Engineering Research Center for Neuromorphic Systems Engineering

9402726 GOODMAN“神经形态系统工程”工程研究中心的目标是开发技术基础设施，使下个世纪的机器具有模仿或改进人类感官系统的视觉、触觉和嗅觉。该中心将把人工神经网络技术提升为工业的“使能技术”（可与微处理器的引入产生的影响相媲美）。虽然美国在神经网络研究方面处于世界领先地位，但这项研究要成为美国工业的创新过程和产品，需要技术上的巨大飞跃。该中心将致力于通过专注于感官处理来促进这一飞跃，其中人工神经网络、神经形态VLSI和光学电路的自然并行性可以为传统计算难以解决的问题提供解决方案。这些问题包括视觉、听觉、触觉和化学感觉（嗅觉）。将高带宽传感器和执行器阵列与分布式神经网络的处理能力和学习能力相结合，将在人机交互和机器-环境交互方面产生巨大飞跃。该中心将采取多学科的方法，通过传感器和智能的紧密耦合来实现感官处理。算法和VLSI硬件必须一起开发。我们必须从神经生理学、解剖学和心理物理学中吸取教训，然后将其转化为严格的工程设计和实践。为了对工业产生巨大影响，这些设计技术必须自动化到今天数字专用集成电路（asic）的水平。该中心的教育任务将由加州理工学院现有的计算和神经系统（CNS）博士项目协助。成立于1986年，这个多学科项目的目标是研究活的和合成的神经元电路和系统的结构和计算能力。该项目目前有34名博士生在20名加州理工学院教师的实验室里工作，他们分布在工程与应用科学系、生物学、化学、数学和喷气推进实验室。该中心将开展有效的产业合作和技术转让项目，并向学术界、学校和当地企业开展推广项目。将通过设立一个工业咨询委员会来获得工业指导。最终，针对这些感官处理任务的低成本硬件解决方案将开辟新的工业应用领域，并确保美国在自动检测、质量控制、柔性制造、电信、过程控制、运输、消费电子、自主机器、智能传感器和机器人等领域的竞争力。这一授权开始了ERC为期五年的初步合作协议。＊＊＊

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. ***