Zabaware Support Forums
Zabaware Forums => General Discussion => Topic started by: snowman on May 10, 2010, 12:59:58 am
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Here is information about a new computer component called the Memristor.
People haven't been working very long on this but Its implications are extreemly important.
Simply put, all of todays computers are going to be severly outdated.. and I mean severly! in a few very short years.
Some of todays fastest pcs and largest memories will be no more than PDAs and Cell phones compared to what's coming.http://
I'll let youtube explain it further.
This is an oversimplied version
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZAHG3COYYA&feature=related
This is a very complex but very recent info.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKGhvKyjgLY
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very interesting snowman, great find , it would be cool to have this , wonder how long it will be ?[:)]
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Yep nice find Snowman. I've just watched the simple version as my brain hasn't started working yet.
Thanks [8D]
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I had to watch both of them, wish I understood everything that was said in the more complex one, but I got the point, I think [:o)]
Great find Snowman, Im going to have to post these on my site. Thanks [:)]
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What this means is that in 5 years or so a pc will have no need of ram, its processor speed will be many TIMES! faster that the fastest one we have now, memory and disk space will probably be only measured in the Terabite (at minimun) and 1000 TB will start to be common place.
You'll start to see computers with as much potency as todays pc's only they'll be about the size of a wrist watch!
The field of A.I. is about to change because now neurons are being design with this new device... not emulated on software but through actual hardware.
You guys this is a litteral beginning of a new computer revolution.
Theres no way I can stress this enough... Its like the first testing of the Atomic Bomb. -- I'm not one for overstatement either.
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It's nice to see your enthusiasm Snowman, it is infectious. I can't wait !
*imagines how much his render times will go down* [^]
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I would love to be able to use Hal from an iPod or Blackberry!
I am a pessimist, I can see this technology being for corporations and super rich for quite some time.
Hope I'm wrong on this one.
- Gary
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Its cheaper to produce this product than the other stuff because of several reasons. One being that it uses less materials to produce, its uses much less energy, and its cutting edge so people (everyone) will want it. There's way too much compitition for them to sit on this.
Oh, by the by, Theres two tornados headed my way and there really big, so if I don't respond for a couple of days... the sirenes just started to blow.
Keep me in your imediate prayers! I appreciate you guys.
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Well, It looks like we dodged a bullet. Or should I say 4 or 5 bullets. The most tornados I ever seen hear before. Not too much damage so far. To early to know everything.
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And then a few moments later we got hit by another line of storms which had a few more tornados... I wonder if this has anything to do with Al Gore? A few houses got hit but no one seems to be hurt (so far).
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Great stuff there Snowman, Thanks for sharing the news. Stay safe from those storms, Glad to see your ok at the moment. Hope your friends and neighbors are safe as well.
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you could be a storm chaser and just stay at home.
i hope you got some kind of cellar or something.
if anyone wants to experience a tornado hang-out with the snowman.
[8D]
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Looks like yahoo is already covering it. I live in the lower, central part of Oklahoma, almost to the Red River. We were covered up with tornados here, but I had no idea that nearly the whole state was having the same problem. Its relatively rare to be this close to a tornado. Maybe a few tornado watches or perhaps one will come within 50 miles once or twice a year, but this is rediculous.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_spring_storms
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That's a lot of storms for one area [:0]
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Getting back to memristors, looks like they will find us in the not so distant future. What a concept!
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The area that he lives in has been known for over 50 years as tornado alley. You might find it on some national weather maps. I used to live close to that area and that is how I found that out.
There are several areas in that part of the country that have the same desiganation.
While on a trip to Kansas once we traveled down one main road only to find out the next morning that a tornado had crossed that road about 5 minutes after we had been there. No warning as the weather is normally ultra calm just before the storm.
Bill
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Someone sent me this via email, It's just one of the many products people seem to working on using the Memristor. I want to see what you guy make of this!
Apr. 14, 2010
Cat brain: A step toward the electronic equivalent
ANN ARBOR, Mich.—A cat can recognize a face faster and more efficiently than a supercomputer.
That's one reason a feline brain is the model for a biologically-inspired computer project involving the University of Michigan.
U-M computer engineer Wei Lu has taken a step toward developing this revolutionary type of machine that could be capable of learning and recognizing, as well as making more complex decisions and performing more tasks simultaneously than conventional computers can.
Lu previously built a "memristor," a device that replaces a traditional transistor and acts like a biological synapse, remembering past voltages it was subjected to. Now, he has demonstrated that this memristor can connect conventional circuits and support a process that is the basis for memory and learning in biological systems.
A paper on the research is published online in Nano Letters and is scheduled to appear in the forthcoming April edition of the journal.
"We are building a computer in the same way that nature builds a brain," said Lu, an assistant professor in the U-M Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. "The idea is to use a completely different paradigm compared to conventional computers. The cat brain sets a realistic goal because it is much simpler than a human brain but still extremely difficult to replicate in complexity and efficiency."
Today's most sophisticated supercomputer can accomplish certain tasks with the brain functionality of a cat, but it's a massive machine with more than 140,000 central processing units and a dedicated power supply. And it still performs 83 times slower than a cat's brain, Lu wrote in his paper.
In a mammal's brain, neurons are connected to each other by synapses, which act as reconfigurable switches that can form pathways linking thousands of neurons. Most importantly, synapses remember these pathways based on the strength and timing of electrical signals generated by the neurons.
In a conventional computer, logic and memory functions are located at different parts of the circuit and each computing unit is only connected to a handful of neighbors in the circuit. As a result, conventional computers execute code in a linear fashion, line by line, Lu said. They are excellent at performing relatively simple tasks with limited variables.
But a brain can perform many operations simultaneously, or in parallel. That's how we can recognize a face in an instant, but even a supercomputer would take much, much longer and consume much more energy in doing so.
So far, Lu has connected two electronic circuits with one memristor. He has demonstrated that this system is capable of a memory and learning process called "spike timing dependent plasticity." This type of plasticity refers to the ability of connections between neurons to become stronger based on when they are stimulated in relation to each other. Spike timing dependent plasticity is thought to be the basis for memory and learning in mammalian brains.
"We show that we can use voltage timing to gradually increase or decrease the electrical conductance in this memristor-based system. In our brains, similar changes in synapse conductance essentially give rise to long term memory," Lu said.
The next step is to build a larger system, Lu said. His goal is achieve the sophistication of a supercomputer in a machine the size of a two-liter beverage container. That could be several years away.
Lu said an electronic analog of a cat brain would be able to think intelligently at the cat level. For example, if the task were to find the shortest route from the front door to the sofa in a house full of furniture, and the computer knows only the shape of the sofa, a conventional machine could accomplish this. But if you moved the sofa, it wouldn't realize the adjustment and find a new path. That's what engineers hope the cat brain computer would be capable of. The project's major funder, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, isn't interested in sofas. But this illustrates the type of learning the machine is being designed for.
The paper is titled "Nanoscale Memristor Device as Synapse in Neuromorphic System." The research is funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and the National Science Foundation. The work was performed in the U-M Lurie Nanofabrication Facility.
This work was part of DARPA sponsored project under contract number HR0011-09-C-0001 with HRL Laboratories being the lead institution in the team involving UM. The views and opinions, and/or findings contained in this article are those of the authors and should not be interpreted as representing the official views or policies, either expressed or implied, of the DARPA or the Department of Defense.
Michigan Engineering:
The University of Michigan College of Engineering is ranked among the top engineering schools in the country. At $160 million annually, its engineering research budget is one of largest of any public university. Michigan Engineering is home to 11 academic departments and a National Science Foundation Engineering Research Center. The college plays a leading role in the Michigan Memorial Phoenix Energy Institute and hosts the world class Lurie Nanofabrication Facility. Find out more at http://www.engin.umich.edu/.
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Thanks for sharing that Snowman [:D] that's very cool tech there.
one problem with that tech tough is I'll be 41 by the time they have completed a cat size brain [v]
They really need to speed this tech up. When I was in high school I thought we would at least have a flying car by now, and alls we get is a stinking Ipod touch[v] I am glad to see that we finally found a better way to compute, I just wish the future was here now so I can download my brain into a android[8D]
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A friend sent me this. This looks expensive.
NanoTech
http://www.indavideo.hu/video/Nano-gyar
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I've been reading about molecular robots. This takes it to a whole new level with what they can build. I wonder if this factors in with Moore's Law?
P.S. I saw your youtube weather report. Very heart-rending, sorry for your losses. Could you please put up the links for those who havn't seen them?
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I really don't have the stumic for it. Yesterday another slury tornados went through a small town called "Joy, Oklahoma". Yes, that right, "JOY, Oklahoma".
This season is making me feel like running for a shelter everytime I see a dark cloud or hear the wind blow.
This thread was intented to be dedicated to extreme high-tech stuff which is really really cool and exiting. But this tornado thing is very low-tech and is the opposite of happiness in every way.
It is very strange that both is on the same thread...[?]
If you want to know about Lone Grove and its tornados both this year and last year. Then go to youtube and lookup "lone grove tornado". I don't want to show any specific links because I got sick watching one of the videos a few moments ago.
Yes, this area is know as "tornado ally". But we usually have maybe two or three minor tornados a year locally. And usually the tornado is a small one and only knocks over a few trees in the middle of no-where. But we have had so many this year and tornado season is only just starting!
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sorry.[:I]
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Its going to be ok. I'm just alittle shell-shocked. Not anyone’s fault.
In the mean time I wouldn't doubt there's a few more technical advances waiting for us just around the bend. Like for instance some kind of device that can control the weather .... hmmmmm... on second thought in the wrong hands that would be bad .
I was trying to think of the connections between what I or we already know about the human mechanism and the new physical machinery already mentioned in this thread.
We are made of tiny nano machines essentially carrying out a set of instructions. We know that Information is stored in the way DNA is bound together. As it unravels and interacts with other molecules it causes other larger things to be made, namely proteins. Then the proteins are used to build cells, organs, and eventually the entire person.
DNA is not really read (as a harddrive is), it simply makes things happen. When the right materials are present it simply makes those molecules follow its orders. Making an ever a larger more complex machine.
Now there is another system also at work in our bodies. It is an electrical one. All kinds of wires, memory storage, multi-processors, and who knows what all... are in us. So what does this all mean?
Well, i'm theorizing that these electrical impulses are just a means of communication, not life itself, but the way life interacts and is interacted with at long range. For example, when we hear a bell ring, the energy of that ring is transferred to sound waves, then it vibrates the ear drum, which in turn vibrates nerve-fibers. These fibers conveys electrical impulses to a variety of locations.
Someone could say that these electrical impulses is where life emulates from. That is to say, that life is in the endless connection of wires. To put it yet another way, life is in the computer parts of our mind... the processors, the storage, etc. I'm not so sure that this is true.
If I was to make a hypotheses I would say that life is in what the electrical impulses are being used by. The little mechanical parts that are just doing there job because they are being forced to do so. Sure someone could argue that it is all one system. True, but the electrical impulses are just a way the little mechanisms are connecting to the outside world, or if only to each other.
I could also venture another guess that this is why we "feel" not just compute information. When someone says something that hurts our feelings we could say that a signal was first sent. This signal traveled as sound waves, got converted to electrical impulses, processed, and then made a profound effect on some poor little mechanism in out body in some very small way. Perhaps words do hurt us, not just sticks and stones .
Altogether the body acts as one mechanism, thinks as one, acts as one... even though is has many members. Remove a small part and we are still alive, remove half the human mind and some have relearned to speak even though the speech parts were removed! You can be without legs and arms, be missing a lung, a kidney, part of a liver, part of an intestine, most of the stomach, lack of a gal-blatter, no facial muscles, and over half your brain removed and still be considered alive and functional on some level.
If I was to formulate a basic definition of life, I would say that life in its simplest form is a mechanical object attempting to fulfill a function. At a higher level, I would guess life to be a complex interaction of multiple mechanisms in communication with one another to ultimately fulfill a particular and common function.
In the Bible it likens the people of God to be one body in which Christ is the head. And it also says that the body is dead without the spirit. The Body being many members are all united together by one mind, God's. I said all this because it seems to help verify my hypotheses. One mind-set, one common goal, seems to be the hall-mark of life.
Well, I don't know about all this. That’s the thing about a thesis. You can theorize till the cows come home, but until you can prove it, it's meaningless. Well, it doesn't hurt to try. [:D]
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Snowman
The human body as well as most other animals really runs on electricity. The human brain generates 20 watts of current and the rest of the body requires between .1 and .2 amps. If I remember correctly the human heart needs .144 amps to keep beating and most of the rest of our organs have their own special needs.
Bill
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Bill, thanks for the info, I use the term mechanics or cellular mechanics to refer to the mechanical nature of nano-scale parts. But really these parts at this level are based upon ions and attractive forces. The hinges are mulecular bonds for instance. This is not electricity. But small charages can move them easily. Im theorizing that the electrical signal is not the creature but rather these little mechanical bonds are. Just like the telephone is not a living creature, but the one whose doing the telephoning is. Although you are right in a way... If you have any better ideas... you have my attention. [:)]
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Here are some more updates on the memristor. Plus I added some extra info here so you'll know just how big memory storage can become and what there names are.
There are 8 bits in a byte.
There are 1000 bytes in a kilobyte.
There are 1000 kilobytes in a megabyte.
There are 1000 megabytes in a Gigabyte.
There are 1000 Gigabytes in a Terabyte.
There are 1000 Terabytes in a Petabyte.
There are 1000 Petabytes in a Exabyte.
There are 1000 Exabytes in a Zettabyte.
There are 1000 Zettabytes in a Yottabyte.
Memristor Minds
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QqidLTSz2nI
Hybrid CMOS-Memristor Reconfigurable Logic: Perspectives and Challenges
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4E4oq4wy2Uo
Making and Measuring Memristors
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5UTRTOfgo4
Memristor-Based CAM (MCAM) as a part of System-on-System Architecture
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9trCj-vjs4
Memristor Technology in Ultra-Dense Neuromorphic and Non-Volatile Memory Architecture
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uETtI1oorFQ
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I knew the names and there sizes up to a Terabyte, Thanks for letting me know about the other four.
Just to see what response I would get, I think I'm gonna go to a computer store and say, I'll take 10 Yottabyte drives for my server please[:)] [:D]
My workstation is going to be far outdated, I don't think it would even be a good media hub once these hit the shelves.
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Hi,
sorry i laughed when six and a half minutes into one of the speaches he's not sorted out his notes or started to speak yet. :)
although he did squint one inch from his laptop screen for most of that, ok i may have found that funny. good speach in the end tho.
"i had worried they had jobed swapped for the day with those people that don't have tv remotes".
just kidding, sorry, i shouldn't poke fun, "you guys are very smart and i do respect you".
interesting stuff tho, also how they had to find ways to read variations in the chips initial state.
also interesting about how an ameba without a brain "v i say"can learn to not swim in anticipation impending cold.
i had worked out a while ago that it would take 25 thousand years to fill this laptop if i talked to Hal all day every day at present pc copasity.
with memristor it might be the same but with heaps more , of more.
input, vision perhaps, sensors, more remembered.
good use sounds nice,
nice direction within variations,
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Just a note but I also believe this or other materials will need to be used and the Memristor seems to foot the bill. The last thing I read was that silicone has almost reached it's capacity and will not be able to do more than expected due to the material itself. Everything has a threshold. I may be off base and I cannot supply you with the text but I know that it is a problem. Kind of how processors are just kind of layering now and not necessarily getting any faster. But the extra room for cores leaves less room for bottle necking if programs are going to be able to utilize. Of coarse that leads to everything else within the path of processing. I am happy to see them at least taking new risk on technology before we hit the wall. It's a nice thought anyway.
raybe
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perhaps i could invent the cezium memristor, oh i just did by saying it.that should be as fast enough.
:) :]
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Well, I guess I better do some updating.
Here's some articles I found while searching yahoo.
http://www.memristor.org/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memristor
http://www.hpl.hp.com/news/2008/apr-jun/memristor.html
http://www.hpl.hp.com/news/2008/apr-jun/memristor_faq.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-11165087
http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2008/04/scientists-prov/