SyNAPSE: Scalable energy-efficient neurosynaptic computing

Abstract

In this extended abstract IBM researchers, with collaborators from a number of leading universities, repot their work on a cognitive computing project called Systems of Neuromorphic Adaptive Plastic Scalable Electronics (SyNAPSE) supported by Defense Advanced Research Programs Agency (DARPA). It combines the principles of nanoscience, neuroscience and supercomputing to simulate and emulate the brain's abilities for sensation, perception, action, interaction and cognition while rivaling its low power consumption and compact size. The aggressive end goal of DARPA's SyNPASE project is to develop an electronic neurosynaptic machine with 1014 synapses, simulating neurons firing at 10Hz real-time, and consuming 1kW of energy.