LIVERMORE, Calif. and ARMONK, N.Y. - 29 Mar 2016: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) today announced it has purchased a first-of-a-kind brain-inspired supercomputing platform for deep learning inference developed by IBM (NYSE: IBM) Research. Based on a breakthrough neurosynaptic computer chip called IBM TrueNorth, the scalable platform will process the equivalent of 16 million neurons and 4 billion synapses and consume the energy equivalent of a tablet computer – a mere 2.5 watts of power for the 16 TrueNorth chips. The brain-like, neural network design of the IBM Neuromorphic System is able to infer complex cognitive tasks such as pattern recognition and integrated sensory processing far more efficiently than conventional chips. "Neuromorphic computing opens very exciting new possibilities and is consistent with what we see as the future of the high performance computing and simulation at the heart of our national security missions," said Jim Brase, LLNL deputy associate director for Data Science. "The potential capabilities neuromorphic computing represents and the machine intelligence that these will enable will change how we do science."

Lawrence Livermore's new supercomputer system uses 16 IBM TrueNorth chips developed by IBM Research (credit: IBM Research) Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) has purchased IBM Research's supercomputing platform for deep-learning inference, based on 16 IBM TrueNorth neurosynaptic computer chips, to explore deep learning algorithms. IBM says the scalable platform processing power is the equivalent of 16 million artificial "neurons" and 4 billion "synapses." The brain-like neural-network design of the IBM Neuromorphic System can process complex cognitive tasks such as pattern recognition and integrated sensory processing far more efficiently than conventional chips, says IBM. The technology represents a fundamental departure from computer design that has been prevalent for the past 70 years and could be incorporated in next-generation supercomputers able to perform at exascale speeds -- 50 times faster than today's most advanced petaflop (quadrillion floating point operations per second) systems. The TrueNorth processor chip was introduced in 2014 (see IBM launches functioning brain-inspired chip).

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) today announced it will receive a first-of-a-kind brain-inspired supercomputing platform for deep learning developed by IBM Research. Based on a breakthrough neurosynaptic computer chip called IBM TrueNorth, the scalable platform will process the equivalent of 16 million neurons and 4 billion synapses and consume the energy equivalent of a hearing aid battery – a mere 2.5 watts of power. The brain-like, neural network design of the IBM Neuromorphic System is able to infer complex cognitive tasks such as pattern recognition and integrated sensory processing far more efficiently than conventional chips. The new system will be used to explore new computing capabilities important to the National Nuclear Security Administration's (NNSA) missions in cybersecurity, stewardship of the nation's nuclear weapons stockpile and nonproliferation. NNSA's Advanced Simulation and Computing (ASC) program will evaluate machine-learning applications, deep-learning algorithms and architectures and conduct general computing feasibility studies.

The brain-like computer network will process the equivalent of 16 million neurons and four billion synapses. It's often said that the human brain is the world's most powerful supercomputer and now a team of computer scientists is looking at the organ as inspiration for building a new, neural network-based supercomputing platform. The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), a federal government research facility in California, tasked with ensuring the safety, security, and reliability of the United States nuclear deterrent, is working alongside IBM on what's been described as a "first of a kind" brain-inspired supercomputing platform for deep learning. The neural-network will be based on IBM's neurosynaptic TrueNorth computer chips. These processors are designed to aid computers in performing cognitive tasks, such as pattern recognition and sensory processing, more efficiently than conventional computer chips.

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) has purchased a new brain-inspired supercomputing platform developed by International Business Machines Corp (NYSE:IBM). Based on a breakthrough neurosynaptic computer chip called IBM TrueNorth, the scalable platform will process the equivalent of 16 million neurons and 4 billion synapses while consuming only the energy equivalent of a tablet computer. The brain-like, neural network design of the IBM neuromorphic system is able to run complex cognitive tasks such as pattern recognition and integrated sensory processing far more efficiently than conventional chips. LLNL will receive a 16-chip TrueNorth system representing a total of 16 million neurons and 4 billion synapses. The new system will be used to explore new computing capabilities important to the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) missions in cybersecurity, stewardship of the nation's nuclear weapons stockpile and nonproliferation.