(No, we don’t mean the medium roast blend of coffee popularized by Starbucks)

Our friends at UBC’s Robuddies often share with us the latest news and developments in robotics and AI. Today, they passed on some thrilling news from IBM that’s getting us excited.

The tech giant has been developing a “neuromorphic” chip – wired like our brains – that is capable of running deep learning algorithms without the need for large amounts of electrical power. In contrast to AI services, like Facebook’s face recognition software that requires massive data centres to process the information, this technology operates with a “neuro-synaptic architecture”, which will enable smart phones and other personal devices to do some of the processing grunt work, and significantly increase the availability of AI to people who may not have internet access. Think – hearing aids in rural India.

Though the technology is years away from entering the markets, it is a huge step forward towards a digital brain.