AsianScientist (Oct. 24, 2018) – Scientists in Japan have invented an ionic device capable of quickly making its own decisions using changes in ionic or molecular concentrations. They reported their findings in Science Advances.
Artificial intelligence (AI) systems capable of quickly making optimum selections in response to changing circumstances are useful in various fields, such as communications, manufacturing and business. Efforts in recent years have focused on the development of computer-based AI systems capable of processing large amounts of information using sophisticated programs.
However, when these systems are used to solve complex problems using vast amounts of data, their operations slow down and consume large amounts of electricity.
Instead of using computers, researchers led by Professor Takashi Tsuchiya of the National Institute for Materials Science, Japan, developed an AI system that relies on ions to function. Their decision-making ionic device operates on electrochemical phenomena induced by the movement of protons (H+) within a solid electrolyte.
When the device makes a correct decision, ions migrate towards the electrode associated with the decision. Repeated correct decisions cause a variation in ionic and molecular concentrations to reinforce the decision.
The research group applied this mechanism to a congested radio communication network and succeeded in demonstrating that the device can select an optimum communication channel (i.e., frequency range) to be assigned to a given transmission, thereby achieving the most effective overall channel usage. The device was also able to make optimum channel selections to discover the most effective overall channel utilization among multiple communication network users.
Going forward, the researchers hope to develop this technology into high-performance devices and apply them to complex problem-solving not only in communication networks, but also in manufacturing and financial trading contexts. For example, the device may be used to select the most profitable stocks with dynamic reward probabilities. In addition, they plan to apply this technology to the development of AI systems that operate under a new working principle: non-programed decision-making that mimics biological systems.
The article can be found at: Tsuchiya et al. (2018) Ionic Decision-maker Created as Novel, Solid-state Devices.
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Source: National Institute for Materials Science; Photo: Shutterstock.
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