The mecha hunters in Pacific Rim are so weak, if there were brain-like chips...

Like many boys full of dreams, I have been a loyal fan of "fighting monsters" movies since I was a child, starting with the magical "combination" TV series "Power Rangers".

Image source: TV series Power Rangers

Then there is Ultraman, who is like a cockroach and can never be killed.

Image source: Ultraman

These movies and TV series are all my favorites, but if I were to say which is the pinnacle of "monster-fighting" movies in recent years, I personally think that "Pacific Rim" should be the one!

Image source: Pacific Rim trailer poster

Pacific Rim mainly tells the story of humans being invaded by giant monsters in the Pacific Ocean. Most of the military actions that humans have taken to stop the monsters have all ended in failure. In order to resist the attack of the sea monsters, humans, who are at their wits' end, have invented their own "monsters": Jaegers, which use giant mechanical soldiers to fight against the monster army. Two operators whose brain neural networks are connected to each other (floating neuron connections) synchronously operate the combat mechanical soldiers and use instruments to detect the level and code of the monsters. Since the Jaegers, humans have been able to compete with the monsters, and the "Monster War" has begun.

Image source: Trailer of Pacific Rim 2

Although the story is still the old-fashioned "robots fighting monsters", it occupies a high position in the hearts of movie fans due to its integration of many elements such as mecha, monsters, science fiction, action, adventure, disaster, etc., as well as the industrial-textured mecha design, dark picture tones, excellent 3D effects, superb lighting system and dark environment special effects, as well as super brainwashing BGM.

The most attractive thing in the film is undoubtedly the huge combat mechanical soldiers with various shapes and sizes - the "Jaeger". The design details of these robots, including weight, height, speed, weapons, shock absorbers, dampers, etc. are all explained, which are very suitable for the research psychology of otaku and geeks. The nationality design is very immersive, fully satisfying the dream of driving robots to fight monsters that has lingered in the minds of many boys for many years.

However, to be honest, compared with the protagonists in several other works, the "MechHunter" in Pacific Rim is simply too weak. Not to mention other aspects, just talking about combat weapons, it can be described as pitifully few. Take the absolute protagonist "Dangerous Wanderer" in the film for example, except for the "plasma cannon" which is quite powerful, it really has no other weapons to show off.

Ksai, the "human cannon" in the Ksai, no matter how bad he is, has a super bug trick - time stop. The "T-Rex Shock Wave", the ultimate trick of the Dino Team after they merge, is also a powerful weapon for setting fire and killing monsters. Even Ultraman, whose exact number is unclear, has a super trick (the classic Pose) - all kinds of rays of light are "kill gods if they stand in the way, kill Buddhas if they stand in the way". To put it bluntly, if the mecha hunter encounters these guys, he will probably be beaten up.

Image source: Ultraman Jack movie

But these are not the weakest points of the Mech Hunter. The weakest point is the dual operating system neural connection of the Mech Hunter, which looks extremely cool but is actually extremely weird. Not to mention that the two pilots have to risk their lives to perform many difficult "combined gymnastics moves" in the cockpit, and they are exhausted every time they fight. Just saying that this two-person neural network connection is a shocking super-fatal bug. Even pilots who have undergone a lot of training may become immersed in their own memories when making neural connections, resulting in connection failure and inability to control the Mech Hunter, not to mention letting ordinary people control the Mech Hunter.

In addition, this mecha must be controlled simultaneously by two pilots whose nervous systems are coordinated with each other. If it is controlled by only one pilot, the pilot will collapse due to excessive pressure on the nervous system. And the worst thing is that as long as the monster finds the cockpit that is so obvious and fragile that it cannot be more obvious, it can kill or injure any one of the pilots with a light blow, and the whole mecha will be destroyed. Wow, this is really a "god-like" design!

However, as a technology editor, when I see the shortcomings of a digital product, I often tend to think about how to improve the shortcomings of these products. The same is true for Mech Hunter.

The editor really wanted to think of a way to overcome the fatal weakness of the mecha hunter. The first thing that came to his mind was remote control, but then he was slapped in the face. In "Ring 2", the remote-controlled mecha hunter designed by Jing Tian's company was easily hacked. Later, he thought of reinforcing the cockpit, but as the monsters became bigger and stronger, this idea also failed easily in "Ring 2". Until the editor accidentally saw a report on brain-like chips, his eyes lit up. This is simply a super equipment tailor-made for mecha hunters.

The so-called brain-like chip is a chip designed using the human brain neuron structure to enhance computing power. It aims to be completely anthropomorphic and pursues continuous approximation to the human brain in chip architecture. When human brain neurons receive stimulation, the distribution of charged ions inside and outside the cell membrane will change, thus forming a potential difference. The potential difference will be transmitted bidirectionally along the axons and dendrites of the nerve cells, forming a pulse current.

When the electrical signal is transmitted to the synapse, the presynaptic neuron will release neurotransmitters (such as dopamine and adrenaline), which are received by the postsynaptic neuron to generate excitement (the process is one-way transmission), and then the effect is transmitted downward to react with the human body reactor. The brain-like chip architecture simulates the synaptic transmission structure of the human brain. The numerous processors are similar to neurons, and the communication system is similar to nerve fibers. The calculation of each neuron is performed locally. From the overall point of view, the neurons work in a distributed manner, that is, the overall task is divided, and each neuron is only responsible for a part of the calculation.

You see, if this kind of brain-like chip is used to replace the driver's human brain to connect with the mecha hunter, on the one hand, it can avoid the phenomenon of the driver being unable to extricate himself from the nervous system, and the driver does not need to stay in the mecha and be easily attacked. On the other hand, the super computing power of this chip can also overcome the disadvantage that the driver cannot withstand the neural pressure and provide the mecha hunter with more agile action reactions and combat strategies. This is really a perfect match that kills two birds with one stone!

However, I know that you who like to get to the bottom of things will definitely ask, are there really brain-like chips? The answer is of course yes!

It is understood that nowadays both at home and abroad attach great importance to the research and development of brain-like chips, and there are many companies that choose to "be the first to try".

In January this year, Intel demonstrated a neural chip code-named "Loihi" at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, shocking everyone.

It is understood that the Loihi chip can transmit information through pulses or spikes like the human brain and automatically adjust synaptic strength; it can also learn autonomously and issue instructions through various feedback information in the environment. Is this the rhythm of a small robot?

Compared to traditional chips, this chip not only has a learning efficiency 1 million times higher than other smart chips, but also consumes nearly 1,000 times less energy than traditional chips to complete the same task. Isn’t that awesome?

Loihi was unveiled as early as September last year, but it was just an FPGA simulation at the time. Now it is fully formed and is a silicon chip with complete functions.

The picture above is proof!!!

We found that there are many grids inside Loihi, and there are many small modules in the grid, which Intel calls a core.

Each single chip contains 128 cores, each core can realize many neurons, and each neuron can be connected to other neurons. We actually simulate this form and put the learning rules into each neuron.

According to the editor, Loihi contains 128 computing cores, each core integrates 1024 artificial neurons, totaling 131,000 neurons, which are connected to each other through 130 million synapses.

In addition, many parameters of the neurons on the LOIHI chip can be updated and adjusted in real time, and can modify themselves and learn autonomously while working, which is a capability that all previous chips do not have.

Compared with the more than 80 billion neurons in the human brain, although the computing scale of this chip can only be regarded as dwarfed by that of others and is only slightly more complex than a shrimp brain, it is a major breakthrough, which means that getting rid of traditional processors only requires two words: there is hope!

To advance the Loihi test chip, on March 6, Intel announced the establishment of a partner network covering academic, government and industry research groups: the Intel Neuromorphic Research Community (INRC), and invited participants of the NICE workshop previously held at Intel's Oregon campus to submit proposals in five research areas.

Starting April 2, preliminary proposals will be accepted and if the proposal meets the criteria, it will be possible to receive funding as well as a software development kit that also includes the Loihi test system.

In the future, due to high demand for Loihi development systems, Intel is working to enable cloud-based access to a scalable, multi-user, Loihi-based system called Neuromorphic Research Service (NRaaS).

With this development, the Loihi test chip is expected to go from a research prototype to an industry product in the next few years, and will be able to perform well in any environment that requires real-time data processing! For example, it can efficiently complete real-time interactive communication with self-driving vehicles, and cameras can find missing people.

Although brain-like chips are "in the limelight", commercial use "seems very difficult at present", but we should never underestimate the spirit of research that is unique to humans. Perhaps as the study of the human brain deepens, someone may be hit on the head by the "Apple chosen by God" like Newton, and then have the golden key to the field of brain-like chip research. The dream of the editor to become a super mecha hunter may really come true one day!

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