Scientists at IBM Research have unveiled a “brain-like” computer chip. This most advanced computer chip to date is the size of a postage stamp and capable of processing massive amounts of data.
The chip, called TrueNorth, is equipped with enough computing power to beat a supercomputer. After a decade long research on this chip, IBM hopes to bridge the divide between existing computers and the brain’s high cognitive power to deal with ambiguity.
Here is the picture of 16 of IBM’s finest TrueNorth chips, making this one of the most expensive motherboards in the world:
TrueNorth is incredibly energy efficient; it runs on the energy equivalent of a hearing aid
The human brain is the most efficient computer in the known universe. The modern silicon chip can consume millions times more energy to perform the same task as a human brain.
Built on Samsung Electro-Mechanics Co Ltd’s 28nm process technology, the TrueNorth chip consumes just 72 milliwatts at max load, which is 176,000 times more efficient than a modern CPU running the same brain-like workload. With this development, IBM is closer to building a chip that is capable of brain-like efficiency.
TrueNorth has amazing computing power
This most advanced computer chip contains one million programmable neurons and 256 million programmable synapses across 4096 individual neurosynaptic cores; all made possible using 5.4 billion transistors.
With this development, it has become possible to use the chip on smaller devices to allow for more complex computing tasks without draining power.
