Radmantis adds Harvard neuroscientist Richard T. Born to board

Radmantis said Tuesday that Richard T. Born, M.D., a Harvard Medical School neuroscientist focused on visual perception, has joined its Board of Directors. The company is betting Born’s research on how the brain interprets ambiguous scenes will help sharpen its underwater machine-vision systems for biosecurity, aquaculture and infrastructure monitoring.

Why it matters: - Radmantis is trying to move its systems beyond basic detection toward perception that can handle murky, crowded underwater environments. - The company’s work affects fish monitoring, invasive species control, aquaculture and infrastructure such as hydroelectric dams and port security. - Born’s research could help Radmantis design models that better use context, feedback and prior knowledge when images are unclear.

What happened: - Radmantis announced that Richard T. Born, M.D., has joined its Board of Directors. - Born is Professor of Neurobiology, Emeritus, at Harvard Medical School. - Radmantis said the appointment reflects its view that hard machine-vision problems are fundamentally perception problems. - The company said Born’s research will inform its next-generation perceptual core algorithms.

The details: - Born has studied the visual cortex for more than three decades. - He earned his M.D. from Harvard in 1988. - His training included work with David Hubel and Margaret Livingstone at Harvard and William Newsome at Stanford. - His laboratory has studied visual area MT/V5, motion and depth processing, neural variability and cortico-cortical feedback. - Born’s research has advanced the idea that perception works as statistical inference, combining sensory data with learned expectations. - Born served as director of Harvard’s Ph.D. Program in Neuroscience from 2009 to 2014. - Radmantis said aquatic environments often involve dense fish groups, shifting water clarity and visually similar species that must be distinguished in real time. - Radmantis said human vision still outperforms machines in those ambiguous scenes. - The company intends to use Born’s expertise in visual cortex circuitry to guide neural network architecture. - Radmantis said the goal is systems that interpret complex underwater scenes with greater sensitivity to context and ambiguity. - Born said he is excited to help translate lessons from biological vision into more capable and reliable technology. - Moira van Staaden, Radmantis founder and CEO, said Born’s work sits at the intersection of biology and computation. - Robert Huber, Radmantis technology lead, said biological vision offers a principled foundation for more perceptive, accurate and robust models. - Radmantis said the appointment builds on recent milestones in underwater vision for hydropower, robotic aquaculture, smart traps for invasive species and drone-based imaging for port security. - Radmantis describes itself as a blue tech company focused on underwater imaging, embedded vision and automation systems for aquatic monitoring, aquaculture and energy infrastructure. - Radmantis said its technologies provide real-time analytics for sustainable operations, ecosystem resilience and environmental compliance. - More information is available at the company’s website.

Between the lines: - The board addition signals that Radmantis is leaning into neuroscience as a competitive advantage in machine vision. - The company is framing product development around a biological model rather than only conventional computer-vision engineering. - That approach suggests Radmantis sees underwater perception as a context problem, not just an image-recognition problem.

What's next: - Radmantis plans to use Born’s input on feedback and context in visual perception to shape future model design. - The company’s next systems are expected to focus on better interpretation of underwater environments, not just object detection. - The appointment may also support continued expansion across aquatic monitoring, energy infrastructure and security applications.

The bottom line: - Radmantis is betting that a neuroscience lens can help its underwater systems see more like humans in messy real-world conditions.