IBM Research reveals new silicon chip foundation inspired by the human brain (video)

The brain is an incredibly complicated thing, so much so that scientists have spent years trying to decipher its inner workings. IBM is one such institution attempting to crack the code of the human mind. In collaboration with DARPA's SyNAPSE program, it developed a "neurosynaptic computing chip" back in 2011 designed to simulate some of the brain's functions and successfully simulated 530 billion neurons last year thanks to the world's second fastest supercomputer. Today, the company unveiled an important next step in this quest with a new software ecosystem made to program silicon chips that would closely emulate the brain's low power and compact volume.

Some of the discoveries in the new ecosystem include a multi-threaded software simulator, a neuron model that supports wide-ranging neural computations, and programs made out of "corelets," building blocks that represent neurosynaptic network blueprints. It's quite a lot to grasp to be sure, so we've embedded a video after the break of IBM explaining the possible applications of its research. As for the scientifically-minded amongst you, feel free to peruse the press release for more details on IBM's latest breakthrough in cognitive computing.

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