Talking Robots: Henry Markram

Posted 16 May 2008 at 16:44 UTC by mwaibel

The last but one Talking Robots episode interviews Henry Markram, who is directing the first comprehensive attempt to reverse-engineer the mammalian brain in the Blue Brain Project. Using IBM's Blue Gene supercomputer Markram's team has reverse engineered and simulated a neocortical column composed of 10'000 neurons with more than 30 million synapses. Future robots may use the Blue Brain to build internal models or to allow us to understand and track spatial learning. Markram believes that robots as they are built today will always have fundamental limitations, because they are not able to capture many of the neural processes that the brain uses. In his view complex neural processes are essential in allowing brains to be flexible. For more information on the last but one Talking Robots interview listen in. To conclude the Talking Robots series, you are also warmly invited to share your concerns, hopes and visions for the future of robotics. To make yourself heard in the final Talking Robots episode, send us your text or audio message before May 22nd at talkingrobots@gmail.com.