Neuromorphic computing is an approach to hardware design and algorithms that seeks to mimic the brain. The concept doesn’t describe an exact replica, a robotic brain full of synthetic neurons and artificial gray matter. Rather, experts working in this area are designing all layers of a computing system to mirror the efficiency of the brain. Compared to conventional computers, the human brain barely uses any power and can effectively solve tasks even when faced with ambiguous or poorly defined data and inputs. IBM Research scientists are using this evolutionary marvel as inspiration for the next generation of hardware and software that can handle the epic amounts of data required by today’s computing tasks — especially artificial intelligence.
In some cases, these efforts are still deep in research and development, and for now they mostly exist in the lab. But in one case, prototype performance numbers suggest that a brain-inspired computer processor will soon be ready for market.
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