http://www.stanford.edu/group/brainsinsilicon/goals.html
any computer science people here know anything about this? What is the particular unique promise of this thing?With 61 graded and 18 binary programmable parameters, common to all of its silicon neurons, Neurocore can model a rich variety of spiking and interaction patterns. You set parameter values using a GUI: Assigning each Neurocore to model a different cortical layer (or cell-type); tailoring its silicon neurons to emulate that cell-population's ion-channel repertoire; routing its softwires to match their synaptic connectivity. And visualize simulation results using the GUI: Selecting a single cell to plot its membrane voltage; choosing an entire layer to raster its spike activity; or examining any level of complexity in between. All with a few mouse clicks. Now you no longer have to dream of simulating a million cortical neurons in real-time!