From: J. R. Molloy (jr@shasta.com)
Date: Fri Aug 24 2001 - 14:02:18 MDT
Brain-Inspired Computing
http://www.cosmiverse.com/tech08220102.html
NASA has developed a computing device that allows machines to work very much
like the brain.
The technology may allow fast-thinking machines to make decisions based on
what they see. For example, a planetary rover might use this technology to
avoid obstacles, select scientifically interesting spots to explore just by
what it sees and can navigate through terrain on its own without review from
ground controllers. A spacecraft might use the technology to avoid hazards and
identify a pre-selected landing site with extreme precision.
"This may well be recognized as a quantum leap in the pursuit of intelligent
vision, allowing machines to be significantly more autonomous," said Dr. Anil
Thakoor, supervisor of the Bio-Inspired Technology and Systems Group at NASA's
Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.
The device works much like the brain. The brain¹s power comes from the complex
networks of interconnections called synapses between brain cells. Networks of
these brain cells, called neurons, allow humans to make instant decisions
based on an observed image or scene. This new device captures the same
capability to process images in real time as a scene unfolds.
The Three-Dimensional Artificial Neural Network processor is capable of
recognizing objects in real time and in highly cluttered background scenes. It
can process an image and is capable of a certain degree of judgment about the
objects, much the same way as a person looks at a variety of objects and makes
judgments about the nature of those objects.
Two technologies combined give the compact processor an unprecedented ability
to process a stream of images in a way similar to that used by the human
eye-brain combination. One is the JPL-pioneered, highly interconnected
networks of ultra-low-power electronic synapses on very-
large-scale-integrated chips that mimic the core of a brain. The other is the
three- dimensional stacking of those chips in a sugar-cube sized package
developed by Irvine Sensors Corporation, Costa Mesa, Calif.
The device achieves a computing speed of more than a trillion operations per
second using only 8 watts of power. This device is about thousand times faster
than a typical desktop computer that consumes more than 100 watts of power.
Engineers believe potential commercial benefits for the new technology may be
found in public safety. And can also be used in creating a personal computer
that can respond to users' emotional states by recognizing their facial
expressions. The development may also be useful to the video game industry in
improving interactive technologies.
The processor was developed by JPL's Center for Space Microelectronics
Technology, under sponsorship from the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization.
The processor allows real time onboard target recognition by an interceptor
for missile defense.
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Useless hypotheses, etc.:
consciousness, phlogiston, philosophy, vitalism, mind, free will, qualia,
analog computing, cultural relativism, GAC, Cyc, Eliza, cryonics, individual
uniqueness, ego
Everything that can happen has already happened, not just once,
but an infinite number of times, and will continue to do so forever.
(Everything that can happen = more than anyone can imagine.)
We won't move into a better future until we debunk religiosity, the most
regressive force now operating in society.
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