In recent years we’ve been seeing an extraordinary proliferation of very small computers that have low costs but really interesting potential. A project that is raising funds via the crowdfunding method on the IndieGoGo website is VoCore, which has the purpose of producing large quantities of a coin-sized computer, less than one square inch (25 mm x 25 mm).
IBM has acquired for its Watson group, the business unit that develops the eponymous artificial intelligence system, the startup Cognea, which works in just that field. The figure paid for the acquisition hasn’t been disclosed. Cognea develops software for artificial intellegenza to create virtual employees that can work as a personal assistant, coach or as an employee of other types. For IBM, this is another step towards the use of Watson in companies.
A group of researchers coordinated by MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) published in the journal “Nature” the results of the most sophisticated simulation of the universe ever produced. It’s Illustris, a project that led to the creation of a model to faithfully reproduce the evolution of the universe from 12 million years after the Big Bang to the present day.
A group of bioengineers at Stanford University has created Neurogrid, a circuit card containing microchips that work like the human brain. They’re 9,000 times faster and use a much smaller amount of electricity compared to a standard PC. This research can lead to advances in electronics but also in the understanding of brain function combining such different fields.
