The NMI Lab strives to create computing systems that work more like the brain, by combining the fundamental and the applied. Our long-term research goal is to emulate high-level, cognitive function in dedicated neuromorphic hardware systems.

Neuromorphic computing systems aim to follow the design principles of biological brains to achieve performant and energy-efficient computing, by emulating its architecture and algorithm. Broadly speaking, the architecture of the brain can be thought of as its layout, optimised through millions of years of evolution but mostly static throughout the life of an individual. The algorithm, on the other hand, encompasses how dynamic changes during development lead to a functional brain, capable of intelligent behaviours such as perceiving and interacting with dynamic environments.

The Neuromorphic Cognitive Localization and Mapping project (CLAM), funded by Volkswagenstiftung, envisions a new class of neuromorphic systems inspired by the hippocampal-entorhinal grid-cell system (a vital component of the brain`s navigation system), to offer better generalization than current AI approaches, thanks to the creation of cognitive maps.