The U.S. Navy and the medical community share seemingly different but surprisingly similar problems-finding undersea mines and identifying certain cells, such as cancer cells. And they have discovered that software designed by the Navy to locate undersea mines also contributes to faster, more accurate diagnoses of diseases and can foster medical breakthroughs. The Office of Naval Research (ONR), Arlington, Virginia, is developing active-learning software for identifying undersea mines. The goal is to make underwater mine-hunting robots smarter, eliminating the need for divers to risk their lives by closely inspecting potentially explosive objects. The software supports the mine-hunting mission by drawing attention to and asking questions about unidentified objects. Once the Navy user answers those questions, the software immediately learns from the experience so that it becomes better at spotting mines.
展开▼
