Engineering Research Center for Neuromorphic Systems Engineering

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9402726 GOODMAN The goal of the Engineering Research Center in "Neuromorphic Systems Engineering" is to develop the technology infrastructure for endowing the machines of the next century with the senses of vision, touch, and olfaction which mimic or improve upon human sensory systems. The Center will raise artificial neural network technology to became an "enabling technology" for industry (comparable with the impact of the introduction of the microprocessor). Although the U.S. is the world leader in neural network research, a quantum leap in technology is needed for this research to manifest itself as innovative processes and products in U.S. industry. The Center will aim to facilitate this leap by focusing on sensory processing in which the natural parallelism of artificial neural networks, and neuromorphic VLSI and optical circuits can provide solutions to problems that are hard for conventional computing. These problems include vision, audition, tactition, and chemical sensing (olfaction). Coupling high bandwidth arrays of sensors and actuators with the processing power and learning abilities of distributed neural networks will generate a quantum leap in human-machine interaction and machine-environment interaction. The Center will take a multi-disciplinary approach through the tight coupling of sensors and intelligence required to achieve sensory processing. Algorithms and VLSI hardware must be developed together. Lessons must be learned from neurophysiology, anatomy, and psychophysics but then translated into rigorous engineering design and practice. In order to have massive impact on industry, these design technologies must be automated to the level that digital Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs) are today. The educational mission of the center will be assisted by Caltech's existing Computation and Neural Systems (CNS) Ph.D program. Established in 1986, the goal of this multidisciplinary program is to stud y the structure and computational powers of both living and synthetic neuronal circuits and systems. The program currently has 34 doctoral students working in the laboratories of 20 Caltech faculty members, spread across the divisions of Engineering and Applied Science, Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics, and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The Center will run an effective program for industrial collaboration and technology transfer, as well as an outreach program to academia, schools and local business. Industrial guidance will be obtained through the creation of an industrial advisory board. Ultimately, low cost hardware solutions to these sensory processing tasks will open up new areas of application in industry and ensure U.S. competitiveness in such areas as automatic inspection, quality control, flexible manufacturing, telecommunications, process control, transportation, consumer electronics, autonomous machines, smart sensors, and robotics. This award begins the ERC with an initial cooperative of agreement of five years. ***