IBM Unveils Next-Gen Chip That Mimics Functions of the Human Brain

http://mashable.com/2014/08/07/ibm-cognitive-computing-chip/?utm_cid=mash-com-Tw-main-link

A computer chip designed to mimic the performance of the human brain has hit a major new milestone.

The chip, developed by IBM, and Cornell Tech and iniLabs, is a significant step up from its performance just over two years ago when the project was first announced.

The SyNAPSE chip, which stands for Systems of Neuromorphic Adaptive Plastic Scalable Electronics, is now capable of 1 million programmable neurons, 256 million programmable synapses and 46 billion synaptic operations per second, per watt. This advancement points the way toward a future of faster, cooler and more compact cognitive computing in a wide range of scenarios.

However, the development, which is funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), is still currently limited to the lab.