Skip to content
Logo

Hackaday

  • Home
  • Blog
  • Hackaday.io
  • Tindie
  • Contests
  • Submit
  • About

visual feedback

2 Articles

Artificial Neural Networks Help Hack Biological Counterparts

May 12, 2019 by Roger Cheng 16 Comments

Eyes are windows into the soul, the old saying goes. They are also pathways into the mind, as much of our brain is involved in processing visual input. This dedication to vision is partly why much of AI research is likewise focused on machine vision. But do artificial neural networks (ANN) actually work like the gray matter that inspired them? A recently published research paper (DOI: 10.1126/science.aav9436) builds a convincing argument for “yes”.

Neural nets were named because their organization was inspired by biological neurons in the brain. But as we learned more and more about how biological neurons worked, we also discovered artificial neurons aren’t very faithful digital copies of the original. This cast doubt whether machine vision neural nets actually function like their natural inspiration, or if they worked in an entirely different way.

This experiment took a trained machine vision network and analyzed its internals. Armed with this knowledge, images were created and tailored for the purpose of triggering high activity in specific neurons. These responses were far stronger than what occurs when processing normal visual input. These tailored images were then shown to three macaque monkeys fitted with electrodes monitoring their neuron activity, which picked up similarly strong neural responses atypical of normal vision.

Manipulating neural activity beyond their normal operating range via tailored imagery is the Hollywood portrayal of mind control, but we’re not at risk of input injection attacks on our brains. This data point gives machine learning researchers confidence their work still has relevance to biological source material, and neuroscientists are excited about the possibility of exploring brain functions without invasive surgical implants. Artificial neural networks could end up help us better understand what happens inside our brain, bringing the process full circle.

[via Science News]

Posted in Medical HacksTagged ai, artificial intelligence, artificial neural network, biology, brain, brain hacks, machine vision, neural network, neurons, neuroscience, visual, visual feedback

Teaching Correct Hand Movements With A Kinect

May 5, 2012 by Brian Benchoff 3 Comments

If you’re learning how to play a musical instrument, shoot hoops, or even learning exactly how hard making a golf ball fly really is, here’s one for you. It’s a projected visualization for hand movement guidance.

[Rajinder], [Hrvoje], and [Andrew] at UIUC and Microsoft Research figured out a great way to improve the fine motor skills required of sports and musical instruments. Basically, they took a Kinect and tracked a user’s hand in 3D space. Small visual cues like an arrow and colored pixels are projected onto the hand to provide visual feedback. The guys wrote a great paper on their work, and from the results test subjects’ hand movements greatly improved after a bit of training.

While the uses for this hack is obvious for playing a cello or weight training, there’s no mention of using this project for physical therapy. We could certainly see the benefits of this project being used for rehabilitation.

Continue reading “Teaching Correct Hand Movements With A Kinect” →

Posted in Kinect hacksTagged fine motor skills, Kinect, visual feedback

Search

Never miss a hack

Follow on facebook Follow on twitter Follow on youtube Follow on rss Contact us

Subscribe

If you missed it

  • A Gentle Introduction To Ncurses For The Terminally Impatient

    16 Comments
  • End Of An Era: NOAA’s Polar Sats Wind Down Operations

    15 Comments
  • Crowdsourcing SIGINT: Ham Radio At War

    14 Comments
  • Reconductoring: Building Tomorrow’s Grid Today

    59 Comments
  • Is The Atomic Outboard An Idea Whose Time Has Come?

    46 Comments
More from this category

Our Columns

  • Keebin’ With Kristina: The One With The Gaming Typewriter

    1 Comment
  • Hackaday Links: June 15, 2025

    5 Comments
  • This Week In Security: The Localhost Bypass, Reflections, And X

    24 Comments
  • FLOSS Weekly Episode 836: Beeps And Boops With Meshtastic

    2 Comments
  • Hackaday Links: June 8, 2025

    20 Comments
More from this category

Search

Never miss a hack

Follow on facebook Follow on twitter Follow on youtube Follow on rss Contact us

Subscribe

If you missed it

  • A Gentle Introduction To Ncurses For The Terminally Impatient

    16 Comments
  • End Of An Era: NOAA’s Polar Sats Wind Down Operations

    15 Comments
  • Crowdsourcing SIGINT: Ham Radio At War

    14 Comments
  • Reconductoring: Building Tomorrow’s Grid Today

    59 Comments
  • Is The Atomic Outboard An Idea Whose Time Has Come?

    46 Comments
More from this category

Categories

Our Columns

  • Keebin’ With Kristina: The One With The Gaming Typewriter

    1 Comment
  • Hackaday Links: June 15, 2025

    5 Comments
  • This Week In Security: The Localhost Bypass, Reflections, And X

    24 Comments
  • FLOSS Weekly Episode 836: Beeps And Boops With Meshtastic

    2 Comments
  • Hackaday Links: June 8, 2025

    20 Comments
More from this category

Recent comments

  • ziew on A Gentle Introduction To Ncurses For The Terminally Impatient
  • Anonymous on StatusNotifierItem: How Standard Non-Standards Tear Linux Desktops Apart
  • A on StatusNotifierItem: How Standard Non-Standards Tear Linux Desktops Apart
  • lis0r on StatusNotifierItem: How Standard Non-Standards Tear Linux Desktops Apart
  • macw on A DIY Version Of The Franck-Hertz Experiment
  • Anonymous on How Discord Was Ported To Windows 95 And NT 3.1
  • Ewald on Keebin’ With Kristina: The One With The Gaming Typewriter
  • marc on History Of Forgotten Moon Bases
  • x on Cube Teeter Totter: One Motor, Many Lessons
  • SpillsDirt on Making A Brushless DC Motor Winding Machine
Logo
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Hackaday.io
  • Tindie
  • Video
  • Submit A Tip
  • About
  • Contact Us

Never miss a hack

Follow on facebook Follow on twitter Follow on youtube Follow on rss Contact us

Subscribe to Newsletter

Copyright © 2025 | Hackaday, Hack A Day, and the Skull and Wrenches Logo are Trademarks of Hackaday.com | Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Digital Services Act
Powered by WordPress VIP

By using our website and services, you expressly agree to the placement of our performance, functionality and advertising cookies. Learn more

 

Loading Comments...