November 1, 2013

Synaptic transistor learns while it computes



FIRST OF ITS KIND, BRAIN-INSPIRED DEVICE LOOKS TOWARD HIGHLY EFFICIENT AND FAST PARALLEL COMPUTING NETWORKS

It doesn't take a Watson to realize that even the world's best supercomputers are staggeringly inefficient and energy-intensive machines.

Our brains have upwards of 86 billion neurons, connected by synapses that not only complete myriad logic circuits; they continuously adapt to stimuli, strengthening some connections while weakening others. We call that process learning, and it enables the kind of rapid, highly efficient computational processes that put Siri and Blue Gene to shame.