Organoid Cytomorphic Intelligence Resulting from Convergent Understanding and Information Transfer (O-Circuit) Proposers Workshop

The Organoid Cytomorphic Intelligence Resulting from Convergent Understanding and Information Transfer (O-Circuit) program aims to develop novel biological processing units (BPUs) that can learn and retain information, and integrate with biological odorant sensor arrays and drone navigation platforms. The program consists of two Task Areas: TA1, which focuses on developing BPU architectures with improved computational learning and memory capabilities, and TA2, which focuses on developing biological 'wetware' architectures that can integrate a BPU with an odorant sensor array and drone navigation platform. The program will be executed in three phases over 42 months, with Phase 1 and Phase 2 being solicited at this time. Key aspects of the program include the development of BPUs that can learn and retain information, the integration of BPUs with biological odorant sensor arrays and drone navigation platforms, and the evaluation of the performance of the developed systems. Some of the key points to note are: * The program will explore methods for improving the learning, inference, and computational memory of neural tissue systems. * The program will develop BPU architectures that are capable of learning to interact with dynamic, simulated and real-world environments, and retain this learning over multiple days. * The program will assess the developed BPUs in simulated game environments, and, when integrated with biological receptors and a drone platform, real-world environments to detect, identify, and autonomously locate volatilized chemical odorants. * The program will provide a common simulation environment to explore BPU learning and memory improvements, which will be constructed by the T&E team to emulate the Atari arcade game, ‘Ms. Pac-Man’.