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 brainsdesigned 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
worlds 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

Natures own computing device, the

brain, is extremely powerful and the
one youre 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 MOBILE
TRANSFORMING MOBILE

SECURITY CCTV

AUTO-ECG
TRANSFORMING MOBILE

AUTO-ECG
TRANSFORMING MOBILE

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/neuromorphicchips/
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). IBMs 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-phoneshyper-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-moreaccelerate-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-chipslike-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