Numenta's Brain-Inspired Software Adds Smarts to the Grid

People in technology know there's more and more data being created, but artificial intelligence startup Numenta is tackling a slightly different problem: the speed at which data is produced. The Silicon Valley company, founded by mobile computing pioneer Jeff Hawkins, last week said energy-efficiency company EnerNoc is among a small group of businesses now testing its software. Its product, called Grok, is designed to process data to yield some sort of prediction or insight. The software is modeled on how the human brain processes data and is particularly well suited for handling streams of information, such as data from a sensor on regular intervals, the company says. EnerNoc is using Grok to earn more revenue from its demand response customers who agree to reduce electricity. Grid operators pay EnerNoc for aggregating many of these energy reductions at buildings to maintain a steady grid frequency.