CACrown ArchivesThe cinema collection
Menu
Research dossier · General Reference

SyNAPSE

DARPA program

Cross-disciplinary reference desk with index cards, atlas, dictionary and catalogue
General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionJan 2, 2025
Entity authorityQ3506727
Source-derived summary

SyNAPSE is a DARPA program that aims to develop electronic neuromorphic machine technology, an attempt to build a new kind of cognitive computer with form, function, and architecture similar to the mammalian brain. Such artificial brains would be used in robots whose intelligence would scale with the size of the neural system in terms of the total number of neurons and synapses and their connectivity.

SyNAPSE is a backronym standing for Systems of Neuromorphic Adaptive Plastic Scalable Electronics. The name alludes to synapses, the junctions between biological neurons. The program is being undertaken by HRL Laboratories (HRL), Hewlett-Packard, and IBM Research. In November 2008, IBM and its collaborators were awarded $4.9 million in funding from DARPA while HRL and its collaborators were awarded $5.9 million in funding from DARPA. For the next phase of the project, DARPA added $16.1 million more to the IBM effort while HRL received an additional $10.7 million. In 2011, DARPA added $21 million more to the IBM project. and an additional $17.9 million to the HRL project. The SyNAPSE team for IBM is led by Dharmendra Modha, manager of IBM's cognitive computing initiative. The SyNAPSE team for HRL is led by Narayan Srinivasa, manager of HRL's Center for Neural and Emergent Systems.

Editorial summary

Begin with the source’s own compact description: “SyNAPSE” is dARPA program. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through SyNAPSE, DARPA and program, not as a finished interpretation.

Editorial reviewA concise reference frame for defining the subject, testing terminology and identifying the institution closest to the evidence. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—2008, 2011—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. For this dossier, SyNAPSE, DARPA and program is the immediate research focus.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The phrase “dARPA program” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.

Evidence profile

Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jan 2, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q3506727. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 2008 and 2011.

Critical limits

A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

Best used for
  • Subject orientation
  • Search vocabulary
  • Locating named sources
Verify next

The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “SyNAPSE”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow SyNAPSE primary sources, SyNAPSE archive and SyNAPSE research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “SyNAPSE”?
  2. Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
  3. Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
Subject index

Search terms from this dossier

Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from SyNAPSE” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.