Researchers at Perdue University in the US claim to have successfully created a computer chip that can be reprogrammed on demand, which could lead to the creation of a computer that can adapt and learn like the human brain.

The study published in the journal Science looked to create a computer chip that could adapt and learn in a way that mimics our brains, by using a material called perovskite nickelate, which is very sensitive to hydrogen.

By applying electrical impulses at different voltages, the team was able adjust the concentration of hydrogen ions on the chip within nanoseconds, creating states that could be mapped out to corresponding functions in the brain.

According to the study, the human brain is able to go through vast amounts of unstructured data, learn from experiences and rapidly process information with extreme energy efficiency. A part of this is due to neuronal plasticity, or the ability of the brain to change its structure and function as needed.

“If we want to build a computer or a machine that is inspired by the brain, then correspondingly, we want to have the ability to continuously program, reprogram and change the chip,” one of the researchers, Prof Shriram Ramanathan, said in an accompanying article.

The researchers, in collaboration with Santa Clara University and Portland State University, were able to have the device change its function based on the pattern, being able to mimic resistors, memory capacitors, neurons and synapses.

“Using our reconfigurable artificial neurons and synapses, simulated dynamic networks outperformed static networks for incremental learning scenarios,” The team said in the study. “The ability to fashion the building blocks of brain-inspired computers on demand opens up new directions in adaptive networks.”

The researchers are now working to demonstrate these concepts on large-scale test chips that would be used to build a brain-inspired computer. Ramanathan believes that this technique can be readily adopted by the semiconductor industry, as the device was able to operate at room temperature.

The team included collaborators at Argonne National Laboratory, the University of Illinois Chicago, Brookhaven National Laboratory and the University of Georgia, who conducted measurements of the device’s properties.

The research was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science, the Air Force Office of Scientific Research and the US National Science Foundation.

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