Outreach

Two recent papers [1,2] by members of IFISC have been covered in the April 2012 issue of NATURE PHYSICS in a 'News and Views' article [3]. In the article, entitled 'OPTICAL COMPUTING: Photonic neural networks', Damien Woods and Thomas J. Naughton from Caltech and National University of Ireland Maynooth highlight the work done in IFISC on the introduction of a new computational paradigm and its implementation in photonics hardware. This concept is based on a simplification of Reservoir Computing, a neuro-inspired approach, utilizing simple nonlinear systems with delayed feedback. The authors emphasize that the work by IFISC, together with a related article from Belgian colleagues, provides new and interesting ways to solve computational problems using optical communications hardware. In addition, it stimulates and contributes to the question of how nature does compute.

The work is related to the European FP7 Project 'PHOCUS' which is coordinated by IFISC. 

[1] 4. L. Appeltant, M.C. Soriano, G. Van der Sande, J. Danckaert, S. Massar, J. Dambre, B. Schrauwen, C.R. Mirasso, I. Fischer, 'Information processing using a single dynamical node as complex system', Nature Communications 2, Article number: 468 doi:10.1038/ncomms1476 (2011).

[2] L. Larger, M. C. Soriano, D. Brunner, L. Appeltant, J. M. Gutierrez, L. Pesquera, C. R. Mirasso, I. Fischer, 'Photonic information processing beyond Turing: an optoelectronic implementation of reservoir computing', Optics Express 20 (3), 241-3249 (2012).

[3] Damien Woods, Thomas J. Naughton, 'OPTICAL COMPUTING: Photonic neural networks', NATURE Phys. 8, 257-258, April 2012.