IBM Looks to the Brain for Efficiency Clues

November 6, 2013

IBM’s most recent, disappointing earnings report has the company’s PR machine shifting gears. The company is now highlighting some research progress, as we see in “IBM Unveils Computer Fed by ‘Electronic Blood’” at BBC News. The company continues to look to the human brain as the ultimate computing model, but this time it is our noggins’ energy efficiency they aim to copy.

Reporter James Morgan writes:

“The human brain packs phenomenal computing power into a tiny space and uses only 20 watts of energy – an efficiency IBM is keen to match. Its new ‘redox flow’ system pumps an electrolyte ‘blood’ through a computer, carrying power in and taking heat out. A very basic model was demonstrated this week at the technology giant’s Zurich lab by Dr Patrick Ruch and Dr Bruno Michel. Their vision is that by 2060, a one petaflop computer that would fill half a football field today, will fit on your desktop. ‘We want to fit a supercomputer inside a sugarcube. To do that, we need a paradigm shift in electronics – we need to be motivated by our brain,’ says Michel. ‘The human brain is 10,000 times more dense and efficient than any computer today.'”

Michel credits our vascular system for the brain’s incredible efficiency, and IBM is working to replicate the performance.. Of course, the other factor in any energy exchange is the little matter of cooling. Integrated liquid cooling, or interlayering computer chips with tiny water pipes, takes its cue from the allometric scaling phenomenon found in nature. That is, larger animals are actually more efficient at cooling, since a larger surface area is exposed to air. Finally, IBM looks to the functionality of our blood itself; researchers are searching for a fluid that can simultaneously regulate temperature and deliver fuel. See the article for the details behind these concepts. IBM is taking an interesting approach here. Will it be the key to resurgent growth for the iconic company?

Cynthia Murrell, November 06, 2013

Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext

Written by Stephen E. Arnold · Filed Under News, Technology

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Stephen E. Arnold monitors search, content processing, text mining and related topics from his high-tech nerve center in rural Kentucky. He tries to winnow the goose feathers from the giblets. He works with colleagues worldwide to make this Web log useful to those who want to go "beyond search". Contact him at sa [at] arnoldit.com. His Web site with additional information about search is arnoldit.com.