Applications of Neural Networks

Where Neural Networks can be applied?

Since neural networks are best at identifying patterns or trends in data, they are well suited for prediction or forecasting needs including:

1.  Sales Forecasting
2.  Industrial Process Control
3.  Customer Research
4.  Data Validation
5.  Risk Management
6.  Target Marketing

Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) are also used in the following specific paradigms: 

1. Recognition of Speakers in Communications
2. Diagnosis of Hepatitis
3. Recovery of Telecommunications from Faulty Software
4. Interpretation of Multi-meaning Chinese Words
5. Undersea Mine Detection
6. Texture Analysis
7. 3D Object Recognition
8. Hand-written Word Recognition
9. Facial Recognition.

Neural Network in Business

There is a marketing application which has been integrated with a neural network system. The Airline Marketing Tactician (a trademark abbreviated as AMT) is a computer system made of various intelligent technologies including expert systems. A feedforward neural network is integrated with the AMT and was trained using back-propagation to assist the marketing control of airline seat allocations. The adaptive neural approach was amenable to rule expression. Additionaly, the application's environment changed rapidly and constantly, which required a continuously adaptive solution. The system is used to monitor and recommend booking advice for each departure. Such information has a direct impact on the profitability of an airline and can provide a technological advantage for users of the system.

While it is significant that neural networks have been applied to this problem, it is also important to see that this intelligent technology can be integrated with expert systems and other approaches to make a functional system. Neural networks were used to discover the influence of undefined interactions by the various variables. While these interactions were not defined, they were used by the neural system to develop useful conclusions. It is also noteworthy to see that neural networks can influence the bottom line.

Related Reading: What is Neural Network?
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What is Neural Networks?

What is Neural Networks?

An Artificial Neural Network (ANN) is an information processing paradigm that is inspired by the way biological nervous systems, such as the brain, process information. The key element of this paradigm is the novel structure of the information processing system. It is composed of a large number of highly interconnected processing elements (neurons) working in unison to solve specific problems. An ANN is configured for a specific application, such as pattern recognition or data classification, through a learning process. Learning in biological systems involves adjustments to the synaptic connections that exist between the neurones. This is true of ANNs as well.

Neural network simulations appear to be a recent development. However, this field was established before the advent of computers, and has survived at least one major setback and several eras.

Why use Neural Networks?

Neural networks, with their remarkable ability to derive meaning from complicated or imprecise data, can be used to extract patterns and detect trends that are too complex to be noticed by either humans or other computer techniques. A trained neural network can be thought of as an "expert" in the category of information it has been given to analyse. This expert can then be used to provide projections given new situations of interest and answer "what if" questions.

Other advantages include:

1. Adaptive learning: An ability to learn how to do tasks based on the data given for training or initial experience.
2. Self-Organisation: An ANN can create its own organisation or representation of the information it receives during learning time.
3. Real Time Operation: ANN computations may be carried out in parallel, and special hardware devices are being designed and manufactured which take advantage of this capability.
4. Fault Tolerance via Redundant Information Coding: Partial destruction of a network leads to the corresponding degradation of performance. However, some network capabilities may be retained even with major network damage.

Neural Networks versus Conventional Computers

Neural networks take a different approach to problem solving than that of conventional computers. Conventional computers use an algorithmic approach i.e. the computer follows a set of instructions in order to solve a problem. Unless the specific steps that the computer needs to follow are known the computer cannot solve the problem. That restricts the problem solving capability of conventional computers to problems that we already understand and know how to solve. But computers would be so much more useful if they could do things that we don't exactly know how to do.

Neural networks process information in a similar way the human brain does. The network is composed of a large number of highly interconnected processing elements(neurons) working in parallel to solve a specific problem. Neural networks learn by example. They cannot be programmed to perform a specific task. The examples must be selected carefully otherwise useful time is wasted or even worse the network might be functioning incorrectly. The disadvantage is that because the network finds out how to solve the problem by itself, its operation can be unpredictable.

On the other hand, conventional computers use a cognitive approach to problem solving; the way the problem is to be solved must be known and stated in small unambiguous instructions. These instructions are then converted to a high level language program and then into machine code that the computer can understand. These machines are totally predictable; if anything goes wrong is due to a software or hardware fault.

Neural networks and conventional algorithmic computers are not in competition but complement each other. There are tasks that are more suited to an algorithmic approach like arithmetic operations and tasks that are more suited to neural networks. Even more, a large number of tasks, require systems that use a combination of the two approaches (normally a conventional computer is used to supervise the neural network) in order to perform at maximum efficiency.

Related Reading: Applications of Neural Networks.

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What is Artificial Intelligence?

What is Artificial Intelligence?

Artificial Intelligence a.k.a. A.I. is the science and engineering of making intelligent computer programs or machines. Artificial intelligence algorithms span several different branches of computer science and mathematics including: pattern recognition, predictive modeling, text mining and search, genetic programming, heuristics, inference, and ontology, and data analytics.

Artificial intelligence is commonly referred to as machine learning and was originally developed to enable computers to learn. Today, the technology is based on a number of advanced mathematical methods for optimization, regression and classification and finds application in a wide variety of fields including: gaming, speech recognition, computer vision, expert systems, heuristic classification, medical diagnostics, and credit card fraud.

What is Predictive Modelling?

Predictive modeling is the area of data analytics concerned with forecasting probabilities and trends. A predictive model is made up of a number of predictors, or variables, that are likely to influence future behavior or results. In marketing, for example, a customer's gender, age, and purchase history might predict the likelihood of a future sale.

Predictive modeling techniques are often iterative involving the collection of data, the formulation of a statistical model, and the approximation of an outcome. The process is refined and validated as more data becomes available. The model may employ a simple linear equation or a complex artificial intelligence algorithm, mapped out by sophisticated software.

Predictive modeling algorithms are used widely in information technology (IT). Applications of predictive modeling include: spam filtering, customer relationship management (CRM), capacity planning, disaster recovery, engineering, meteorology, insurance risk, credit score, and marketing.

What is Data Analytics?

Data analytics is the science or process of inspecting, cleaning, transforming, and modeling data with the goal of highlighting useful information. Data analytics software is used in many industries to allow companies and organization to make better business decisions and in the sciences to verify or disprove existing models or theories.

Data analytics is distinguished from data mining by the scope, purpose and focus of the analysis. Data miners sort through huge data sets using sophisticated machine learning algorithms to identify undiscovered patterns and establish hidden relationships. Data analytics focuses on inference, the process of deriving a conclusion based solely on what is already known by the researcher.

What is Gradient Boosting?

Gradient boosting is a machine learning technique for regression problems, which produces a prediction model in the form of an ensemble of weak prediction models, typically decision trees. It builds the model in a stage-wise fashion like other boosting methods do, and it generalizes them by allowing optimization of an arbitrary differentiable loss function. Gradient boosting method can be also used for classification problems by reducing them to regression with a suitable loss function.

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Nest Intelligent Thermostat

How the Nest Intelligent Thermostat Works?

Your heating, air conditioning and the ductwork that carries and recycles air between rooms make up the HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) system for your home. You control your home's HVAC through your thermostat. All you have to do is select your heating and cooling options and to set your desired indoor temperature. The thermostat does the rest, switching systems on and off based on the temperature it detects in the room.

The Nest Learning Thermostat goes beyond this simple temperature detection to make a real impact in your HVAC energy consumption. In this article, we'll see what Nest can do, how it does what it does, who's behind it and what challenges it faces in the HVAC industry.

To understand Nest's value, let's first look at what other thermostats do. All thermostats let you set a desired temperature and monitor the current temperature. You can also switch between heat and AC.

Many thermostats rely entirely on your settings. As a result, you might only adjust the thermostat when you feel uncomfortable. In addition, you may not think to adjust it before you leave home to save on energy while the house is empty.

The Nest Learning Thermostat aims to solve this problem. Nest actually programs itself by learning your behavior patterns and desired temperatures for certain days and times during the week, and then building a schedule for your HVAC.

Nest Features: Saving Energy

Nest features what the company calls Nest Sense technology to learns your day-to-day routine and maintains your HVAC schedule automatically, based on what it learns.

Nest creates an Auto-Away mode based on what it's learned. This sets a temperature for minimal HVAC activity when you're not in the building. You can also set an Away mode manually if you wish.

While it's actively heating or cooling, Nest displays an estimated time for the system to reach the desired temperature.

Nest displays a green leaf any time the thermostat is running at energy-saving settings. This can teach you to make energy-saving decisions. For example, if Nest has learned that you typically run your AC until the house is 74 degrees Fahrenheit (23.3 Celsius), you could turn up the temperature until you see the green leaf, perhaps at 76 degrees Fahrenheit (24.4 Celsius), to save energy. The leaf will always appear at cooling settings of 84 degrees Fahrenheit (28.9 Celsius) or higher and heating settings of 62 degrees Fahrenheit (16.7 Celsius) or lower.

1. Nest lets you know what activity (between Auto-Away, your own adjustments and the weather) resulted in the greatest energy savings throughout the day.
2. Nest uses WiFi to connect to your Nest account at nest.com. This feature allows you to monitor and adjust the Nest remotely from the Web site.
3. Nest supports a mobile app available for Apple iOS devices (iPod Touch, iPhone, and iPad) and Android devices. The app turns your mobile device into a remote control for your Nest.
4. You can add Nest to any number of thermostats in a multi-thermostat building. They will work alongside other thermostats, but note that each of Nest's energy-saving features only applies to the rooms in its sensor range and to the HVAC components it controls.
5. Your Nest account can manage up to 10 Nest devices, whether they're in the same building or at multiple locations.

Nest Technology: Nest Sense

The core technology behind Nest is a combination of its sensors, computer and algorithms. The company calls this Nest Sense. Part of Nest Sense's job is to gather data to use in its calculations. This data goes beyond just measuring the temperature in the room. In fact, Nest gathers data from the following sources:

1. Three temperature sensors, designed to get a more precise measurement than a single sensor
2. Motion and light sensors that detect activity in the room at a wide 150-degree angle
3. A WiFi connection to get weather data about your area from the Internet

Using data from these sources, Nest Sense creates a schedule for your HVAC.

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Intelligent Homes with Artificial Intelligence

What are these Intelligent Homes?

Whether it's a fully integrated house filled with interactive devices or a single component within an environment, there are three main pieces to creating an intelligent reactive device. First, it has to be able to detect what is going on. We humans use our senses to gather information about the environment around us and the others who may be in it. Sensors do the same thing for electronics, though a sensor may have a narrower scope of stimuli it can detect.

The interactive environment must also have some sort of processing unit that interprets the data gathered by sensors. This is the brain of the interactive environment. It stores user profiles and matches them with preferences. When a sensor detects that a specific person has entered the environment, this processing unit determines the next course of action.

The final piece is some sort of actuator, switch or setting that the processing unit engages to change the environment to best suit the user's needs. This might be a thermostat setting, a sound system or even a haptic feedback system that alerts you to specific conditions.

An interactive environment could have a central processing unit through which all components operate. This would allow for a single point of operation. All the data gathered by sensors would pass through the processing unit, which would send out commands to adjust the environment as needed.

Another approach is to use multiple, independent systems within an environment. This means that you might have an intelligent thermostat and an intelligent sound system but the two aren't connected to each other. One potential advantage of this approach is that if one component's processing unit fails, the others should still work without a problem. Interactive environments may also use a combination of systems with some integrating with a central unit while others are independent.

Today's intelligent reactive devices learn from patterns. Let's look at a thermostat as an example. Let's say your ideal temperature is 70 degrees Fahrenheit (21 degrees Celsius). When you're home, that's what you want. But let's say you're away from your home during the day. You may not care if your home gets a little warmer or cooler than 70 degrees at that point. So you set the thermostat a little higher -- or lower, depending on the time of year -- than your normal comfort zone to save power. When you come back home, you reset the thermostat and wait for your house to get comfortable again.

Many modern thermostats have a programmable mode that lets you set temperatures for particular times during the day. You could program your thermostat to adjust to a different temperature after you leave and return to your preferences an hour or so before you get back. You'll still be saving energy, but you won't have to come home to a hot or cold house.

An intelligent reactive thermostat could learn these patterns by recording when you make adjustments to the temperature. If you make a pattern of adjusting the temperature - for example, if you like it toasty in the morning but cave-cold in the evening - the intelligent thermostat can keep a record of it and make these adjustments for you once it has figured out your preferences.

The Nest thermostat does just that. It also has a motion detector built in so that it can adjust these settings on the fly. Maybe you've got a day off - something a normal programmable thermostat would be unable to determine. The Nest could detect you as you move about the house and make sure to override its normal routine so that you remain comfortable.

The Nest also has a WiFi transmitter that allows it to check weather reports. This lets the system know if it will need to work harder to maintain the ideal temperature inside the house. This adds a second layer of artificial intelligence over pattern recognition - search and learning.

The thermostat is a comparatively simple application of an intelligent environment. For example, you might have a favorite chair you sit in. Sometimes you sit there when watching television. Other times you might be reading or listening to music. In a fully automated home, sensors might be able to determine when you sit in the chair. But what does the home do next?

In general, the way AI makes decisions involves sets of actions. When you watch television, those actions could include turning on the TV and any other home entertainment equipment you have. It may also involve closing the blinds to block outside light. You might like to watch movies in a dark room, so the house dims the lights inside as well.

But if you wanted to read a book, a dim room with a blaring television may not be the environment you had wished. Instead, you might want a nearby lamp to be on while you sit in a quiet room and read. In this case, the house would need to turn off any gadgets that make noise and turn the light on for you. But how does the house know which set of actions to follow?

It sounds like a simple problem -- after all, you know if you want to watch TV, read or listen to music. But the house has to learn. It might do this by observing your behavior over several days, looking for patterns and patterns within other patterns. Otherwise, it might turn on the lamp when you really wanted the television.

This is mainly a software problem. Programmers help AI become smarter by building in a feedback system so the program keeps track of how frequently it gets things right and wrong. It gradually builds a database keyed to your behaviors so that it can anticipate your needs based on past experience. It may still get things wrong once in a while.

Things get more complicated when there are multiple people living in one house- or working in the same building. The software for the intelligent environment will have to build databases for each person and tweak them over time. And then there's the question of prioritization - if two people have drastically different preferences, how does the intelligent house take that into consideration?

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Anti-Reflective and Ultraviolet Coatings

What is Anti-Reflective and Ultraviolet Coatings?

A common problem with sunglasses is called back-glare. This is light that hits the back of the lenses and bounces into the eyes. The purpose of an anti-reflective (AR) coating is to reduce these reflections off the lenses.

Similar to a scratch-resistant coating, AR is made of a very hard, thin film that is layered on the lens. It is made of material that has an index of refraction that is somewhere between air and glass. This causes the intensity of the light reflected from the inner surface and the light reflected from the outer surface of the film to be nearly equal. When applied in a thickness of about a quarter of light's wavelength, the two reflections from each side of the film basically cancel each other out through destructive interference, minimizing the glare you see. AR coatings are also applied to the front of prescription eyewear and some sunglasses to eliminate the "hot spot" glare that reflects off the lens.

Ultraviolet Coating

Several of the most serious eye problems can be linked to one cause: UV light. UV is often separated into two categories based on the frequency and wavelength of the light: UV-A and UV-B.

As a natural protection mechanism, the cornea of your eye absorbs all of the UV-B and most of the UV-A light. But some of the UV-A light reaches the lens of the eye, and over time this absorption can lead to cataracts. The small amount of UV-A that gets past your cornea and reaches the retina can eventually lead to macular degeneration, the leading cause of blindness in people older than age 65. Intense and prolonged exposure to UV radiation can cause either cancer of the eye or photokeratitis, which is basically a sunburn on your retina. Because it occurs most often when a person is outside on bright winter day, with sunlight glaring off the snow, this condition is commonly known as snow blindness.

A good UV coating on your sunglasses can eliminate UV radiation, and you should check to make sure that your sunglasses filter out 100 percent of both types of UV rays. There should be a statement on the label telling you how much UV protection the sunglasses have. You want 100-percent protection.

Reflective and Scratch-resistant Coatings

What is the purpose of Mirroring and Scratch-resistant Coatings?

Reflective sunglasses often have a mirrored look. The lenses in these sunglasses have a reflective coating applied in a very thin, sparse layer - so thin that it's called a half-silvered surface.

The name "half-silvered" comes from the fact that the reflective molecules coat the glass so sparsely that only about half the molecules needed to make the glass an opaque mirror are applied. At the molecular level, there are reflective molecules speckled all over the glass in an even film but only half of the glass is covered. The half-silvered surface will reflect about half the light that strikes its surface, while letting the other half go straight through.

Often, the mirror coating is applied as a gradient that gradually changes shades from top to bottom. This provides additional protection from light coming from above while allowing more light to come in from below or straight ahead. What that means is that if you are driving, the sun's rays are blocked but you can see the dashboard. Sometimes the coating is bi-gradient, shading from mirrored at top and bottom to clear in the middle.

The key problem with reflective sunglasses is that the coating is easily scratched. Apparently, sunglass manufacturers have not been able to successfully apply a scratch-resistant layer on top of the reflective coating. Therefore, the scratch-resistant coating is applied first to protect the lenses and the reflective coating is applied over it.

Scratch-resistant Coating

While glass is naturally scratch resistant, most plastics are not. To compensate, manufacturers have developed a variety of ways to apply optically clear hard films to the lens. Films are made of materials such as diamond-like carbon (DLC) and polycrystalline diamond. Through a process of ionization, a thin but extremely durable film is created on the surface of the lens.