficient data foundation for your ML workflows in Vertex AI, while Vertex AI offers the tools and services for building, training, deploying, and managing your models. Their tight integration streamlines the entire process and allows you to leverage the strengths of both platforms.

  • Training image classification and object detection models using Vertex AI

    You can train image classification and object detection models using Vertex . Here’s a comprehensive overview of the process:

    1. Data Preparation

    • Supported Formats: supports common image formats like JPEG, PNG, and TIFF. The maximum file size per image is 30MB for training data and 1.5MB for prediction data.
    • Data Quality: Ensure your training data is representative of the data you’ll use for predictions. Consider including variations in angle, resolution, and background.
    • Labeling: You’ll need to label your images. For classification, this means assigning categories to each image. For object detection, you’ll need to draw bounding boxes around objects of interest and assign labels to them.
    • Dataset Size: Google recommends about 1000 training images per label, with a minimum of 10.
    • Data Split: Divide your data into training, validation, and test sets. Vertex AI allows you to control the split ratios.
    • Storage: Store your images in Google Cloud Storage (GCS).

    2. Training Options

    Vertex AI offers two main approaches for image model training:

    • AutoML: This option is suitable if you want to train a model with minimal code. Vertex AI handles the model selection, architecture, and hyperparameter tuning automatically.
      • How it works: You upload your labeled image data to Vertex AI Datasets, select AutoML as the training method, and configure training parameters like the training budget (node hours).
      • Model types: AutoML supports image classification (single-label and multi-label) and object detection.
    • Custom Training: This option gives you more control and flexibility. You can use any ML framework (TensorFlow, PyTorch, etc.) and customize the training process.
      • How it works: You provide your own training script, which defines the model architecture, training loop, and any custom preprocessing or evaluation steps. You can package your training code into a Docker container.
      • Use cases: Custom training is ideal for complex models, specialized architectures, or when you need fine-grained control over the training process.

    3. Training Steps

    Here’s a general outline of the steps involved in training an image model on Vertex AI:

    1. Create a Dataset: In the Vertex AI section of the Google Cloud Console, create a new Dataset and select the appropriate data type (e.g., “Images”).
    2. Import Data: Import your labeled image data from Google Cloud Storage into the Dataset. You can use JSON Lines or CSV files to specify the image paths and labels.
    3. Train a Model:
      • AutoML: Select “Train new model” from the Dataset page, choose “AutoML” as the training method, and configure the training job.
      • Custom Training: Create a custom training job, specify your training script or container, and configure the compute resources (machine type, accelerators, etc.).
    4. Evaluate the Model: After training, Vertex AI provides tools to evaluate your model’s performance (e.g., confusion matrices, precision-recall curves).
    5. Deploy the Model (Optional): If you want to serve predictions online, you can deploy your trained model to a Vertex AI Endpoint.
    6. Get Predictions:
      • Online Predictions: Send individual image requests to your deployed endpoint and get real-time predictions.
      • Batch Predictions: Process a large batch of images and store the predictions in a BigQuery table or Cloud Storage.

    4. Code Examples (Conceptual)

    Here are some conceptual code snippets (using the Vertex AI SDK for ) to illustrate the process:

    AutoML Image Classification:

    Python

    from google.cloud import aiplatform
    
    aiplatform.init(project="your-project-id", location="us-central1")
    
    dataset = aiplatform.ImageDataset.create(
        display_name="my-image-dataset",
        gcs_source=["gs://your-bucket/data/image_classification_data.jsonl"],
    )
    
    model = aiplatform.AutoMLImageTrainingJob(
        display_name="my-image-classification-model",
        prediction_type="classification",
        multi_label=False,  # Set to True for multi-label classification
    ).run(
        dataset=dataset,
        model_display_name="my-trained-model",
        training_fraction_split=0.8,
        validation_fraction_split=0.1,
        test_fraction_split=0.1,
        # Add more parameters as needed
    )
    

    Custom Training (Simplified):

    Python

    from google.cloud import aiplatform
    
    aiplatform.init(project="your-project-id", location="us-central1")
    
    job = aiplatform.CustomContainerTrainingJob(
        display_name="my-custom-image-training-job",
        container_uri="us-docker.pkg.dev/your-project/your-container-registry/your-image:latest",  # Your Docker image
        model_serving_container_image_uri="us-docker.pkg.dev/vertex-ai/prediction/tf2-cpu.2-7:latest",  # Example for TensorFlow
    )
    
    model = job.run(
        dataset="your-dataset-resource-name",  # Or specify training data directly
        model_display_name="my-custom-trained-model",
        # Add more parameters as needed
    )
    

    5. Key Considerations

    • Compute Resources: Choose appropriate machine types and accelerators (GPUs, TPUs) based on your model complexity and dataset size.
    • Training Budget: For AutoML, set a training budget (node hours) to control costs.
    • Model Evaluation: Carefully evaluate your model’s performance on the test set.
    • Prediction: Choose the appropriate prediction method (online or batch) based on your application’s requirements.
    • Vertex AI Feature Store: Consider using Feature Store to manage and serve features for your image models.

    By following these guidelines and leveraging Vertex AI’s capabilities, you can efficiently train and deploy image models for various applications. Remember to consult the official Google Cloud documentation for the most up-to-date information and best practices.

  • House price prediction model features

    For a house price prediction model in Vertex , the features you use will significantly impact the model’s accuracy and reliability. Here’s a breakdown of common and important features to consider:

    I. Property Features (Intrinsic Characteristics):

    • Size:
      • Living Area (Square Footage): Generally one of the most significant positive predictors of price.
      • Lot Size (Square Footage or Acres): Larger lots can increase value, especially in suburban or rural areas.
      • Total Area (including basement, garage, etc.): Provides a more comprehensive view of the property’s size.
      • Number of Rooms: Total count of rooms.
      • Number of Bedrooms: A key factor for families.
      • Number of Bathrooms (Full and Half): More bathrooms usually increase value.
      • Basement Area and Features: Finished vs. unfinished, square footage.
      • Garage Size (Number of Cars, Area): A significant amenity for many buyers.
      • Number of Fireplaces: Can add to the perceived value and comfort.
      • Porch/Deck/Patio Area: Outdoor living spaces.
    • Age and Condition:
      • Year Built: Newer homes often command higher prices due to modern amenities and lower expected maintenance.
      • Year Remodeled: Indicates recent updates and improvements.
      • Overall Condition Rating: Subjective rating of the property’s general condition (e.g., excellent, good, fair, poor).
      • Overall Quality Rating: Subjective rating of the quality of materials and finish.
    • Building Characteristics:
      • Building Type: House, townhouse, condo, etc.
      • House Style: Ranch, two-story, Victorian, etc.
      • Foundation Type: Slab, basement, crawl space.
      • Roof Material and Style: Can impact aesthetics and durability.
      • Exterior Material: Brick, siding, stucco, etc.
      • Heating and Cooling Systems: Type and quality (e.g., central AC, forced air).
    • Interior Features:
      • Kitchen Quality: Rating of kitchen finishes and appliances.
      • Bathroom Quality: Rating of bathroom finishes and fixtures.
      • Fireplace Quality: Rating of the fireplace.
      • Basement Quality: Rating of the basement finish.
      • Number of Stories: Affects layout and perceived size.
      • Floor Material: Hardwood, carpet, tile, etc.

    II. Location Features (Extrinsic Factors):

    • Neighborhood: Different neighborhoods have varying levels of desirability and price points.
    • Proximity to Amenities:
      • Schools (quality and distance)
      • Parks and recreational areas
      • Public transportation (bus stops, train stations)
      • Shopping centers and restaurants
      • Hospitals and healthcare facilities
    • Accessibility:
      • Distance to major highways and roads
      • Walkability and bikeability scores
    • Safety and Crime Rates: Lower crime rates generally increase property values.
    • Environmental Factors:
      • Noise levels (proximity to airports, highways)
      • Air quality
      • Flood zone status
      • Views (scenic views can increase value)
    • Local Economy:
      • Job market and employment rates
      • Income levels in the area
      • Property taxes

    III. Market Trends (Temporal Factors):

    • Time of Sale (Month, Year): Housing prices can fluctuate seasonally and with broader economic cycles.
    • Interest Rates: Mortgage rates significantly impact affordability and demand.
    • Inflation: Can affect the real value of property.
    • Unemployment Rates: Economic stability influences housing demand.
    • Housing Inventory: Supply and demand dynamics play a crucial role in pricing.
    • Economic Growth: A strong local or national economy can drive up housing prices.

    IV. Derived or Engineered Features:

    • Price per Square Foot: A normalized measure of value.
    • Age of House at Time of Sale: Calculated from ‘Year Built’ and ‘Year Sold’.
    • Distance to City Center or Key Locations: Calculated using coordinates.
    • Density of Amenities: Number of amenities within a certain radius.
    • Interaction Terms: Combining existing features (e.g., square footage * location indicator) to capture non-linear relationships.
    • Polynomial Features: Creating higher-order terms of numerical features to model non-linear relationships.

    When building your house price prediction model in , consider the following:

    • Data Availability: Not all of these features might be available in your dataset.
    • Data Quality: Ensure your data is accurate and handle missing values appropriately.
    • Feature Selection: Use techniques to identify the most relevant features for your model.
    • Feature Engineering: Create new features that might improve predictive power.
    • Data Encoding: Convert categorical features into numerical representations that your model can understand.
    • Scaling Numerical Features: Normalize or standardize numerical features to prevent features with larger ranges from dominating the model.

    By carefully selecting and preparing your features, you can build a more accurate and reliable house price prediction model in Vertex AI. Remember to iterate and experiment with different feature combinations to optimize your model’s performance.

  • Train a PyTorch Model with Sample Data

    Okay, here’s a sample dataset for a house price prediction model, incorporating many of the features we discussed. This data is synthetic and intended to illustrate the variety of features.

    Code snippet

    UniqueID,Size_LivingArea_SqFt,Size_Lot_SqFt,Size_TotalArea_SqFt,Rooms_Total,Bedrooms,Bathrooms_Full,Bathrooms_Half,Basement_Area_SqFt,Basement_Finished,Garage_Cars,Fireplaces,Porch_Area_SqFt,Year_Built,Year_Remodeled,Condition_Overall,Quality_Overall,Building_Type,House_Style,Foundation_Type,Roof_Material,Exterior_Material,Heating_Type,Cooling_Type,Kitchen_Quality,Bathroom_Quality,Fireplace_Quality,Basement_Quality,Stories,Floor_Material,Neighborhood,Proximity_Schools_Miles,Proximity_Parks_Miles,Proximity_PublicTransport_Miles,Proximity_Shopping_Miles,Proximity_Hospitals_Miles,Safety_CrimeRate_Index,Environmental_NoiseLevel_dB,Environmental_AirQuality_Index,Flood_Zone,View,Time_of_Sale,Interest_Rate,Inflation_Rate,Unemployment_Rate,Housing_Inventory,Economic_Growth_Rate,Sale_Price
    1,1800,7500,2500,7,3,2,1,700,1,2,1,150,1995,2010,7,7,House,Ranch,Slab,Composition Shingle,Brick,Forced Air,Central AC,Good,Good,Average,Average,1,Hardwood,Bentonville Central,0.5,1.2,0.8,1.5,2.0,65,45,35,No,None,2024-08,6.2,3.5,4.2,0.05,2.5,285000
    2,2200,10000,3000,8,4,3,0,800,0,2,1,200,2005,2005,6,6,House,Two-Story,Foundation,Composition Shingle,Siding,Forced Air,Central AC,Average,Average,Average,Poor,2,Carpet,Bentonville West,1.5,0.3,2.5,0.5,0.8,40,55,50,No,Trees,2024-11,6.5,3.8,4.0,0.03,2.8,350000
    3,1500,6000,1800,6,3,1,1,0,0,1,0,100,1980,1980,5,5,House,Split-Level,Crawl Space,Asphalt,Vinyl Siding,Baseboard Heat,Window AC,Fair,Fair,None,None,1.5,Carpet,Bella Vista,3.0,0.8,0.5,2.0,5.0,80,35,25,Yes,None,2024-05,5.8,3.2,4.5,0.07,2.2,195000
    4,2800,12000,3500,9,4,3,1,1000,1,3,2,250,2015,2018,8,8,House,Traditional,Foundation,Composition Shingle,Brick Veneer,Forced Air,Central AC,Excellent,Excellent,Good,Good,2,Hardwood,Centerton,0.2,2.0,1.0,0.3,1.0,50,40,30,No,Park View,2025-01,6.8,4.0,3.8,0.02,3.0,450000
    5,1200,5000,1500,5,2,1,0,0,0,1,0,50,1970,1970,4,4,House,Ranch,Slab,Asphalt,Aluminum Siding,Wall Unit,Window AC,Poor,Fair,None,None,1,Vinyl,Rogers,2.5,1.5,3.5,1.0,3.0,90,60,65,No,None,2024-07,6.0,3.4,4.3,0.06,2.4,150000
    6,3200,15000,4000,10,5,4,1,1200,1,3,2,300,2020,2022,9,9,House,Modern,Foundation,Metal,Stucco,Geothermal,Central AC,Excellent,Excellent,Excellent,Excellent,2,Tile,Bentonville Central,0.1,0.5,0.2,0.8,0.5,30,30,20,No,City View,2025-03,7.0,4.2,3.5,0.01,3.2,580000
    7,1900,8000,2600,7,3,2,1,750,1,2,1,180,1998,2015,7,8,House,Colonial,Foundation,Composition Shingle,Brick,Forced Air,Central AC,Good,Excellent,Average,Good,2,Hardwood,Bella Vista,2.0,1.0,1.5,1.2,4.0,70,48,38,No,Trees,2024-09,6.3,3.6,4.1,0.04,2.6,310000
    8,2500,11000,3300,8,4,2,1,900,1,2,1,220,2010,2010,6,7,House,Ranch,Slab,Composition Shingle,Siding,Forced Air,Central AC,Average,Good,Average,Average,1,Carpet,Rogers,1.0,2.5,2.0,0.7,2.5,55,52,45,No,None,2024-12,6.6,3.9,3.9,0.035,2.9,390000
    9,1600,6500,2000,6,3,2,0,0,0,1,0,120,1985,1985,5,5,House,Split-Level,Crawl Space,Asphalt,Vinyl Siding,Baseboard Heat,Window AC,Fair,Fair,None,None,1.5,Vinyl,Centerton,2.8,0.5,0.3,2.5,1.5,85,40,30,Yes,None,2024-06,5.9,3.3,4.4,0.065,2.3,220000
    10,3000,13000,3800,9,4,3,1,1100,1,3,2,280,2018,2020,8,9,House,Traditional,Foundation,Composition Shingle,Brick Veneer,Forced Air,Central AC,Excellent,Excellent,Good,Good,2,Hardwood,Bentonville West,0.3,1.8,0.9,0.5,0.7,45,35,28,No,Park View,2025-02,6.9,4.1,3.7,0.015,3.1,510000
    

    Explanation of the Columns:

    • UniqueID: A unique identifier for each house.
    • Size_LivingArea_SqFt: The square footage of the living space.
    • Size_Lot_SqFt: The square footage of the land lot.
    • Size_TotalArea_SqFt: The total square footage including basement, etc.
    • Rooms_Total: The total number of rooms.
    • Bedrooms: The number of bedrooms.
    • Bathrooms_Full: The number of full bathrooms.
    • Bathrooms_Half: The number of half bathrooms.
    • Basement_Area_SqFt: The square footage of the basement.
    • Basement_Finished: 1 if the basement is finished, 0 otherwise.
    • Garage_Cars: The number of cars the garage can hold.
    • Fireplaces: The number of fireplaces.
    • Porch_Area_SqFt: The square footage of porches, decks, or patios.
    • Year_Built: The year the house was built.
    • Year_Remodeled: The year the house was last remodeled (if applicable).
    • Condition_Overall: An overall rating of the house’s condition (1-10).
    • Quality_Overall: An overall rating of the house’s material and finish quality (1-10).
    • Building_Type: The type of building (e.g., House, Townhouse, Condo).
    • House_Style: The architectural style of the house (e.g., Ranch, Two-Story).
    • Foundation_Type: The type of foundation (e.g., Slab, Foundation, Crawl Space).
    • Roof_Material: The material of the roof (e.g., Composition Shingle, Asphalt).
    • Exterior_Material: The material of the exterior (e.g., Brick, Siding).
    • Heating_Type: The type of heating system (e.g., Forced Air, Baseboard Heat).
    • Cooling_Type: The type of cooling system (e.g., Central AC, Window AC).
    • Kitchen_Quality: A rating of the kitchen quality (e.g., Poor, Fair, Average, Good, Excellent).
    • Bathroom_Quality: A rating of the bathroom quality.
    • Fireplace_Quality: A rating of the fireplace quality.
    • Basement_Quality: A rating of the basement quality.
    • Stories: The number of stories in the house.
    • Floor_Material: The primary flooring material (e.g., Hardwood, Carpet, Tile).
    • Neighborhood: The name of the neighborhood (using Bentonville, Arkansas area examples).
    • Proximity_Schools_Miles: The distance to the nearest good school in miles.
    • Proximity_Parks_Miles: The distance to the nearest park in miles.
    • Proximity_PublicTransport_Miles: The distance to the nearest public transportation stop in miles.
    • Proximity_Shopping_Miles: The distance to the nearest shopping center in miles.
    • Proximity_Hospitals_Miles: The distance to the nearest hospital in miles.
    • Safety_CrimeRate_Index: A numerical index representing the crime rate (lower is safer).
    • Environmental_NoiseLevel_dB: The average noise level in decibels.
    • Environmental_AirQuality_Index: An index representing the air quality (lower is better).
    • Flood_Zone: “Yes” if in a flood zone, “No” otherwise.
    • View: A description of any significant view (e.g., Park View, City View, None).
    • Time_of_Sale: The date of the sale.
    • Interest_Rate: The prevailing mortgage interest rate at the time of sale.
    • Inflation_Rate: The inflation rate at the time of sale.
    • Unemployment_Rate: The unemployment rate in the area at the time of sale.
    • Housing_Inventory: A measure of the available housing inventory (lower means higher demand).
    • Economic_Growth_Rate: The economic growth rate at the time of sale.
    • Sale_Price: The target variable – the price the house sold for.

    How to Use This Data in :

    1. Save as CSV: Save this data as a .csv file (e.g., house_price_data.csv).
    2. Upload to GCS: Upload this CSV file to a Google Cloud Storage (GCS) bucket.
    3. Create a Vertex Dataset: In the Vertex AI console, create a new Tabular Dataset and point it to the CSV file in your GCS bucket.
    4. Train Your Model: You can then use this Dataset to train an AutoML Tabular Regression model or use it as the data source for a custom training job.

    Remember that this is just a small sample. For a real-world model, you would need a much larger and more diverse dataset. You would also need to handle data cleaning, preprocessing, and feature engineering steps within Vertex AI or your custom training code.

    Pytorch model for this above dataset

    import torch
    import torch.nn as nn
    import torch.optim as optim
    from torch.utils.data import Dataset, DataLoader
    from sklearn.model_selection import train_test_split
    import pandas as pd
    from sklearn.preprocessing import StandardScaler, OneHotEncoder
    from sklearn.compose import ColumnTransformer
    from sklearn.pipeline import Pipeline
    
    # 1. Load the dataset
    data = """UniqueID,Size_LivingArea_SqFt,Size_Lot_SqFt,Size_TotalArea_SqFt,Rooms_Total,Bedrooms,Bathrooms_Full,Bathrooms_Half,Basement_Area_SqFt,Basement_Finished,Garage_Cars,Fireplaces,Porch_Area_SqFt,Year_Built,Year_Remodeled,Condition_Overall,Quality_Overall,Building_Type,House_Style,Foundation_Type,Roof_Material,Exterior_Material,Heating_Type,Cooling_Type,Kitchen_Quality,Bathroom_Quality,Fireplace_Quality,Basement_Quality,Stories,Floor_Material,Neighborhood,Proximity_Schools_Miles,Proximity_Parks_Miles,Proximity_PublicTransport_Miles,Proximity_Shopping_Miles,Proximity_Hospitals_Miles,Safety_CrimeRate_Index,Environmental_NoiseLevel_dB,Environmental_AirQuality_Index,Flood_Zone,View,Time_of_Sale,Interest_Rate,Inflation_Rate,Unemployment_Rate,Housing_Inventory,Economic_Growth_Rate,Sale_Price
    1,1800,7500,2500,7,3,2,1,700,1,2,1,150,1995,2010,7,7,House,Ranch,Slab,Composition Shingle,Brick,Forced Air,Central AC,Good,Good,Average,Average,1,Hardwood,Bentonville Central,0.5,1.2,0.8,1.5,2.0,65,45,35,No,None,2024-08,6.2,3.5,4.2,0.05,2.5,285000
    2,2200,10000,3000,8,4,3,0,800,0,2,1,200,2005,2005,6,6,House,Two-Story,Foundation,Composition Shingle,Siding,Forced Air,Central AC,Average,Average,Average,Poor,2,Carpet,Bentonville West,1.5,0.3,2.5,0.5,0.8,40,55,50,No,Trees,2024-11,6.5,3.8,4.0,0.03,2.8,350000
    3,1500,6000,1800,6,3,1,1,0,0,1,0,100,1980,1980,5,5,House,Split-Level,Crawl Space,Asphalt,Vinyl Siding,Baseboard Heat,Window AC,Fair,Fair,None,None,1.5,Carpet,Bella Vista,3.0,0.8,0.5,2.0,5.0,80,35,25,Yes,None,2024-05,5.8,3.2,4.5,0.07,2.2,195000
    4,2800,12000,3500,9,4,3,1,1000,1,3,2,250,2015,2018,8,8,House,Traditional,Foundation,Composition Shingle,Brick Veneer,Forced Air,Central AC,Excellent,Excellent,Good,Good,2,Hardwood,Centerton,0.2,2.0,1.0,0.3,1.0,50,40,30,No,Park View,2025-01,6.8,4.0,3.8,0.02,3.0,450000
    5,1200,5000,1500,5,2,1,0,0,0,1,0,50,1970,1970,4,4,House,Ranch,Slab,Asphalt,Aluminum Siding,Wall Unit,Window AC,Poor,Fair,None,None,1,Vinyl,Rogers,2.5,1.5,3.5,1.0,3.0,90,60,65,No,None,2024-07,6.0,3.4,4.3,0.06,2.4,150000
    6,3200,15000,4000,10,5,4,1,1200,1,3,2,300,2020,2022,9,9,House,Modern,Foundation,Metal,Stucco,Geothermal,Central AC,Excellent,Excellent,Excellent,Excellent,2,Tile,Bentonville Central,0.1,0.5,0.2,0.8,0.5,30,30,20,No,City View,2025-03,7.0,4.2,3.5,0.01,3.2,580000
    7,1900,8000,2600,7,3,2,1,750,1,2,1,180,1998,2015,7,8,House,Colonial,Foundation,Composition Shingle,Brick,Forced Air,Central AC,Good,Excellent,Average,Good,2,Hardwood,Bella Vista,2.0,1.0,1.5,1.2,4.0,70,48,38,No,Trees,2024-09,6.3,3.6,4.1,0.04,2.6,310000
    8,2500,11000,3300,8,4,2,1,900,1,2,1,220,2010,2010,6,7,House,Ranch,Slab,Composition Shingle,Siding,Forced Air,Central AC,Average,Good,Average,Average,1,Carpet,Rogers,1.0,2.5,2.0,0.7,2.5,55,52,45,No,None,2024-12,6.6,3.9,3.9,0.035,2.9,390000
    9,1600,6500,2000,6,3,2,0,0,0,1,0,120,1985,1985,5,5,House,Split-Level,Crawl Space,Asphalt,Vinyl Siding,Baseboard Heat,Window AC,Fair,Fair,None,None,1.5,Vinyl,Centerton,2.8,0.5,0.3,2.5,1.5,85,40,30,Yes,None,2024-06,5.9,3.3,4.4,0.065,2.3,220000
    10,3000,13000,3800,9,4,3,1,1100,1,3,2,280,2018,2020,8,9,House,Traditional,Foundation,Composition Shingle,Brick Veneer,Forced Air,Central AC,Excellent,Excellent,Good,Good,2,Hardwood,Bentonville West,0.3,1.8,0.9,0.5,0.7,45,35,28,No,Park View,2025-02,6.9,4.1,3.7,0.015,3.1,510000
    """
    from io import StringIO
    df = pd.read_csv(StringIO(data))
    
    # 2. Preprocessing
    # Identify numerical and categorical features
    numerical_features = ['Size_LivingArea_SqFt', 'Size_Lot_SqFt', 'Size_TotalArea_SqFt', 'Rooms_Total',
                          'Bedrooms', 'Bathrooms_Full', 'Bathrooms_Half', 'Basement_Area_SqFt',
                          'Garage_Cars', 'Fireplaces', 'Porch_Area_SqFt', 'Year_Built', 'Year_Remodeled',
                          'Condition_Overall', 'Quality_Overall', 'Stories',
                          'Proximity_Schools_Miles', 'Proximity_Parks_Miles',
                          'Proximity_PublicTransport_Miles', 'Proximity_Shopping_Miles',
                          'Proximity_Hospitals_Miles', 'Safety_CrimeRate_Index',
                          'Environmental_NoiseLevel_dB', 'Environmental_AirQuality_Index',
                          'Interest_Rate', 'Inflation_Rate', 'Unemployment_Rate',
                          'Housing_Inventory', 'Economic_Growth_Rate']
    categorical_features = ['Building_Type', 'House_Style', 'Foundation_Type', 'Roof_Material',
                            'Exterior_Material', 'Heating_Type', 'Cooling_Type', 'Kitchen_Quality',
                            'Bathroom_Quality', 'Fireplace_Quality', 'Basement_Quality',
                            'Floor_Material', 'Neighborhood', 'Flood_Zone', 'View']
    
    # Create preprocessor
    preprocessor = ColumnTransformer(
        transformers=[
            ('num', StandardScaler(), numerical_features),
            ('cat', OneHotEncoder(handle_unknown='ignore'), categorical_features)
        ],
        remainder='passthrough'  # Keep other columns (like UniqueID, Time_of_Sale)
    )
    
    # Separate features and target
    X = df.drop('Sale_Price', axis=1)
    y = df['Sale_Price'].values.reshape(-1, 1)
    
    # Split data into training and testing sets
    X_train, X_test, y_train, y_test = train_test_split(X, y, test_size=0.2, random_state=42)
    
    # Fit and transform the data
    X_train_processed = preprocessor.fit_transform(X_train)
    X_test_processed = preprocessor.transform(X_test)
    y_train_tensor = torch.tensor(y_train, dtype=torch.float32)
    y_test_tensor = torch.tensor(y_test, dtype=torch.float32)
    
    # Convert processed data to PyTorch Tensors
    X_train_tensor = torch.tensor(X_train_processed, dtype=torch.float32)
    X_test_tensor = torch.tensor(X_test_processed, dtype=torch.float32)
    
    # 3. Define the PyTorch Dataset
    class HousePriceDataset(Dataset):
        def __init__(self, features, labels):
            self.features = features
            self.labels = labels
            self.n_samples = features.shape[0]
    
        def __getitem__(self, index):
            return self.features[index], self.labels[index]
    
        def __len__(self):
            return self.n_samples
    
    train_dataset = HousePriceDataset(X_train_tensor, y_train_tensor)
    test_dataset = HousePriceDataset(X_test_tensor, y_test_tensor)
    
    # 4. Define the DataLoader
    batch_size = 8
    train_loader = DataLoader(dataset=train_dataset, batch_size=batch_size, shuffle=True)
    test_loader = DataLoader(dataset=test_dataset, batch_size=batch_size, shuffle=False)
    
    # 5. Define the Neural Network Model
    class HousePriceModel(nn.Module):
        def __init__(self, input_size):
            super(HousePriceModel, self).__init__()
            self.linear1 = nn.Linear(input_size, 64)
            self.relu = nn.ReLU()
            self.linear2 = nn.Linear(64, 32)
            self.relu2 = nn.ReLU()
            self.linear3 = nn.Linear(32, 1)  # Output is a single predicted price
    
        def forward(self, x):
            out = self.linear1(x)
            out = self.relu(out)
            out = self.linear2(out)
            out = self.relu2(out)
            out = self.linear3(out)
            return out
    
    # Get the input size (number of features after preprocessing)
    input_size = X_train_tensor.shape[1]
    model = HousePriceModel(input_size)
    
    # 6. Define Loss Function and Optimizer
    learning_rate = 0.01
    criterion = nn.MSELoss()  # Mean Squared Error for regression
    optimizer = optim.Adam(model.parameters(), lr=learning_rate)
    
    # 7. Training Loop
    num_epochs = 100
    for epoch in range(num_epochs):
        for batch_idx, (features, labels) in enumerate(train_loader):
            # Forward pass
            outputs = model(features)
            loss = criterion(outputs, labels)
    
            # Backward and optimize
            optimizer.zero_grad()
            loss.backward()
            optimizer.step()
    
            if (batch_idx + 1) % 10 == 0:
                print(f'Epoch [{epoch+1}/{num_epochs}], Batch [{batch_idx+1}/{len(train_loader)}], Loss: {loss.item():.4f}')
    
    print('Finished Training')
    
    # 8. Evaluation
    with torch.no_grad():
        model.eval()
        test_loss = 0
        for features, labels in test_loader:
            outputs = model(features)
            test_loss += criterion(outputs, labels).item()
    
        avg_test_loss = test_loss / len(test_loader)
        print(f'Test Loss: {avg_test_loss:.4f}')
    
    # 9. Save the Trained Model (for Vertex AI deployment)
    torch.save(model.state_dict(), 'house_price_model.pth')
    print('Trained model saved as house_price_model.pth')
    
    # To deploy on Vertex AI, you would typically need to:
    # 1. Upload 'house_price_model.pth' and potentially the preprocessing pipeline
    #    (saved using pickle) to Google Cloud Storage.
    # 2. Create a custom serving container that loads the PyTorch model and the
    #    preprocessing steps.
    # 3. Deploy the container and model to a Vertex AI Endpoint.
    

    Explanation:

    1. Load Data: The provided sample data is loaded using pandas.
    2. Preprocessing:
      • Identify Feature Types: Numerical and categorical features are separated.
      • Create Preprocessor: ColumnTransformer from sklearn.compose is used to apply different preprocessing steps to different columns.
      • StandardScaler: Numerical features are scaled to have zero mean and unit variance.
      • OneHotEncoder: Categorical features are converted into a one-hot encoded format. handle_unknown='ignore' is used to avoid errors if unseen categories appear during prediction.
      • Fit and Transform: The preprocessor is fitted on the training data and then used to transform both the training and testing data.
      • Convert to Tensors: The processed NumPy arrays are converted to PyTorch Tensors.
    3. PyTorch Dataset: A custom HousePriceDataset class is created to load the features and labels in a PyTorch-friendly way.
    4. DataLoader: DataLoader is used to create iterable batches of data for training and evaluation.
    5. Neural Network Model (HousePriceModel):
      • A simple feedforward neural network with three linear layers and ReLU activation functions is defined.
      • The output layer has a single neuron for predicting the house price.
    6. Loss Function and Optimizer:
      • nn.MSELoss() (Mean Squared Error) is chosen as the loss function, suitable for regression tasks.
      • optim.Adam() is a popular and effective optimization algorithm.
    7. Training Loop:
      • The model iterates through the training data for a specified number of epochs.
      • In each batch:
        • The forward pass calculates the model’s predictions.
        • The loss is computed.
        • Gradients are calculated using backpropagation (loss.backward()).
        • The optimizer updates the model’s weights (optimizer.step()).
    8. Evaluation:
      • The model is set to evaluation mode (model.eval()).
      • The test loss is calculated without tracking gradients (torch.no_grad()).
      • The average test loss is printed.
    9. Save Model: The trained model’s state dictionary (the learned weights and biases) is saved to a .pth file.

    To deploy this model on Vertex AI:

    1. Save Preprocessor: You would also need to save the fitted preprocessor (using pickle) so you can apply the same transformations to incoming prediction data.
    2. Create Serving Container: You would need to create a custom Docker container that includes:
      • Your PyTorch model (house_price_model.pth).
      • The saved preprocessor.
  • Deploying a PyTorch model on Vertex AI

    Deploying a PyTorch model on Vertex involves several steps. Here’s a breakdown:

    1. Prerequisites:

    • Trained Model: You have a trained PyTorch model (house_price_model.pth).
    • Preprocessor: You’ve saved the preprocessor (e.g., as a pickle file) used to transform your data.
    • Google Cloud Project: You have a Google Cloud Project.
    • Enabled: The Vertex AI API is enabled in your project.
    • Google Cloud Storage (GCS) Bucket: You have a GCS bucket to store your model artifacts and serving code.
    • Serving Container: A Docker container that serves your model.

    2. Steps

    Here’s a conceptual outline with code snippets using the Vertex AI SDK:

    2.1 Upload Model Artifacts

    First, upload your trained model (house_price_model.pth) and preprocessor to your GCS bucket.

    from google.cloud import storage
    import os
    import pickle
    
    # Configuration
    PROJECT_ID = "your-project-id"  # Replace with your GCP project ID
    BUCKET_NAME = "your-bucket-name"  # Replace with your GCS bucket name
    REGION = "us-central1"  # Or your desired region
    MODEL_DIR = "house_price_model"  # Directory in GCS to store model artifacts
    
    # Create a GCS client
    storage_client = storage.Client(project=PROJECT_ID)
    bucket = storage_client.bucket(BUCKET_NAME)
    
    # Upload the model
    model_blob = bucket.blob(os.path.join(MODEL_DIR, "house_price_model.pth"))
    model_blob.upload_from_filename("house_price_model.pth")  # Local path to your model
    
    # Upload the preprocessor
    preprocessor_blob = bucket.blob(os.path.join(MODEL_DIR, "preprocessor.pkl"))
    with open("preprocessor.pkl", "rb") as f:  # Local path to your preprocessor
        preprocessor_blob.upload_from_file(f)
    
    print(f"Model and preprocessor uploaded to gs://{BUCKET_NAME}/{MODEL_DIR}/")
    

    2.2 Create a Serving Container

    Since you’re using PyTorch, you’ll need a custom serving container. This container will:

    • Have the necessary PyTorch dependencies.
    • Load your model and preprocessor.
    • Define a prediction function that:
      • Receives the input data.
      • Preprocesses the data using the loaded preprocessor.
      • Passes the preprocessed data to your PyTorch model.
      • Returns the prediction.

    Here’s a Dockerfile example:

    # Use a PyTorch base image
    FROM pytorch/pytorch:1.10.0-cuda11.3-cudnn8-runtime
    
    # Install other dependencies
    RUN pip install scikit-learn
    
    # Copy model artifacts and serving script
    COPY model /model
    WORKDIR /model
    
    # Expose the serving port
    EXPOSE 8080
    
    # Command to start the serving server (e.g., using gunicorn)
    CMD ["gunicorn", "--bind", "0.0.0.0:8080", "app:app", "--workers", "1", "--threads", "1"]
    

    Here’s an example app.py (Flask application) that serves your model:

    from flask import Flask, request, jsonify
    import torch
    import joblib  # For loading the preprocessor
    import numpy as np
    import json
    import logging
    from google.cloud import storage
    
    app = Flask(__name__)
    #GCS Configuration
    PROJECT_ID = "your-project-id"  # Replace with your GCP project ID
    BUCKET_NAME = "your-bucket-name"  # Replace with your GCS bucket name
    MODEL_DIR = "house_price_model"
    
    def download_from_gcs(bucket_name, source_blob_name, destination_file_name):
        """Downloads a blob from the bucket."""
        storage_client = storage.Client(project=PROJECT_ID)
        bucket = storage_client.bucket(bucket_name)
        blob = bucket.blob(source_blob_name)
    
        blob.download_to_filename(destination_file_name)
    
        print(f"Blob {source_blob_name} downloaded to {destination_file_name}.")
    
    
    # Download model and preprocessor from GCS
    download_from_gcs(BUCKET_NAME, f"{MODEL_DIR}/house_price_model.pth", "house_price_model.pth")
    download_from_gcs(BUCKET_NAME, f"{MODEL_DIR}/preprocessor.pkl", "preprocessor.pkl")
    # Load model and preprocessor
    try:
        model = torch.load("house_price_model.pth")
        model.eval()  # Set the model to inference mode
        preprocessor = joblib.load("preprocessor.pkl")
        logging.info("Model and preprocessor loaded successfully")
    except Exception as e:
        logging.error(f"Error loading model or preprocessor: {e}")
        raise
    
    def preprocess_input(data):
        """Preprocesses the input data using the loaded preprocessor.
    
        Args:
            data: A JSON object containing the input data.
    
        Returns:
            A NumPy array of the preprocessed data.
        """
        try:
            # Convert the JSON data to a pandas DataFrame
            input_df = pd.DataFrame([data])
    
            # Preprocess the input DataFrame
            processed_data = preprocessor.transform(input_df)
    
            # Convert to numpy array
            return processed_data
        except Exception as e:
            logging.error(f"Error during preprocessing: {e}")
            raise
    
    @app.route("/predict", methods=["POST"])
    def predict():
        """Endpoint for making predictions."""
        if request.method == "POST":
            try:
                data = request.get_json(force=True)  # Get the JSON data from the request
    
                # Log the request data
                logging.info(f"Received data: {data}")
                # Preprocess the input data
                input_data = preprocess_input(data)
    
                # Convert the NumPy array to a PyTorch tensor
                input_tensor = torch.tensor(input_data, dtype=torch.float32)
    
                # Make the prediction
                with torch.no_grad():
                    prediction = model(input_tensor)
    
                # Convert the prediction to a Python list
                output = prediction.numpy().tolist()
                logging.info(f"Prediction: {output}")
                return jsonify(output)
            except Exception as e:
                error_message = f"Error: {e}"
                logging.error(error_message)
                return jsonify({"error": error_message}), 500
        else:
            return "This endpoint only accepts POST requests", 405
    
    if __name__ == "__main__":
        app.run(host="0.0.0.0", port=8080, debug=True)
    

    Build and push the container to Google Container Registry (GCR) or Artifact Registry:

    docker build -t gcr.io/your-project-id/house-price-prediction:v1 .  # Build the image
    docker push gcr.io/your-project-id/house-price-prediction:v1  # Push the image
    

    2.3 Create a Vertex AI Model Resource

    from google.cloud import aiplatform
    
    aiplatform.init(project=PROJECT_ID, location=REGION)
    
    # GCR image URI
    serving_container_image_uri = "gcr.io/your-project-id/house-price-prediction:v1"  # Replace
    
    model = aiplatform.Model.upload(
        display_name="house-price-prediction-model",
        artifact_uri=f"gs://{BUCKET_NAME}/{MODEL_DIR}",  # GCS path to model artifacts
        serving_container_image_uri=serving_container_image_uri,
    )
    
    print(f"Model resource name: {model.resource_name}")
    

    2.4 Create a Vertex AI Endpoint and Deploy the Model

    endpoint = aiplatform.Endpoint.create(
        display_name="house-price-prediction-endpoint",
        location=REGION,
    )
    
    model_deployed = endpoint.deploy(
        model=model,
        traffic_split={"0": 100},
        deployed_model_display_name="house-price-prediction-deployed-model",
        machine_type="n1-standard-4",  # Or your desired machine type
    )
    
    print(f"Endpoint resource name: {endpoint.resource_name}")
    print(f"Deployed model: {model_deployed.id}")
    

    3. Make Predictions

    Now you can send requests to your endpoint:

    import json
    
    # Sample data for a single house prediction
    sample_data = {
        "Size_LivingArea_SqFt": 2000,
        "Size_Lot_SqFt": 8000,
        "Size_TotalArea_SqFt": 2800,
        "Rooms_Total": 7,
        "Bedrooms": 3,
        "Bathrooms_Full": 2,
        "Bathrooms_Half": 1,
        "Basement_Area_SqFt": 800,
        "Basement_Finished": 1,
        "Garage_Cars": 2,
        "Fireplaces": 1,
        "Porch_Area_SqFt": 100,
        "Year_Built": 2000,
        "Year_Remodeled": 2010,
        "Condition_Overall": 7,
        "Quality_Overall": 7,
        "Building_Type": "House",
        "House_Style": "Ranch",
        "Foundation_Type": "Slab",
        "Roof_Material": "Composition Shingle",
        "Exterior_Material": "Brick",
        "Heating_Type": "Forced Air",
        "Cooling_Type": "Central AC",
        "Kitchen_Quality": "Good",
        "Bathroom_Quality": "Good",
        "Fireplace_Quality": "Average",
        "Basement_Quality": "Average",
        "Stories": 1,
        "Floor_Material": "Hardwood",
        "Neighborhood": "Bentonville Central",
        "Proximity_Schools_Miles": 0.5,
        "Proximity_Parks_Miles": 1.2,
        "Proximity_PublicTransport_Miles": 0.8,
        "Proximity_Shopping_Miles": 1.5,
        "Proximity_Hospitals_Miles": 2.0,
        "Safety_CrimeRate_Index": 65,
        "Environmental_NoiseLevel_dB": 45,
        "Environmental_AirQuality_Index": 35,
        "Flood_Zone": "No",
        "View": "None",
        "Time_of_Sale": "2024-08",
        "Interest_Rate": 6.2,
        "Inflation_Rate": 3.5,
        "Unemployment_Rate": 4.2,
        "Housing_Inventory": 0.05,
        "Economic_Growth_Rate": 2.5,
    }
    
    
    # Get the endpoint
    endpoint = aiplatform.Endpoint(endpoint_name=endpoint.resource_name)
    
    # Make the prediction
    response = endpoint.predict(instances=[sample_data])
    predictions = response.predictions
    
    print(f"Prediction: {predictions}")
    
  • Call Vertex AI endpoint

    To call your Vertex endpoint using HTTP, you’ll need to construct a POST request with the correct authorization and data format. Here’s a breakdown and an example using curl:

    1. Prerequisites

    • Endpoint ID: You’ll need the ID of your endpoint. You can find this in the Google Cloud Console or by using the Vertex AI SDK (as shown in the previous response).
    • Google Cloud Credentials: You’ll need credentials to authorize the request. The easiest way to do this from your local machine is to have the Google Cloud SDK (gcloud) installed and configured.
    • Project ID and Region: You will need your Google Cloud Project ID and the region where you deployed the endpoint.

    2. Authorization

    Vertex AI requests require an authorization header with a valid access token. If you have the Google Cloud SDK installed, you can obtain an access token using the following command:

    gcloud auth print-access-token
    

    3. Construct the HTTP Request

    You’ll make a POST request to the Vertex AI API endpoint. The URL will look like this:

    https://{region}-aiplatform.googleapis.com/v1/projects/{project_id}/locations/{region}/endpoints/{endpoint_id}:predict
    
    • {project_id}: Your Google Cloud Project ID.
    • {region}: The region where your endpoint is deployed (e.g., “us-central1”).
    • {endpoint_id}: The ID of your Vertex AI endpoint.

    The request body should be a JSON object with an “instances” key. The value of “instances” is a list of data instances. In your case, each instance represents the features of a house for which you want to predict the price.

    4. Example using curl

    Here’s an example of how to call your endpoint using curl:

    ACCESS_TOKEN=$(gcloud auth print-access-token)
    PROJECT_ID="your-project-id"  # Replace with your Project ID
    REGION="us-central1"      # Replace with your Region
    ENDPOINT_ID="your-endpoint-id"  # Replace with your Endpoint ID
    
    # Sample data (same as in the Python SDK example)
    DATA='{
        "instances": [
            {
                "Size_LivingArea_SqFt": 2000,
                "Size_Lot_SqFt": 8000,
                "Size_TotalArea_SqFt": 2800,
                "Rooms_Total": 7,
                "Bedrooms": 3,
                "Bathrooms_Full": 2,
                "Bathrooms_Half": 1,
                "Basement_Area_SqFt": 800,
                "Basement_Finished": 1,
                "Garage_Cars": 2,
                "Fireplaces": 1,
                "Porch_Area_SqFt": 100,
                "Year_Built": 2000,
                "Year_Remodeled": 2010,
                "Condition_Overall": 7,
                "Quality_Overall": 7,
                "Building_Type": "House",
                "House_Style": "Ranch",
                "Foundation_Type": "Slab",
                "Roof_Material": "Composition Shingle",
                "Exterior_Material": "Brick",
                "Heating_Type": "Forced Air",
                "Cooling_Type": "Central AC",
                "Kitchen_Quality": "Good",
                "Bathroom_Quality": "Good",
                "Fireplace_Quality": "Average",
                "Basement_Quality": "Average",
                "Stories": 1,
                "Floor_Material": "Hardwood",
                "Neighborhood": "Bentonville Central",
                "Proximity_Schools_Miles": 0.5,
                "Proximity_Parks_Miles": 1.2,
                "Proximity_PublicTransport_Miles": 0.8,
                "Proximity_Shopping_Miles": 1.5,
                "Proximity_Hospitals_Miles": 2.0,
                "Safety_CrimeRate_Index": 65,
                "Environmental_NoiseLevel_dB": 45,
                "Environmental_AirQuality_Index": 35,
                "Flood_Zone": "No",
                "View": "None",
                "Time_of_Sale": "2024-08",
                "Interest_Rate": 6.2,
                "Inflation_Rate": 3.5,
                "Unemployment_Rate": 4.2,
                "Housing_Inventory": 0.05,
                "Economic_Growth_Rate": 2.5
            }
        ]
    }'
    
    # Construct the URL
    URL="https://${REGION}-aiplatform.googleapis.com/v1/projects/${PROJECT_ID}/locations/${REGION}/endpoints/${ENDPOINT_ID}:predict"
    
    # Make the POST request
    curl -X POST \
         -H "Authorization: Bearer ${ACCESS_TOKEN}" \
         -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
         -d "${DATA}" \
         "${URL}"
    

    Explanation:

    • ACCESS_TOKEN=$(gcloud auth print-access-token): Gets your current access token.
    • PROJECT_ID, REGION, ENDPOINT_ID: Replace these with your actual values.
    • DATA: A JSON string containing the input data. Crucially, it’s wrapped in an “instances” list.
    • URL: The Vertex AI API endpoint URL.
    • The curl command:
      • -X POST: Specifies the POST request method.
      • -H "Authorization: Bearer ${ACCESS_TOKEN}": Adds the authorization header.
      • -H "Content-Type: application/json": Sets the content type to JSON.
      • -d "${DATA}": Sends the JSON data in the request body.
      • ${URL}: The URL to send the request to.

    5. Response

    The response from the Vertex AI endpoint will be a JSON object with a “predictions” key. The value of “predictions” will be a list, where each element corresponds to the prediction for an instance in your input. In this case, you’ll get a list with a single element: the predicted house price.