• New "Neuromorphic" Vision Chip - Smart/Quick/Low-Power

    From c186282@21:1/5 to All on Fri May 16 22:03:46 2025
    XPost: alt.science, alt.politics, alt.space

    https://scitechdaily.com/this-tiny-chip-sees-like-an-eye-thinks-like-a-brain-and-remembers-instantly/

    “This proof-of-concept device mimics the human eye’s ability
    to capture light and the brain’s ability to process that
    visual information, enabling it to sense a change in the
    environment instantly and make memories without the need
    for using huge amounts of data and energy,” Walia said.

    “Current digital systems, by contrast, are very power
    hungry and unable to keep up as data volume and complexity
    increases, which limits their ability to make ‘true’
    real-time decisions.”

    The research is published in Advanced Materials Technologies.
    Walia and Al-Hourani are corresponding authors and Mr.
    Thiha Aung, a PhD scholar at RMIT, is first author.

    RMIT has filed a provisional patent

    . . .

    Interesting little article. The new device is based
    on micro-defect molybdenum disulfide films. The way
    it detects light is closer to 'analog' than digital.

    There are also sub-layers that give it a sort of
    memory, making it much more responsive to CHANGES
    in the image without heavy digital calx and the
    related power consumption. Basically, it mimics
    retinal receptors and a layer or two of retinal
    neural cells that enhance the image and are made
    to notice changes.

    You don't really 'program' these things, they are
    designed to already act like retinas.

    Various industrial (maybe mil) and self-driving
    vehicle uses are the first likely applications.

    MoS2 has become a rising star in the 'semiconductor'
    universe. New tricks are revealing a large array of
    capabilities. New techniques for much finer control
    of crystal lattice defects and impurity insertion
    make a lot of new things possible. "Strain" on the
    lattice also yield interesting effects. Other
    'exotics' like silicon carbide and graphene are
    also coming up quickly.

    If there's a future Venus rover - there will likely
    be no silicon electronics, just these newer stars.
    They can stand much more heat and yet handle high
    power flows. And yes, they HAVE made MoS2 cpus :

    https://phys.org/news/2025-04-bit-risc-processor-molybdenum-disulfide.html

    A RISC-V cpu IS good enough for a Venus rover.

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