Thehottestnewbrain-shapedhardware
Incoming
Imagecredit: IntelIntellovesa bafflingcode-name.SeeSandyBridgeforthe first generation
of Core CPUs, or Black Rapids for a rather unexciting motherboard. Pohoiki
Springs is a bit more interesting, however, as it provides a potential glimpse
of the future of PCs: chips that mimic the structures of the human brain.
Intel calls it neuromorphic computing.
Utilising a ‘spiking neural network’, in which each synthetic neuron fires
independently, sending signals to other neurons in the network that
change their electrical state, Intel’s machine – which consists of 100 million
of these neurons spread across 768 Loihi chips – can recognise gestures
and even smells, detecting dangerous chemicals through 72 sensors.
“My next step is to approach a wider range of problems – from
understanding the relationships between objects to abstract problems like
planning and decision-making,” said Nabil Imam, a senior research scientist
in Intel Lab’s neuromorphic computing group. One day, they’ll rule us all.Pohoiki Springs
£Unimaginable intel.co.uk
10 |^ |^ May 2020