IBM unveiled new software ecosystem for chips inspired by brain

IBM unveiled new software ecosystem for chips inspired by brain
Future computers will emulate human brain
09/08/2013 - 2:22pm
Scientists from IBM unveiled on 8 August a software ecosystem designed for programming silicon chips that have an architecture inspired by the function, low power, and compact volume of the brain. The technology could enable a new generation of intelligent sensor networks that mimic the brain’s abilities for perception, action, and cognition.
“Architectures and programs are closely intertwined and a new architecture necessitates a new programming paradigm,” said Principal Investigator and Senior Manager at IBM Research Dharmendra S. Modha, “We are working to create a FORTRAN for synaptic computing chips. While complementing today’s computers, this will bring forth a fundamentally new technological capability in terms of programming and applying emerging learning systems,” explained Modha.
By FORTRAN he is reffering to a programming language developed in the 1950s which is a programming model used in computers today. IBM's new programming model breaks the mold of sequential operation underlying today's computers, and is tailored for "cognitive computing." This could enable a new generation of intelligent sensor networks that mimic the brain’s abilities for perception, action, and cognition.
IBM’s long-term goal is to build a chip system with ten billion neurons and hundred trillion synapses, while consuming merely one kilowatt of power and occupying less than two liters of volume. Yet in August 2011, IBM successfully demonstrated a building block of a novel brain-inspired chip architecture based on a scalable, interconnected, configurable network of “neurosynaptic cores.” Each core brings memory (“synapses”), processors (“neurons”), and communication (“axons”) in close proximity, executing activity in an event-driven fashion.
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