What have neural networks achieved?

[Larry Yaeger]

At 2:07 PM -0800 8/14/98, Michael A. Arbib wrote:
>b) What are the "big success stories" (i.e., of the kind the general public
>could understand) for neural networks contributing to the construction of
>"artificial" brains, i.e., successfully fielded applications of NN hardware
>and software that have had a major commercial or other impact?

I sent a private comment to Michael Arbib, but since I never announced the
availability of the comprehensive technical paper on connectionists, I'll
briefly pipe up now.  Though I wouldn't call it an "artificial brain", I
would call it a successfully fielded application of NN software that had
some degree of commercial and technological impact...

The "Print Recognizer" in second and subsequent generation Newton PDAs was
neural network based, and was fairly widely regarded as the first
successful, truly usable handwriting recognition solution.  (It had nothing
whatsoever to do with the original handwriting recognition system in first
generation Newtons.)  When it was introduced, this handwriting recognizer
essentially "saved" the Newton, breathing new life into the product and
bringing a level of public acceptance of the device's primary input method
(even though the product was killed a few years later).

A fairly detailed technical paper on the subject is available in:

Yaeger, L. S., Webb, B. J., Lyon, R. F., Combining Neural Networks and
Context-Driven Search for On-Line, Printed Handwriting Recognition in the
Newton, AI Magazine, AAAI, 19:1 (Spring 1998) p73-89.

Or in preprint form at:

<ftp://ftp.apple.com/research/neural/handwriting/Yaegeretal.AIMag.pdf>

Other information on this system and other, more basic research on evolving
neural network architectures in a computational ecology can easily be found
through my personal web site (URL in .sig below).

- larryy

--------<http://pobox.com/~larryy>--------<mailto:larryy at pobox.com>---------

      "'I heard the Empire has a tyrannical and repressive government!'
       'What form of government is that?'
       'A tautology.'"

--------<http://pobox.com/~larryy>--------<mailto:larryy at pobox.com>---------

                "One of these days... Milkshake!... BANG!!"