RubyFann
Fast AI
Neural Networks in ruby
RubyFann, or "ruby-fann" is a Ruby Gem (no Rails required) that binds to FANN (Fast Artificial Neural Network) from within a ruby/rails environment. FANN is a is a free native open source neural network library, which implements multilayer artificial neural networks, supporting both fully-connected and sparsely-connected networks. It is easy to use, versatile, well documented, and fast. RubyFann
makes working with neural networks a breeze using ruby
, with the added benefit that most of the heavy lifting is done natively.
A talk given by our friend Ethan from Big-Oh Studios at Lone Star Ruby 2013: http://confreaks.com/videos/2609-lonestarruby2013-neural-networks-with-rubyfann
Installation
Add this line to your application's Gemfile:
gem 'ruby-fann'
And then execute:
$ bundle
Or install it yourself as:
$ gem install ruby-fann
Usage
First, Go here & read about FANN. You don't need to install it before using the gem, but understanding FANN will help you understand what you can do with the ruby-fann gem: http://leenissen.dk/fann/
Documentation:
ruby-fann documentation: http://tangledpath.github.io/ruby-fann/index.html
Example training & subsequent execution:
require 'ruby-fann'
train = RubyFann::TrainData.new(:inputs=>[[0.3, 0.4, 0.5], [0.1, 0.2, 0.3]], :desired_outputs=>[[0.7], [0.8]])
fann = RubyFann::Standard.new(:num_inputs=>3, :hidden_neurons=>[2, 8, 4, 3, 4], :num_outputs=>1)
fann.train_on_data(train, 1000, 10, 0.1) # 1000 max_epochs, 10 errors between reports and 0.1 desired MSE (mean-squared-error)
outputs = fann.run([0.3, 0.2, 0.4])
Save training data to file and use it later (continued from above)
train.save('verify.train')
train = RubyFann::TrainData.new(:filename=>'verify.train')
# Train again with 10000 max_epochs, 20 errors between reports and 0.01 desired MSE (mean-squared-error)
# This will take longer:
fann.train_on_data(train, 10000, 20, 0.01)
Save trained network to file and use it later (continued from above)
fann.save('foo.net')
saved_nn = RubyFann::Standard.new(:filename=>"foo.net")
saved_nn.run([0.3, 0.2, 0.4])
Custom training using a callback method
This callback function can be called during training when using train_on_data, train_on_file or cascadetrain_on_data.
It is very useful for doing custom things during training. It is recommended to use this function when implementing custom training procedures, or when visualizing the training in a GUI etc. The args which the callback function takes is the parameters given to the train_on_data, plus an epochs parameter which tells how many epochs the training have taken so far.
The callback method should return an integer, if the callback function returns -1, the training will terminate.
The callback (training_callback) will be automatically called if it is implemented on your subclass as follows:
class MyFann < RubyFann::Standard
def training_callback(args)
puts "ARGS: #{args.inspect}"
0
end
end
A sample project using RubyFann to play tic-tac-toe
https://github.com/bigohstudios/tictactoe
Contributors
- Steven Miers
- Ole Krüger
- dignati
- Michal Pokorny
- Scott Li (locksley)
- alex.slotty
Contributing
- Fork it
- Create your feature branch (
git checkout -b my-new-feature
) - Commit your changes (
git commit -am 'Add some feature'
) - Push to the branch (
git push origin my-new-feature
) - Create new Pull Request