Brain Built from Atomic Switches

A Brain Built From Atomic Switches Can Learn
Quanta Magazine
By Andreas von Bubnoff

A tiny self-organized mesh full of artificial synapses recalls its experiences and can solve simple problems. Its inventors hope it points the way to devices that match the brain’s energy-efficient computing prowess.

Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles are constructing a device the California NanoSystems Institute's Adam Stieg says is "inspired by the brain to generate the properties that enable the brain to do what it does." The device is a mesh of highly interconnected silver nanowires that is self-configured out of random chemical and electrical processes. This network contains 1 billion artificial synapses for each square centimeter, and experiments found it can execute simple learning and logic operations, as well as filtering out unwanted noise from received signals. Instead of using software, the researchers leverage the network's ability to distort an input signal in various ways, depending on where the output is quantified; this implies voice- or image-recognition applications. Another implication is the mesh could support reservoir computing, enabling users to select or mix outputs in such a manner that the result is a desired computation of the inputs. ... "