A Seminar Report On

BLUE BRAIN

Submitted by

Kumari

Neha

Reg no: 0901209044 Semester: 6th

In partial fulfillment for the award of the degree Of BACHELOR OF TECHNOLOGY IN COMPUTER SCIENCE & ENGINEERING

SILICON INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, BHUBANESWAR

MARCH 2012

ABSTRACT
Human brain is the most valuable creation of God. The man is called intelligent because of the brain. But we lose the knowledge of a brain when the body is destroyed after the death of man. That knowledge might have been used for the development of the human society. What happen if we create a brain and up load the contents of natural brain into it. Blue Brain The name of the worlds first virtual brain. That means a machine that can function as human brain. Today

scientists are in research to create an artificial brain that can think, response, take decision, and keep anything in memory. The main aim is to upload human brain into machine. So that man can think, take decision without any effort. After the death of the body, the virtual brain will act as the man .So, even after the death of a person we will not loose the knowledge, intelligence, personalities, feelings and memories of that man that can be used for the development of the human society. Question may arise Is it really possible to create a human brain? The answer is Yes, IBM is now in research to create a virtual brain. It is called Blue brain .If possible, this would be the first virtual brain of the world.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I express my deepest sense of gratitude and indebtedness to my guide and seminar in charge, Er. B.A.Begum and Er.Shivani Nanda for their valuable guidance, keen and sustained interest, intuitive ideas and persistent endeavor. I am indebted to Er. B.B.Mishra, HOD, Computer Science Department for an opportunity to learn and present the seminar. I would like to thank my friends for their innovative suggestions, help and patient support. I am also thankful to my classmates and other faculty members for extending their maximum support and help in completion of this seminar report. If not for the above mentioned people, my seminar would never have been completed successfully. I once again extend my sincere thanks to all of them.

Kumari Neha CSEA A/Roll No: 03 Regd.No. 0901209044

Table of CONTENTS
Sl. No. 1. Introduction 2. What is Virtual Brain 3. Why we need Virtual Brain 4. Functioning of Brain 4.1Brain simulation 5. Uploading Human Brain 6. Hardware and Software requirement 7. How the Blue Brain project will work 7.1 Flashes of activity Contents Page No 6 7 8 9 10 12 13 14 15 16 17 20 21 22 23

8. Blue Brain: An artificial Brain comes to life 8.1 Objective of the project 9. Blue Brain model visualization 10. Advantages and disadvantages 11. Conclusion 12. References

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure No:

Page No

Figure: 1 computers brain as human brain Figure: 2 model of a human brain Figure: 3 human brain uploading in a computer Figure: 4 how human brain gets connected with computer to upload the Data of the human brain into computer Figure: 5 The "Blue Brain" supercomputer in Lausanne, Switzerland Figure: 6 (right) Pipettes are placed near a rat brain sample for an
Experiment in lab of the Blue Brain

07 09 13

15 16

19
19 20

Figure: 7 (left) cables are connected in order to design a blue brain Figure: 8 representation of a mammalian neocortical column Figure: 9 Human Brain in form of computer

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INTRODUCTION

Blue Brain the name of the worlds first virtual brain. That means a machine that can function as a Human Brain. Today scientists are in research to create an artificial Brain that can think, respond, take decisions and keep anything in memory. The main aim is to upload a human brain into the machine so that a man can think and take decision without any effort. No one has ever understood the complexity of human brain. It is more complex than any circuitry in the world. So the question may arise Is it really possible to create a human brain? The answer is Yes . Because whatever man has created today always it has followed the nature. When the man does not have the device called computer, it was a big question for all. But today it is possible due to the technology. Technology is growing faster than everything. IBM is now in a research to create a virtual brain which is called the Blue Brain and if possible it would be the first virtual brain of the world. On 1 July 2005, the Brain Mind Institute (BMI ) and IBM launched the Blue Brain Project. The aims of this ambitious initiative are to simulate the brains of mammals with a high levels of biological accuracy and, ultimately, to study the steps involved in the emergence of biological intelligence. By the development of this technology within few years we will be able to scan ourselves into the computer.

WHAT IS VIRTUAL BRAIN

The virtual Brain is simply an artificial brain which can do as whatever a human brain can do with much more accuracy and speed. it can : Think Respond Take decision Keep things in memory Function as a memory

Figure:1 computers brain as human brain .

WHY WE NEED VIRTUAL BRAIN

After the death of the person we lose the knowledge, experience and intelligence of the person but by using this technology after the death of the man the virtual brain will act as a man and hence we can use the knowledge and intelligence of the person for the development of the human society even after his death. Although science "knows a lot of details about the brain, we do not know how the parts fit together and how they are related to thought and learning and perception But today technology is growing faster than ever and certainly it can be possible by the development of Blue Brain . Today we need virtual brain: To upload contents of the natural brain into it. To keep the intelligence, knowledge and skill of any person for ever. To remember things without any effort.

FUNCTIONING OF BRAIN

Figure:2 model of a human brain.

As we know that human brain is the most complicated part of the body no one has ever understood the complexity of the human brain it is the most complex circuitry in the world . The human brain has 100 billions, nerve cells that enable us to adapt quickly to an immense array of stimuli. The neocortex is the largest and most complex part of the human brain, and constitutes about 85 per cent of the brain's total mass. The neocortex is thought to be responsible for the cognitive functions of language, learning, memory and complex thought.

The main functions of human brain depends on : Sensory Input Receiving input such as sound, image, etc through sensory cell .

Interpretation. Interpretation of the received input by the brain by defining states of Neurons in the brain.

Motor Output. Receiving of electric responses from the brain to perform any action .

BRAIN SIMULATION

NATURAL BRAIN

Input Through the natural neurons. Interpretation By a set of bits in the set of register output Through the natural neurons. Processing Through arithmetic and logical calculations Memory Through permanent states of neurons 10

SIMULATED BRAIN

Input
Through the silicon chip or artificial neurons.

Interpretation
By different states of the neurons in the brain.

Output
Through the silicon chip .

Processing
Through arithmetic and logical calculation and artificial intelligence.

Memory
Through Secondary memory

Now the difference between the functions of the virtual brain and human brain is clear so there is no question how the virtual brain will work. But the question is how the human brain will be up loaded into it and it is the most important part of this blue brain because without this everything will be useless and we cant able to make a virtual brain which can do whatever a man can do . But today this is also possible due to the fast growing technology.

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UPLOADING HUMAN BRAIN

Toughest part of this technology is to upload a human brain into the computer so that we could be able to use that data whenever and wherever is possible.

The uploading is possible by the use of small robots known as the nanobots. These robots are small enough to travel throughout our circulatory system. Traveling into the spine and brain, they will be able to monitor the activity and structure of our central nervous system. They will be able to provide an interface with computer that is as close as our mind can be while we still reside in our biological form. Nanobots could also carefully scan the structure of our brain, providing a complete readout of the connection. This information, when entered into a computer, could then continue to function as us. Thus the data stored in the entire brain will be uploaded into the computer. The main aim of blue brain is to build an software replica or template which could reveal many existing aspects of the brain circuits, memory capacity , and how memories are lost .

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HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE REQUIRMENT

A Super computer. Memory with a very large storing capacity. Processor with a very high processing power. A very wide network. A program to convert the electric impulses from the brain to input signal, which is to be received by the computer and vice versa. Very powerful Nanobots to act as the interface between the natural brain and the computer. The Blue Brain has some 8,000 processors which map one or two simulated brain neurons to each processor, making the computer a replica of 10,000 neurons.

Figure:3 human brain uploading in a computer.

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HOW THE BLUE BRAIN PROJECT WILL WORK

The project will search for insights into how human beings think and remember. The brain circuitry is in a complex state of flux, the brain rewiring itself every moment of its existence. If the scientists can crack open the secret of how and why the brain does it, the knowledge could lead to new breed of supercomputers.

Blue brain is a technology that uses Blue Gene a supercomputer capable of processing 228 TFLOPS.

"Blue Brain" offer a better understanding of human consciousness. Its an actual computer brain that may eventually have the ability to think for itself. When it was first fed electrical impulses, strange patterns began to appear with lightninglike flashes produced by cells that the scientists recognized from living human and animal processes. "It happened entirely on its own,"

This helped the scientists to understand the actual processing of the brain which arised the concept of Blue brain.

Blue brain acts as a computer that would operate at inconceivable speeds something fast enough to simulate the human brain.

A Blue brain aims to unlock the secrets of brain by using the brute power of a supercomputer.

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Flashes of activity

Figure:4 how human brain gets connected with computer to upload the data of the human brain into computer.

Blue Brain started producing flashes of activity that scientists recognized from measurements of natural brain behavior -- on its very first day. "It happened entirely on its own. This helped the scientists to understand the actual processing of the brain which raised the concept of Blue brain.

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'Blue Brain': An Artificial Brain Comes To Life In Switzerland

The machine is beautiful as it wakes up it means it works in a fine way when started. Nerve cells flicker on the screen , along with that electrical charges are produced. This piece of hardware consists of about 10,000 computer chips that act like real nerve cells. It runs on one of the world's most powerful supercomputers. The goal is to build a much bigger electronic thinking machine -- one that would ultimately replicate the human brain . "Blue Brain," is the most radical attempt so far to investigate the mystery of consciousness.

Figure:5

The "Blue Brain" supercomputer in Lausanne, Switzerland.

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Objective of the project :

The first objective of Blue Brain is to build an accurate software replica, or template, of an NCC (neocortical columns) within two to three years. That first template will be modified for NCCs found in different brain regions and species, and then all the NCCs will be replicated to build a model of the neocortical of different species.

Such models will shed light on how memories are stored and retrieved, "This could reveal many exciting aspects of the [brain] circuits, such as the form of memories, memory capacity and how memories are lost." The modeling can help find vulnerabilities in the neocortex, which is useful because that's where brain disorders often originate. "We may also be able to work out the best way to compensate and repair circuit errors,". "The model could be used to develop and test treatment strategies for neurological and psychiatric diseases," such as autism, schizophrenia and depression.

Having an accurate computer-based model of the brain would mean that some major Experiments could be done in silicon rather than in a "wet" lab. A simulation that might take Seconds on the supercomputer could replace a full day's worth of lab research. Ultimately, Simulated results of brain activity could be matched with recorded brain activity in a person with a disease in order to "reverse-engineer" the circuit changes in diseases.

The real value of a simulation is that researchers can have access to data for every single neuron.

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Taking measurements from a dozen neurons that have been sliced from rat brains and mounted on a chip. The research will examine the physical structure and the electrical properties of each neuron and how neurons affect one another. A model of multiple NCCs is still far from a model of the whole brain. "Once we have modelled the neocortex, we will have to include models of other brain regions, such as the basal ganglia, hippocampus, and cerebellum and so on.

The Blue Gene supercomputer was installed in July, and the first simulations were run in August, with a simulation of 25,000 simple neurons that took just 60 seconds. "This was just not possible before, and even smaller networks of 1,000 neurons would take weeks to run on a cluster, so this is truly a quantum leap in size and speed. Future simulations of 10,000 complex neurons will take much longer.

Blue Gene is an 8,096-processor supercomputer, and it will model one to 10 neurons per processor. The computer could allow simulations of as many as 100 million simple neurons, which is about half the number of neurons in a rat brain. A PFLOPS Blue Gene, which IBM says is several years away, would make it possible to simulate nearly a billion simple neurons. "But improvements in processing speed and memory could mean the entire human brain could be simulated within a decade .

"The scale of this computing will reveal interesting things in biology. We need that scale to get at the complexity that biological systems have. And the trickle-down effect from Blue Brain to other computing projects in science and industry will be enormous.

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For example, ASIC designs that emulate neuron network behaviour might be developed for use in information processing in intelligent devices. And, more generally. Blue Brain will teach lessons about real-time data processing, as opposed to off-line processing.

Figure:6 (right) Pipettes are placed near a rat brain sample for an experiment in a lab of the Blue Brain. Figure:7(left)cables are connected in order to design a blue brain.

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BLUE BRAIN MODEL VISUALISATION

Figure:8 representation of a mammalian neocortical column.

A visual representation of a mammalian neocortical column. The basic building block of the cortex. The representation shows the supercomputer. The visualization is part of an ambitious project to create a biologically accurate, functional model of the brain using IBM's Blue Gene supercomputer. part of the brain which has been modeled using a

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ADVANTAGES

It acts as a supercomputer. Improvements in processing speed and memory could make entire human brain simulated.

Things could be remembered without any effort. Use the intelligence of the person after death. It can make decisions entirely of its own. Allowing the deaf to hear via direct nerve stimulation.

DISADVANTAGES

We become dependent upon the computers. Another fear is found with respect to human cloning. A very costly procedure of regaining the memory back.

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CONCLUSION
Will be able to transfer ourselves into the computer at some point. Eventually aim of applying terrific computer power to the simulation of an entire brain. Very soon this technology will be highly accepted whole over the world The goal of the Blue Brain Project is to reconstruct the brain piece by piece and build a virtual brain in a supercomputer

Figure:9 Human Brain in form of computer.

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REFERENCES

1. Henry Markram,The Blue Brain Project, 3 0 t h A n n u a l International Conference of the IEEE, Nature Reviews Neuroscience, February 2006 . 2. Simulated brain closer to thought BBC News 22 April 2009. 3. Project Milestones, BlueBrain.http://bluebrain.ep.ch/Jahia/sit e /bluebrain/ opedit/pid/19085. 4. Blue Gene: http://www.research.ibm.com/bluegene. 5 . The Blue Brain Project: http://blue brainproject.ep.ch27.

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Slides

B L U E B R AI N
Presented By: Kumari Neha

Reg No 0901209044

Contents
1 : Introduction 2 : What is Blue brain 3 : What is virtual brain 4 : Function of natural brain 5 : Brain simulation 6 : Blue rain objectives 7 : How blue brain works 8 : Blue brain power 9 : Artificial brain 10: Benefits of blue brain 11: Conclusion

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INTRODUCTION
Human brain, the most valuable creation of God. BLUE BRAIN- The name of the worlds first virtual brain. That means a machine that

can function as human brain.

Is it really possible to create a

human brain?

BLUE BRAIN

25

WHAT IS VIRTUAL BRAIN

A machine that can function as brain . It can take decision. It can think.

It can respond.
It can keep things in memory.

WHY WE NEED VIRTUAL BRAIN

To upload contents of the natural brain into it . To keep the intelligence , knowledge and skill of any person for ever . To remember things without any effort

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FUNCTIONING OF BRAIN
Sensory Input :-

Receiving input such as sound ,image, etc through sensory cell .

Interpretation.

Interpretation of the received input by the brain by defining states of neurons in the brain.
Motor Output.

Receiving of electric responses from the brain to perform any action .

BRAIN SIMULATION
NATURAL
INPUT
Through the natural

BRAIN

VS

SIMULATED BRAIN

INPUT
Through the silicon chip or

neurons. INTERPRETATION By different states of the neurons in the brain. OUTPUT Through the natural neurons.

artificial neurons. INTERPRETATION By a set of bits in the set of register . OUTPUT Through the silicon chip .

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BRAIN SIMULATION(CONTD...)
PROCESSING
Through arithmetic PROCESSING Through arithmetic and

and logical calculations.

MEMORY Through permanent

logical calculations and artificial intelligence.

MEMORY Through Secondary

states of neurons .

memory

STEPS INVOLVED
Modeling the electrical structure of neural circuits repeated throughout the brain and then map and model their behavior. Then creating a molecular model of the neurons involved and a complete neocortex before modeling the rest of the brain.

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ARTIFICIAL NEURAL NETWORK

UPLOADING HUMAN BRAIN

Small robots known as the

nanobots.

Travel through out our

circulatory system. and brain.

Traveling into the spine

They will be able to provide

an interface with computer while we still reside in our biological form.

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UPLOADING HUMAN BRAIN(CONT.)

Nanobots could also carefully scan the structure of our brain.

This information, when entered into a computer, could then continue to function as us.
Thus the data stored in the entire brain will be uploaded into the computer.

BLUE BRAIN PROJECT OBJECTIVES

The brain circuitry is in a complex state of flux, the brain rewiring itself every moment of its existence . If the scientists can crack open the secret of how and why the brain does it, the knowledge could lead to a new breed of supercomputers.

30

HARDWARE & SOFTWARE REQUIRMENT

Memory with a very large storing capacity. Processor with a very high processing power. A very wide network. A program to convert the electric impulses from

the brain to input signal.

Very powerful Nanobots to act as the interface

between the natural brain and the computer. working simultaneously

The Blue Brain has around 8,000 processors.

HOW THE BLUE BRAIN PROJECT WILL WORK

The neocortex is the largest and most complex part of the

human brain, and constitutes about 85 per cent of the brain's total mass. functions of language, learning, memory and complex thought. team has worked out about how the brain functions. brain.

The neocortex is thought to be responsible for the cognitive

The simulated neurons will be interconnected with rules the

This result would develop a simulated model known as Blue

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RESEARCH WORK
IBM developing the Blue brain .

IBM, in partnership with scientists at

Switzerlands Ecole Polytechnique Federale De Lausannes(EPFL) Brain and Mind.

ADVANTAGES
Remembering things without any effort.
Making decision without the presence of a

person.
Using intelligence of a person after the death . Allowing the deaf to hear via direct nerve

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DISADVANTAGES OF BLUE BRAIN

We become dependent upon the computers. Another fear is found with respect to human

cloning.
A very costly procedure of regaining the memory

back.

CONCLUSION
Will be able to transfer ourselves into the computer at

some point. Very soon this technology will be highly accepted all over the world.

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