2D transistors can mimic a locust's brain to avoid collision— super-efficient tech could lower the energy costs of tomorrow's AI

Circuits making the shape of a brain.

Researchers have created an ultra-low power 2D transistor to mimic the collision-avoidance neurons of a locust in their autonomous robots. Scientists from the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay and King's College London collaborated on the study to explore low-power solutions for autonomous robots and vehicles, which are growing in prominence. 

Autonomous driving and motion have long been a holy grail for machine learning and AI developers and researchers, and collision avoidance is the key to making the tech feasible in the real world. To this end, the IITB and King's College students set out with the goal of creating a collision solution on extremely low power.