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Tech/TECH.004
Tech.004 · Neural Networks
Neural Networks

Artificial Intelligence.

A pile of weighted matrices that decided to be useful.

A neural network is a function. You hand it numbers; it hands you back numbers. The middle is a stack of layers — each takes the previous output, multiplies it by a matrix of learned weights, applies a non-linear bend, and passes it forward. Stack enough, and the function gets smart enough to recognize a face, write a paragraph, or steer a wheel.

Layers
3 → 100s deep
Weights
M → B params
Inference
< 30 ms
SYSAI.NETWORK
NET4 LAYERS · WEIGHTED
STATEFORWARD
PARAMS M+
ACT RELU
FWD LIVE
Live · Forward Pass
01 · The thirty-second version

A stack of linear algebra with attitude.

Imagine a long pipeline. Numbers go in one end. At each station along the way, the numbers get multiplied by a fixed grid of weights, summed, then bent through a non-linear function (the "activation"). The output of one station becomes the input of the next. Eventually a small handful of numbers fall out the other end — the answer.

The miracle isn't the architecture. The miracle is training. You feed the network thousands of examples, measure how wrong its guesses are, and nudge every weight a tiny bit in the direction that would have been less wrong (this is gradient descent). Repeat until the loss flattens out. What's left is a function that — for reasons that humble the people who built it — generalizes beyond the data it saw.

Different shapes of network solve different problems. CNNs see images by sliding small filters across them. Transformers attend to language by relating every word to every other word. Diffusion models generate images by reversing a noise process. Same underlying machinery — different geometry on top.

AI.FORWARD
02 · The forward pass

From input to prediction.

Each step is a deterministic matrix operation. The whole pass takes microseconds on a GPU.

01
Input
Raw data — pixels, tokens, audio samples — encoded as a tensor (a multi-dimensional array of numbers).
02
Layer 1
Input × weight matrix + bias. Output passed through activation function (ReLU, GELU, sigmoid).
03
Hidden
Same operation, deeper. Each layer learns increasingly abstract features. Edges → shapes → objects → meaning.
04
Activation
Final activation shapes output. Softmax for probabilities, sigmoid for binary, linear for regression.
05
Output
Numbers come out. "Cat: 0.97, dog: 0.02". "Move forward 0.4 m". The next word in the sentence.
03 · The toolkit

Models, frameworks, runtimes.

Different problems, different shapes of network. Different deployment targets, different runtimes.

Vision
CNN · ViT
Convolutional or transformer-based image models. Detection, classification, segmentation.
YOLO · DETR · SAM
Language
Transformers
Attention-based architecture. The substrate of every modern chat model.
GPT · Claude · Llama
Generative
Diffusion
Reverse noise into images. Text-to-image, image-to-image, video synthesis.
Stable Diffusion · Flux · SDXL
Multimodal
CLIP · GPT-4o
One model, multiple input types. Image+text+audio in, anything out.
Gemini · Claude 3.5
Framework
PyTorch
The research default. Dynamic graphs, Pythonic, ubiquitous.
JAX · TensorFlow · MLX
On-device
MediaPipe
Google's CV toolkit. Runs face mesh + pose + hands in your browser.
Core ML · TFLite · ONNX
Inference
Triton · vLLM
Serving infrastructure. Batched inference, KV-cache reuse, sub-second LLM responses.
TGI · TensorRT
API
Anthropic · OpenAI
Hosted models behind a REST endpoint. The fastest way to add intelligence to a product.
Replicate · Together · Groq
04 · In the wild

Where we've shipped AI.

Vision · Live
Face mesh in BUN-E
MediaPipe's Face Landmarker runs entirely in the browser, tracking 478 points on the user's face at 60 fps. Powers the AR filter on the Augma homepage. No server, no install, no privacy ask.
MediaPipeWebGLon-device
Generative · Brand
Personalized poster generators
Diffusion-driven activation: visitor types a prompt or uploads a selfie, gets a stylized brand-themed poster in 8 seconds. Built on hosted Flux/SDXL with custom LoRA fine-tunes.
SDXLReplicateLoRA
Vision · Install
Sensor-driven walkthroughs
YOLO running on a Jetson Nano detects how many people are in each zone of an exhibit; show-control reacts — lighting, audio, projection content shift based on crowd density. No depth sensor needed.
YOLOJetsonOSC
Language · Conversational
Augma's writing assistant
Behind the scenes — Claude helps draft, edit, and refactor copy for activations, including parts of this very page. AI is a tool we reach for when a hand-coded rule would be too brittle.
ClaudeAnthropic API
04.5 · Try it now

AI you can poke at right now.

First card runs a real CV model on this site. Other slots are for shipping cases.

Vision · MediaPipe
Try Live →
Live · 60 fps · on-device
Face mesh in BUN-E
MediaPipe's Face Landmarker tracking 478 face points at 60 fps in your browser. No server, no install, no privacy ask. The CV model lives entirely on your device.
Open the demo
Generative · Diffusion
SAMPLE PLACEHOLDER GEN.002 · SDXL · LoRA
Coming soon
Pending — Drop demo link
Personalized poster generator
Diffusion-driven activation: visitor types a prompt or uploads a selfie, gets a stylized brand-themed poster. Replace with a hosted URL + sample outputs once a campaign launches.
Add link
Vision · YOLO
SAMPLE PLACEHOLDER VIS.003 · YOLO · JETSON NANO
Coming soon
Pending — Drop install footage
Crowd-aware exhibit detection
YOLO running on a Jetson detects how many people are in each zone of an exhibit — show-control reacts. Replace with install POV footage when shipping.
Add asset
Language · LLM
SAMPLE PLACEHOLDER LLM.004 · CLAUDE · CONVO BOT
Coming soon
Pending — Drop chat embed
Branded conversational agent
Claude-powered character built into a brand activation. Replace with an embedded chat widget once a deployment is live.
Add embed
AI-shaped problem?

Tell us what's brittle. We'll pick the model.

Don't ask "do you have AI." Ask "what would AI actually solve here." Tell us the bottleneck — recognition, generation, decision — and we'll come back with the right model and the right deployment within one business day.