Qualcomm: Wireless Tech Can Aid BRAIN Initiative

Wireless data collection will play a major role in President Obama’s BRAIN (Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies) initiative announced Tues, Qualcomm CTO Matt Grob said in a statement. The initiative, which will “necessitate stimulation and recording of an unprecedented number of neurons,” requires real-time data processing. “Given Qualcomm’s rich heritage in wireless communications, we are well positioned to make contributions to the BRAIN Initiative,” said Grob. Qualcomm is developing a neutral simulation accelerator (Neuromorphic hardware) that can potentially enable large scale, real-time neural simulations, as well as a comprehensive software tool suite that will enable rapid development and analysis of neural models. According to the White House, the BRAIN Initiative includes public-private partnerships, allowing federal research agencies to team with companies, foundations, and private research institutions that are also investing in relevant neuroscience research.