Actually simulating a human brain is a long, long way off—much longer than many neuro-enthusiasts would like us to think. But that doesn’t mean powerful, practical neuromorphic computing is quite so distant.
By Michael Byrne|MOTHERBOARD
Potentially opening up a whole new avenue of neuro-sim research, scientists at the University of California, Santa Barbara published a paper this week describing the first successful attempt at building a ground-up neuromorphic circuit with the ability to complete practical tasks.
To emphasize: This is not an algorithm or software model, as is usually considered within neuro-computational research, but the bare circuit itself, consisting of metal-oxide semiconductors (CMOS) and somewhat exotic components known as memristors. The result? A 100 neuron brain featuring some limited but promising visual recognition abilities. The circuit is described in the current issue of Nature.
Read more: The Incredible Challenge of Digitizing the Human Brain
The difference between the UCSB approach and probably most of what we hear about brain simulation—the Blue Brain Project, for example—is that one might argue that this isn’t even properly a simulation. It’s hardware, not virtualization. The axons and synapses aren’t algorithms, they’re synthesized axons and synapses.
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