Neuromorphic device mimics human brain

Team leader Professor Sumeet Walia at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) said the development marked a step towards instant visual processing in autonomous vehicles, advanced robotics and other next-generation applications for improved human interaction.

“Neuromorphic vision systems are designed to use similar analogue processing to our brains, which can greatly reduce the amount of energy needed to perform complex visual tasks compared with digital technologies used today,” Walia said in a statement.

The work brings together neuromorphic materials and advanced signal processing led by Professor Akram Al-Hourani, who is deputy director of COMAS.

The device contains molybdenum disulfide (MoS2). In their latest study, the team showed how atomic-scale defects in this compound can be harnessed to capture light and process it as electrical signals.

“This proof-of-concept device mimics the human eye’s ability to capture light and the brain’s ability to process that visual information, enabling it to sense a change in the environment instantly and make memories without the need for using huge amounts of data and energy,” said Walia, director of the RMIT Centre for Opto-electronic Materials and Sensors (COMAS).