December 20, 2016 Fig. 1. (a) Optical photograph of a fabricated spintronic device that serves as artificial synapse in the present demonstration. Measurement circuit for the resistance switching is also shown. (b) Measured relation between the resistance of the device and applied current, showing analogue-like resistance variation. (c) Photograph of spintronic device array mounted on a ceramic package, which is used for the developed artificial neural network. Credit: Tohoku University

Researchers at Tohoku University have, for the first time, successfully demonstrated the basic operation of spintronics-based artificial intelligence.

Artificial intelligence, which emulates the information processing function of the brain that can quickly execute complex and complicated tasks such as image recognition and weather prediction, has attracted growing attention and has already been partly put to practical use.

The currently-used artificial intelligence works on the conventional framework of semiconductor-based integrated circuit technology. However, this lacks the compactness and low-power feature of the human brain. To overcome this challenge, the implementation of a single solid-state device that plays the role of a synapse is highly promising.

The Tohoku University research group of Professor Hideo Ohno, Professor Shigeo Sato, Professor Yoshihiko Horio, Associate Professor Shunsuke Fukami and Assistant Professor Hisanao Akima developed an artificial neural network in which their recently-developed spintronic devices, comprising micro-scale magnetic material, are employed (Fig. 1). The used spintronic device is capable of memorizing arbitral values between 0 and 1 in an analogue manner unlike the conventional magnetic devices, and thus perform the learning function, which is served by synapses in the brain.

Using the developed network (Fig. 2), the researchers examined an associative memory operation, which is not readily executed by conventional computers. Through the multiple trials, they confirmed that the spintronic devices have a learning ability with which the developed artificial neural network can successfully associate memorized patterns (Fig. 3) from their input noisy versions just like the human brain can.

The proof-of-concept demonstration in this research is expected to open new horizons in artificial intelligence technology - one which is of a compact size, and which simultaneously achieves fast-processing capabilities and ultralow-power consumption. These features should enable the artificial intelligence to be used in a broad range of societal applications such as image/voice recognition, wearable terminals, sensor networks and nursing-care robots.

Explore further: First demonstration of brain-inspired device to power artificial systems

More information: W. A. Borders, et al. Analogue spin-orbit torque device for artificial neural network based associative memory operation. Applied Physics Express, DOI: 10.1143/APEX.10.013007

New research, led by the University of Southampton, has demonstrated that a nanoscale device, called a memristor, could be used to power artificial systems that can mimic the human brain.

The research group of Professor Hideo Ohno and Associate Professor Shunsuke Fukami of Tohoku University has demonstrated the sub-nanosecond operation of a nonvolatile magnetic memory device.

Uber announced Monday it was buying the artificial intelligence group Geometric Intelligence, to form the core of the ride-sharing giant's own research center.

The neural structure we use to store and process information in verbal working memory is more complex than previously understood, finds a new study by researchers at New York University. It shows that processing information ...

Human intelligence is being defined and measured for the first time ever by researchers at the University of Warwick.

Imagine a world where "thinking" robots were able to care for the elderly and people with disabilities. This concept may seem futuristic, but exciting new research into consciousness could pave the way for the creation of ...

Tufts University engineers have created a new format of solids made from silk protein that can be preprogrammed with biological, chemical, or optical functions, such as mechanical components that change color with strain, ...

(Phys.org)Physicists have found the strongest evidence yet for no violation of Lorentz symmetry, one of the fundamental symmetries of relativity. Lorentz symmetry states that the outcome of an experiment does not depend ...

Engineers at Caltech have developed a system of flat optical lenses that can be easily mass-produced and integrated with image sensors, paving the way for cheaper and lighter cameras in everything from cell phones to medical ...

It is the holy grail of light microscopy: improving the resolving power of this method such that one can individually discern molecules that are very close to each other. Scientists around the Nobel laureate Stefan Hell at ...

The same researchers who pioneered the use of a quantum mechanical effect to convert heat into electricity have figured out how to make their technique work in a form more suitable to industry.

Yale scientists have shown how to enhance the lifetime of sound waves traveling through glassthe material at the heart of fiber optic technologies. The discovery will be described in the January edition of the journal ...

Please sign in to add a comment. Registration is free, and takes less than a minute. Read more

The rest is here:

The world's first demonstration of spintronics-based ...