emerging technologies - neuromorphic engineering / computing

NEUROMORPHIC ENGINEERING / COMPUTING

WHAT IS IT?

"Neuromorphic engineering, also known as neuromorphic computing started as a concept developed by Carver Mead in the late 1980s, describing the use of very-large-scale integration (VLSI) systems containing electronic analogue circuits to mimic neurobiological architectures present in the nervous system."- Easton, 2015

WHAT IS IT? (SIMPLER)

"Neuromorphic engineering is a new emerging interdisciplinary field which takes inspiration from biology, physics, mathematics, computer science and engineering to design hardware/physical models of neural and sensory systems."

NEUROMORPHIC CHIPS•Modeled on biological brains—designed to process sensory data such as images and sound and respond to changes in that data in ways not specifically programmed.

NEUROMORPHIC ENG'G IS NOT NEW• A class of neuromorphic chip has been available since 1993.• ZISC (Zero Instruction Set Computer), became the world’s first commercially available neuromorphic chip.

EXISTING APPLICATIONS• IBM TrueNorth - most advanced neuromorphic (brain-like) computer chip

to date• Qualcomm's Zeroth Program• Human Brain Project in Europe• Nvidia's Tegra X1 revealed at CES 2015

EXISTING APPLICATIONS

THINK LIKE A BEE

Nature’s own computing device, the brain, is extremely powerful and the one you’re using to read this uses only 20 Watts of power!

MORAVEC'S PARADOX

•Sensory information processing is extremely easy for brains but extremely hard for modern computers, whereas symbolic information processing is comparably hard for brains but extremely easy for modern computers.

FUTURE APPLICATIONS

TRANSFORMING MOBILETRANSFORMING MOBILE

SECURITY CCTV

TRANSFORMING MOBILEAUTO-ECG

TRANSFORMING MOBILEAUTO-ECG

FACE DETECTION ATTENDANCE IN A SNAP

THERMOMETERS THAT CAN SMELL

SENSOR FLOWER

ROLLER BOT

THE POSSIBILITIES ARE ENDLESS.

BENEFITS / ADVANTAGES• Can compute in real time, which is similar to how the brain works•Might take us a step closer to artificial intelligence•Different applications in various disciplines• Advances in neuroscience and chip making

NEGATIVE EFFECTS / LIMITATIONS

•High cost• Still a bit far in terms of real-life applications•Needs more research• Further development paves way for AI, causing ethical concerns

NEGATIVE EFFECTS / LIMITATIONS

•High cost• Still a bit far in terms of real-life applications•Needs more research• Further development paves way for AI, causing ethical concerns

1. Embrace changes.2. Collaborate.3. Maximize resources.

REFERENCES• Al-Rodhan, N. (2015, August 14). The Moral Code. Retrieved September 11, 2015, from

https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/2015-08-12/moral-code • Al-Rodhan, N. (2015, March 13). The Many Ethical Implications of Emerging Technologies. Retrieved September 13, 2015,

from http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-many-ethical-implications-of-emerging-technologies/ • Easton. (2015, March 13). Top 5 Emerging Technologies In 2015. Retrieved September 13, 2015, from

https://wtvox.com/robotics/top-5-emerging-technologies-in-2015/ • Gershgorn, D. (2015, August 19). IBM Chips Could Make Your Smartphone Think Like A Mouse. Retrieved September 11,

2015, from http://www.popsci.com/ibms-neuromorphic-chip-array-mimics-rodent-brain • Hof, R. (2014, April 23). Qualcomm's Neuromorphic Chips Could Make Robots and Phones More Astute About the World.

Retrieved September 9, 2015, from http://www.technologyreview.com/featuredstory/526506/neuromorphic-chips/ • Lambinet, P. (2015, January 31). The Ongoing Quest For The ‘Brain’ Chip. Retrieved September 12, 2015, from

http://techcrunch.com/2015/01/31/the-ongoing-quest-for-the-brain-chip/ • Lovetrue, B. (2015, May 15). 4 Security Challenges That May Tear Apart the Internet of Things | EE Times. Retrieved

October 18, 2015, from http://www.eetimes.com/author.asp?section_id=36&doc_id=1326549&page_number=2

REFERENCES• Metz, C. (2015, August 17). IBM’s ‘Rodent Brain’ Chip Could Make Our Phones Hyper-Smart. Retrieved September

11, 2015, from http://www.wired.com/2015/08/ibms-rodent-brain-chip-make-phones-hyper-smart/ • Moore-Colyer, R. (2015, August 27). Apple, Google, Microsoft and Nvidia race ahead with car tech plans. Retrieved

September 11, 2015, from http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/feature/2423008/apple-google-microsoft-nvidia-and-more-accelerate-car-tech-plans

• Poeter, D. (2013, October 14). Qualcomm Demos Brain-Inspired Zeroth Chips. Retrieved September 9, 2015, from http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2425743,00.asp

• http://www.research.ibm.com/cognitive-computing/neurosynaptic-chips.shtml#fbid=Wnq8mAzUKSc • Tarantola, A. (2015, August 17). IBM wires up 'neuromorphic' chips like a rodent's brain. Retrieved September 11,

2015, from http://www.engadget.com/2015/08/17/ibm-wires-up-neuromorphic-chips-like-a-rodents-brain/ • Top 10 Emerging Technologies of 2015. (2015, March). Retrieved September 13, 2015, from

http://www.weforum.org/reports/top-10-emerging-technologies-2015