The future of computing may be in honey. How does that sound? An international team of scientists found it. The liquid made by bees could be a “sweet solution” for developing ecological components for neuromorphic computers.designed to mimic the neurons and synapses of the human brain and much faster and uses much less power than traditional computers.
A team of engineers at Washington State University (WSU) have demonstrated a new way to make these systems “more organic” as well. In a study published in the Journal of Physics D, researchers show: honey can be used to create a ‘memristor’, a transistor-like component that can not only process data but also store it in memory..
“This is a very small device with a simple structure, but functions very similar to those of a human neuron“, says study co-author Feng Zhao.
“This means that if we can put together millions or billions of honey meristors, then they can become a neuromorphic system. will work like a human brain“, Add.
Zhao and lead research author Brandon Sueoka, by processing honey in a solid form and placing it between two metal electrodes, human synapse-like structure.
They then tested the abilities of honey meristors. imitating the work of synapses with fast on and off speeds of 100 and 500 nanoseconds, respectively.
Hair-sized memristors
Memristors also mimicked synapse functions known as ‘instantaneous time-dependent plasticity’ and ‘instantaneous velocity-dependent plasticity’, which are responsible for learning processes in the human brain and retaining new information in neurons.
Engineers have created honey memristors the size of a human hair. The team led by Zhao now plans to develop them at the nanoscale, which is about a thousand times smaller than a human hair, and put together millions or even billions. building a complete neuromorphic computing system.
It is based on what are called traditional computer systems. von Neumann’s architecture, usually includes input from a keyboard and mouse, and an output such as a monitor. It also has a CPU or central processing unit and RAM or storage memory.
this data transfer Zhao explains that through all these mechanisms, from input to processing, from memory to output, it requires a lot of energy, at least compared to the human brain.
He gave an example: fugaku supercomputerDeveloped by Fujitsu for the RIKEN Computer Science Center in Kobe, Japan, Uses more than 28 megawatts (Installed capacity of a medium-sized wind farm such as Valdefuentes in Huelva) the brain only uses about 10 to 20 watts.
The human brain has more than 100 billion neurons, with more than 1 trillion synapses or connections between them. Each neuron can process and store data, making the brain much more efficient than a conventional computer, and developers of neuromorphic computing systems aim to emulate this structure..
Biodegradable and renewable solutions
Many companies, including Intel and IBM, have released neuromorphic chips They have the equivalent of over 100 million “neurons” per chip, but that’s still nowhere near the number in the brain. Lots of developers continue to use the same thing non-renewable and toxic substances currently used in conventional computer chips.
Many researchers, including Zhao’s team, seeking biodegradable and renewable solutions For use in this promising new type of computing.
Zhao also leads research on: use of protein and other sugarslike that found in aloe vera leaves, but sees greater potential in the fluid made by bees.
“Honey doesn’t spoil,” he emphasizes. “It has a very low moisture concentration, so bacteria can’t live in it. That means, these computer chips will be very stable and reliable for a long time,” he adds.
Honey Memristor chips developed at WSU must tolerate lower levels of heat produced by neuromorphic systems. don’t get as hot as traditional computers. Honey reminders too will reduce e-wasteguess the researchers.
“When we want to get rid of devices that use computer chips made from honey, we can easily dissolve them in water,” explains Zhao. “Because of these special features, Honey is very useful for creating renewable and biodegradable neuromorphic systems.“.
“This also means that users, like traditional computers, should avoid spilling their coffee on themselves,” Zhao graciously concludes.
Reference report: https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1361-6463/ac585b
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