RMIT work on chip that copies the brain

A team from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology’s (RMIT) functional materials and microsystems research group having been working on a light controlled chip that copies the human brain to create memories. Their chip has a film containing black phosphorus that generates a photocurrent when illuminated. When the wavelength of the illuminating light is changed, the current reverses direction, which is the same as binding or breaking the bond between neurons, which is like optogenetics, where light-induced modification of neurons cause them to switch on or off, enabling or inhibiting connections to neighbouring neurons.

Director of the research group, Sumeet Walia, said: “Our optogenetically-inspired chip imitates the fundamental biology of nature’s best computer, the human brain. Being able to store, delete and process information is critical for computing, and the brain does this extremely efficiently. We’re able to simulate the brain’s neural approach simply by shining different colours onto our chip. This technology takes us further on the path towards fast, efficient and secure light-based computing.”

Lead author Taimur Ahmed said: “Defects are usually looked on as something to be avoided, but here we’re using them to create something novel and useful. It’s a creative approach to finding solutions for the technical challenges we face. This technology creates tremendous opportunities for researchers to better understand the brain and how it’s affected by disorders that disrupt neural connections, like Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.”