International Journal of Emerging Technology and Advanced Engineering

Website: www.ijetae.com (ISSN 2250-2459, ISO 9001:2008 Certified Journal, Volume 4, Issue 3, March 2014)

223

Let‘s Know: Blue Brain Prof. Sandeep Khanna

1, Nikhil Vijay Patil

2

1Asst Professor, Pdm. Dr. V. B. Kolte College of Engineering, Malkapur Dist. Buldhna (M.S.) India.

2 M.E.First year student, Pdm. Dr. VBKCOE, Malkapur Dist. Buldhna (M.S.) India.

Abstract— Human Brain is the most important and

valuable creation of God. Human Brain is processor of the

body with storage but when the person is dead then the

knowledge and intelligence of person also lost with that body,

so solution for it to have the artificial brain that can hold the

brain content then the knowledge can be preserve after the

death of person.

Keywords— Artificial Brain, Blue Brain, Simulated Brain

I. INTRODUCTION

Human brain is most important part of body. Intelligence

because of the brain.We are developed because we can

think, that other animals can not do .But we loss the

knowledge of a brain when the body is destroyed after the

death of person. That knowledge might have been used for

the development of the human society. What happen if we

create a brain and upload the contents of natural brain into

it.Blue brain –The name of the world‘s first virtual brain.

That means a machine that can function as human brain.

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. Human brain is

complex than any circuitry in the world. All the research

followed the nature. Here also the Scientists are following

the nature, firstly understanding the natural brain structure

then developing the artificial one. IBM is now in research

to create a virtual brain named Blue brain.

A. Human Brain

Every animal we can think, mammals, birds, reptiles,

fish has brain but human brain is unique. It gives the power

to speak, imagine and problem solving capacity. It is truly

an amazing organ. Our brain, spinal-cord, peripheral nerves

makeup complex, integrated processing & control system

known as Central nervous System. It controls conscious

and unconscious facet of life [4].

B. Blue brain

The Blue Brain Project is an attempt to create a synthetic

brain by reverse-engineering the mammalian brain down to

the molecular level. The aim of the project, founded in May

2005 by the Brain and Mind Institute of the École

Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in

Switzerland, is to study the brain's architectural and

functional principles. Goals of the project are to gain a

complete understanding of the brain and to enable better

and faster development of brain disease treatments.

The project is headed by the founding director Henry

Markram and co-directed by Felix Schürmann and Sean

Hill. The research involves studying slices of living brain

tissue. Data is collected about all the many

different neuron types. This data is used to build

biologically realistic models of neurons and networks of

neurons in the cerebral cortex. The simulations are carried

out on a Blue Gene running Michael Hines's NEURON

software, supercomputer built by IBM. Hence the name

‗Blue Brain‘[2].

Figure I. Idea Of Blue Brain

C. Virtual Brain

Virtual brain is an artificial brain, which does not

actually the natural brain, but can act as the natural brain .

International Journal of Emerging Technology and Advanced Engineering

Website: www.ijetae.com (ISSN 2250-2459, ISO 9001:2008 Certified Journal, Volume 4, Issue 3, March 2014)

224

It can think like brain, take decisions based on the past

experience, and response as the natural brain. It is possible

by using a super computer, with a huge amount of storage

capacity, high processing power and an interface between

the human brain and this artificial one .Through this

interface the data stored in the natural brain can be up

loaded into the computer. So the knowledge, intelligence of

anyone can be kept and used for ever, even after the death

of the person.

D. Need of virtual brain

We are developed because of our intelligence.

Intelligence is the inborn quality of any person .Some

people have this quality ,so that they can think up to such

an extent where other can not reach .Human society always

need such kind of intelligence but the intelligence is lost

along with the body after the death. The virtual brain is a

solution for it. The brain and intelligence will alive even

after the death.

We often face difficulties in remembering things such as

people's names, their birthdays, and the spellings of words,

proper grammar, important dates, history facts, etc. In the

busy life every one want to be relaxed .Virtual brain may

be the solution for it. We will be able to upload brain

content into computer.

Figure II. Brain On Chip

II. WORKING OF THE SYSTEM

A. How it is possible?

To build a simulated or artificial brain requires a vast

amount of information about this complex organ, starting

from the basic unit neuron & building up to complex

network connection between them that produces perception

and cognition. Perception is the organization, identification

& interpretation of sensory information in order to

represent and understand environment. Cognition is the

process by which sensory input is transformed, reduced,

elaborated, stored, recovered and used.

The most promising is the use of very small robots, or

nanobots. These robots will be small enough to travel

throughout our circulatory systems. Traveling into the

spine and brain, they will be able to monitor the activity

and structure of our central nervous system. Nanobots

could also carefully scan the structure of our brain,

providing a complete readout of the connections between

each neuron. They would also record the current state of

the brain. This information, when entered into a computer,

could then continue to function as Human brain. All that is

required is a computer with large enough storage space and

high processing power. Many people believe firmly those

we posses a soul, while some very technical people believe

that quantum forces contribute to our awareness. But we

have to now think technically. Note, however, that we need

not know how the brain actually functions, to transfer it to

a computer. We need only know the media and contents.

The actual mystery of how we achieved consciousness in

the first place, or how we maintain it, is a separate

discussion.

Really this concept appears to be very difficult and

complex for us. For this we have to first know how the

human brain actually work.

B. Working of natural brain

The human ability to feel, interpret and even see is

controlled, in computer like calculations, by the magical

nervous system. Yes, the nervous system is quite like

magic because we can't see it, but its working through

electric impulses through your body.

One of the worlds most complicated electron impulse

mechanisms is the nervous system.To understand this

system. We have to know the three simple functions that it

puts into action: sensory input, interpretation, motor output.

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Sensory input:

When our eyes see something or our hands touch a warm

surface, the sensory cells, also known as Neurons, send a

message straight to our brain. This action of getting

information from our surrounding environment is called

sensory input because we are putting things in our brain by

way of our senses.

Interpretation:

Interpretation of things we have felt, tasted, and touched

with our sensory cells, also known as neurons, into

responses that the body recognizes. This process is all

accomplished in the brain where many, many neurons work

together to understand the environment.

Motor Output:

Once our brain has interpreted all that we have learned,

either by touching, tasting, or using any other sense, then

our brain sends a message through neurons to effecter cells,

muscle or gland cells, which actually work to perform our

requests.

How we see, hear, feel, smell, and take decision:

Nose:

Once the smell of food has reached our nose, which is

lined with hairs, it travels to an olfactory bulb, a set of

sensory nerves. The nerve impulses travel through the

olfactory tract, around, in a circular way, the thalamus, and

finally to the smell sensory cortex of our brain, located

between our eye and ear, where it is interpreted to be

understood and memorized by the body.

Eye:

Seeing is one of the most pleasing senses of the nervous

system. This cherished action primarily conducted by the

lens, which magnifies a seen image, vitreous disc, which

bends and rotates an image against the retina, which

translates the image and light by a set of cells. The retina is

at the back of the eye ball where rods and cones structure

along with other cells and tissues covert the image into

nerve impulses which are transmitted along the optic nerve

to the brain where it is kept for memory.

Tongue:

A set of microscopic buds on the tongue divide

everything we eat and drink into various kinds of taste:

bitter, sour, salty, spicy and sweet.

These buds have taste pores, which convert the taste into

a nerve impulse and send the impulse to the brain by a

sensory nerve fiber. Upon receiving the message, our brain

classifies the different kinds of taste. This is how we can

refer the taste of one kind of food to another.

Ear:

Once the sound or sound wave has entered the drum, it

goes to a large structure called the cochlea. In this snail like

structure, the sound waves are divided into pitches. The

vibrations of the pitches in the cochlea are measured by the

corti.This organ transmits the vibration information to a

nerve, which sends it to the brain for interpretation and

memory [8].

Figure III. How Blue-Brain Works

Figure IV. Blue-Gene Super Computer

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C. Blue Brain Simulation

Table I.

Comparison Of Simulated Brain With Natural Brain

Particular Natural Brain Simulated Brain

Sensory Input

The body receives the input by the sensory cells.

These sensory cells produces electric impulses

which are read by the neurons .The neurons

transfer these electric impulses to the brain.

In a similar way the artificial nervous system can be

created. The scientist has already developed artificial

neurons

Interpretation

The electric impulses received by the brain from

the neurons are interpreted in the brain .The

interpretation in the brain is accomplished by the

means of certain states of many neurons.

The interpretation of the electric impulses received by

the artificial neuron can be done by means of a set of

register .The different values in these register will

represent different states of the brain.

Motor Output

Based on the states of the neurons the brain sends

the electric impulses representing the responses

which are further received by the effecter cell our

body to respond. The sensory cells of which part of

our body is going to receive that, it depends on the

state of the neurons in the brain at that time.

Similarly based on the states of the register the output

signal can be given to the artificial neurons in the

body which will be received by the effecter cell.

Storage of Information

There are certain neurons in our brain which

represent certain states permanently. When

required these state is interpreted by our brain and

we can remember the past things. To remember

thing we force the neurons to represent certain

states of the brain permanently or for any

interesting or serious matter this is happened

implicitly.

It is possible to store the data permanently by using

the secondary storage. In the similar way the required

states of the registers can be stored permanently. And

when required these information can be retrieved and

used.

Processing of Data

When we take decision, think about something, or

make any computation, Logical and arithmetic

calculations are done in our neural circuitry .The

past experience stored and the current input

received are used and the states of certain neurons

are changed to give the output.

In a similar way the decision making can be done by

the computer by using some stored states and the

received input and by performing some arithmetic

and logical calculations .

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D. Project Development

Scientist has developed first single cellular cell by

2005.In November 2007, the project reported the end of the

first phase, delivering a data-driven process for creating,

validating, and researching the neocortical column. The

first artificial cellular neocortical column of 10,000 cells

was built by 2008. By July 2011 a cellular mesocircuit of

100 neocortical columns with a million cells in total was

built. A cellular rat brain is planned for 2014 with 100

mesocircuits totaling a hundred million cells. Finally a

cellular human brain is predicted possible by 2023

equivalent to 1000 rat brains with a total of a hundred

billion cells [2].

Figure V. Project Development

E. Hardware and Software Requirement

1. A Blue-Gene super computer running Michael

Hines's NEURON software.

2. Memory with a large storing capacity.

3. Processor with a high processing power.

4. A program to convert the electric impulses from the

brain to input signal, which is to be received by the

computer, and vice versa.

5. Very powerful nanobots to act as the interface between

the natural brain and the computer.

III. ADVANTAGES AND LIMITATIONS

A. Advantages

1. Human Being can remember things without any effort.

2. Decision can be made without the presence of a person.

3. Even after the death of a person his intelligence can be

used.

4. The activity of different animals can be understood. That

means by interpretation of the electric impulses from the

brain of the animals, their thinking can be understood

easily.

B. Disadvantages

Further, there are many new dangers these technologies

will open. We will be susceptible to new forms of harm.

1. We will become very dependent on computer systems.

2. Social Threats may use this against society.

3. Computer viruses will become headache.

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IV. CONCLUSION

1. Human Being will be able to transfer the brain content

into Computer.

2. The project of Blue Brain initiated by Henry Markram

will become both beneficial and harm for society.

REFERENCES

[1] http://bluebrain.epfl.ch/

[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Brain_Project

[3] http://www.artificialbrains.com/blue-brain-project

[4] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_brain

[5] http://curiosity.discovery.com/question/blue-brain-

project

[6] A paper ―Reverse Engineering the Brain‖ By Roberta

Friedman

[7] A paper ―Evaluation of the Blue Brain Project and

Human Brain Project‖ EPFL, Lausanne, March 28-31,

2011

[8] http://science.howstuffworks.com/life/inside-the-

mind/human-brain/brain.htm