A new center for neuromorphic computing has been established in the UK.

Set to be led by the Institute of Photonic Technologies at Aston University in Birmingham, England, the UK Multidisciplinary Centre for Neuromorphic Computing aims to develop “brain-inspired, energy-efficient computing technologies” and establish itself as a “focal point for networking and collaboration.”

The center will receive £5.6 million ($7.4m) over four years from the UKRI Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and will also host researchers from the University of Oxford, the University of Cambridge, the University of Southampton, Queen Mary University of London, Loughborough University, and the University of Strathclyde.

Industry partners supporting the center include Microsoft Research, Thales, BT, QinetiQ, Nokia Bell Labs, Hewlett Packard Labs, Leonardo, and Northrop Grumman.

In a statement announcing the launch of the center, Aston University said researchers will be working on co-designing brain-inspired neuromorphic systems by studying human neuronal function using the latest human induced pluripotent stem cell technologies.

They also plan to create devices and hardware that are inspired by biological systems and use photonic hardware to process information.

“One of the most exciting aspects of neuromorphic computing is the potential of photonic hardware to deliver truly brain-like efficiency,” said University of Cambridge Professor Natalia Berloff, who is co-director of the center.

“Light-based processors can exploit massive parallelism and ultrafast signal propagation to outperform conventional electronics on demanding AI workloads, while consuming far less power. By combining these photonic architectures with insights from living human neurons, we aim to co-design neuromorphic systems that move beyond incremental improvements and toward a genuinely transformative computing paradigm.”