IBM and the US Air Force are teaming up to build a massive supercomputer. The new system should be capable of processing data more like the human brain does, while simultaneously pairing that capability with more conventional CPUs.
Many technology fans, including DARPA think that brainlike neuromorphic chips bleeping digital spikes at each other could provide the answer to autonomous vehicle control — if only someone knew what exactly should generate the spikes they use. The latest brainstorm, before turning over the keys of life to these chips, is to put them into drones and see what happens.
Scientists at IBM Research have created by far the most advanced neuromorphic (brain-like) computer chip to date. The chip, called TrueNorth, consists of 1 million programmable neurons 256 million programmable synapses spread out across 4096 individual neurosynaptic cores. Yes, IBM is now a big step closer to building a brain on a chip.
Like a startup company in search of a mission statement, neuromorphic engineering has yet to define for itself a clear path forward. There have been advances in a few select pockets — Synaptics’ touchpads, Foveon’s CMOS color imagers, or Sonic Innovation’s hearing aids may come to mind — but as a whole, the field knows neither what it wants exactly, nor how to do it. A roadmap to the future has recently been published by researchers from Georgia Tech. The end goal is nothing less than human-brain equivalent processing.
Autonomous drones are basically cameras with wings. While high resolution cameras focused on the ground might need to be optimized for contrast sensitivity and feature extraction, those that look around the sky may need a wide FOV with good deep resolution. A new device known as the CURVACE (Curved Artificial Compound Eye) has recently been developed to meet the demands of a flight. It is not so much a camera as it a complete visual system.
Neuromorphic computing designs have yet to compete with traditional computing architectures, which continue to impress. Researchers have now developed a new computing platform known as Neurogrid, that runs around 100,000 times more efficiently. Each Neurogrid board, running at 5 watts, can simulate detailed neuronal activity of one million neurons — and it can now do it in real time.
Subscribe Today to get the latest ExtremeTech news delivered right to your inbox.
This newsletter may contain advertising, deals, or affiliate links. Subscribing to a newsletter indicates your consent to our