Bengaluru Scientists Develop Device That Mimics Human Brain's Cognitive Actions

According to the team, this system is more efficient than conventional techniques in emulating artificial intelligence.

Advertisement
By Edited by Gadgets 360 Newsdesk | Updated: 7 June 2021 14:01 IST
Highlights
  • Scientists at JNCASR have developed the device
  • New AI technology enhances computational speed
  • It also increases power consumption efficiency by a great extent
Bengaluru Scientists Develop Device That Mimics Human Brain's Cognitive Actions

Programmed electrical signals were used as a real-world stimulus

Photo Credit: Pixabay/ Gerd Altmann

A team of scientists from Bengaluru's Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR) has developed a device that can emulate the cognitive actions of a human brain, and is more efficient than conventional techniques. The new AI technology enhances computational speed and power consumption efficiency. The team fabricated an artificial synaptic network (ASN), resembling the biological neural network, through a simple self-forming method. Scientists said that the device structure is formed by itself while heating. While aiming to develop a synaptic device for neuromorphic applications, the team also explored a material system that mimicked neuronal bodies and axonal network connectivity, similar to that in the biological system.

The scientists said that a human brain consists of 100 billion neurons comprising axons and dendrites. These neurons interconnect with each other via axons and dendrites and form colossal junctions called a synapse. This complex bio-neural network gives rise to superior cognitive abilities, scientists believe, adding that artificial neural networks (ANN), based on software, were seen defeating humans in games such as AlphaGo and AlphaZero and even helping handle the COVID-19 situation.

Researchers said that while the power-hungry von Neumann computer architecture slows down ANN performance due to the available serial processing, the brain does the job via parallel processing, consuming just 20W of power.

Scientists said that the JNCASR team dewetted Silver metal to form branched islands and nanoparticles with nanogap separations to resemble bio neurons and neurotransmitters, where dewetting is a process of rupture of continuous film into disconnected/isolated islands or spherical particles.

Advertisement

“With such an architecture, several higher-order cognitive activities are emulated,” the team explained in a Ministry of Science & Technology press release.

They said that using programmed electrical signals as a real-world stimulus, this hierarchical structure emulated various learning activities such as short-term memory (STM), long-term memory (LTM), potentiation, depression, associative learning, interest-based learning, supervision, impression of supervision, and more.

Advertisement

Not just that, the synaptic fatigue following excessive learning and its self-recovery was also mimicked, and quite remarkably, these behaviours were emulated in a single material system without the aid of external CMOS circuits, scientists said.

The team has developed a prototype kit to emulate Pavlov's dog behaviour that demonstrates the potential of this device towards neuromorphic artificial intelligence. It's a remarkable achievement because the JNCASR team has taken a step further towards accomplishing advanced neuromorphic artificial intelligence by organising a nanomaterial resembling the biological neural substance.


Interested in cryptocurrency? We discuss all things crypto with WazirX CEO Nischal Shetty and WeekendInvesting founder Alok Jain on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.
Affiliate links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details.

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.

Advertisement

Related Stories

Popular Mobile Brands
  1. iPhone 17 Air Battery Specifications, Weight and Other Details Leaked
  2. CMF Phone 2 Pro Review: A Perfect Blend of Style and Speed
  3. Nothing Phone 3 Design Teaser Shows Textured Button
  4. Motorola Razr 60 With 3.6-Inch pOLED Cover Display Launched in India
  1. Astronomers Spot Nearly Perfect Supernova Remnant of Unknown Size and Distance
  2. Strange Planet Confirmed in Binary Star System Nu Octantis
  3. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Has Fittingly Sold 3.3 Million Copies in 33 Days
  4. Luxembourg Labels Crypto Firms as High-Risk Entities for Money Laundering 
  5. Opera Neon Agentic Browser Unveiled, Uses AI Agents to Plan Trips and Build Websites
  6. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 Spotted on Geekbench Again; Key Specifications Listed
  7. Nothing Phone 3 Design Officially Teased; Appears With Textured Button
  8. Xiaomi Reports Rs. 1.31 Lakh Crore Revenue in Q1 2025, Beats Rs. 1.2 Lakh Crore Mark Again
  9. Samsung Galaxy S26 Series to Use Inkjet Printing to Enable Thinner Lens Modules: Report
  10. iOS 19 to Reportedly Enable Easy eSIM Transfers from iPhone to Android
Gadgets 360 is available in
Download Our Apps
Available in Hindi
© Copyright Red Pixels Ventures Limited 2025. All rights reserved.