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Every time we talk about computers, inevitably fall into terms like FLOPS (operations per second), number of cores and gigabytes and gigabytes of RAM. However, these monstrously fast computers are "stupid", since only obey orders its operators are not able to reason (obviously, is a machine).
A group of scientists from the University of Michigan works to create a computer that has other skills, like remembering things, recognize faces, react to different stimuli and the term that encompasses all these concepts, learning. We studied how the brain of cats to take some ideas borrowed.
Dr. Wei Lu and his team try to emulate mental felines and was used on a piece called "memristor", a special transistor that stores information on the voltages that have been through it, regardless of whether the computer shuts down.
"We are building a computer the same way nature creates the brain. The idea is to completely change the paradigm of the traditional computer (...) The brain of cat is a nearest target (the human) as it is much simpler. The same is very difficult to replicate in complexity and efficiency, "said Lu.
The memristors serve the function of neuronal synapses and, together with two traditional chips, you can get a system similar to the cat brain. Easy to say, but it is not trivial to put it into reality. The next step for researchers is to create a great device with hundreds of artificial neurons and memristors. The ultimate goal is to create a supercomputer the size of a bottle of drink, with uses that we can not even imagine (I, Robot)
Link: Scientists says feline smarts are good model for supercomputers
