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IBM Chip Processes Data Similar to the Way Your Brain Does

posted by azrael on Sunday August 10 2014, @01:05AM   Printer-friendly
from the maybe-this-will-help-them-sell-their-chip-business dept.

AnonTechie writes:

A new kind of computer chip, unveiled by IBM today, takes design cues from the wrinkled outer layer of the human brain. Though it is no match for a conventional microprocessor at crunching numbers, the chip consumes significantly less power, and is vastly better suited to processing images, sound, and other sensory data.

IBM's SyNapse chip processes information using a network of just over one million "neurons," which communicate with one another using electrical spikes-as actual neurons do. The chip uses the same basic components as today's commercial chips-silicon transistors. But its transistors are configured to mimic the behaviour of both neurons and the connections-synapses-between them.

 
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  • (Score: 3, Funny) by Tork on Sunday August 10 2014, @02:19AM

    by Tork (3914) Subscriber Badge on Sunday August 10 2014, @02:19AM (#79523)
    Like my brain? How does it maintain efficiency while randomly studying the human proportions found in a certain subset of imagery?
    --
    🏳️‍🌈 Proud Ally 🏳️‍🌈
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  • (Score: 2) by SlimmPickens on Sunday August 10 2014, @03:14AM

    by SlimmPickens (1056) on Sunday August 10 2014, @03:14AM (#79537)

    I did enjoy reading that.

  • (Score: 3, Funny) by maxwell demon on Sunday August 10 2014, @05:01AM

    by maxwell demon (1608) on Sunday August 10 2014, @05:01AM (#79557) Journal

    The chip won't have problems with that. However, give it an image of a pretty silicon chip ...

    --
    The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.

    • (Score: 2) by kaszz on Monday August 11 2014, @01:08AM

      by kaszz (4211) on Monday August 11 2014, @01:08AM (#79858) Journal

      Oh my silicon!, your wafer pattern is so squarely and low capacitance.. I just feel we have to etch some new transistor masks together..!!

      ;-)