While supercomputers are not new in our society, the ‘Spiking Neural Network Architecture’ (Spinnaker) machine may be significantly different than previous supercomputers.

Built to copy the work of the human brain

Also known as Spinnaker, this computer is the largest neuromorphic supercomputer. Spinnaker was built to copy the work of the human brain and reveal the secrets of the human brain. Recently, Spinnaker was switched on for the first time.

The production of Spinnaker took over a decade and over nineteen million dollars. Spinnaker has the ability to perform over 200 million actions in a single second. Each chip has over 100 million active parts. This computer can model more biological neurons than any other computer known.

Spinnaker operates by sending billions of tiny amounts of information simultaneously to thousands of destinations. This action is similar to communication observed in the human brain. This is different from other computers. This is because other computers send tons of data using a standard network from one point to another point.

Computer engineers are excited because they believe the creation of Spinnaker represents a machine that for the first time works more like the human brain, which is different from other computers.

"SpiNNaker completely re-thinks the way conventional computers work. We’ve essentially created a machine that works more like a brain than a traditional computer, which is extremely exciting," said Steve Furber, Professor of Computer Engineering.

The creators of Spinnaker have the ultimate goal of building a model of a billion neurons in real time a significant step closer.

An example of the power of Spinnaker involves high scale, real-time simulations of different regions of the brain, including the Basal Ganglia region. This is important because this is the brain region that Parkinson’s Disease effects.

Spinnaker allows assistance to neuroscientists for unlocking some of the secrets of the human brain. Additionally, Spinnaker will allow for a better understanding of how the human brain works through detailed and large-scale simulations. Spinnaker will also function as a real-time simulator that will allow roboticists to develop large-scale neural networks into mobile robots that can function very similarly to humans.