Power consumption is one of the main reasons why you don't yet see a brain-like computer outside the laboratory: artificial synapses tend to consume a lot more power than normal synapses. Fortunately, energy efficiency is no longer a pipe dream. Researchers have created nanowire synapses that consume only 1.23 femtojoules of energy - for example, a real neuron consumes 10 femtojoules. They achieved this extremely low energy consumption by wrapping two organic materials that release and absorb ions just like real nerve fibers.
There is still a lot to do before creating a practical product. Researchers want to shrink their nanowires from 200nm to a few dozen, and they will need new 3D printing technologies to create structures that more closely mimic real brains. However, the concept of computers, with complexity at the brain level, is becoming much more realistic - the team said they can find applications from smart robots to autonomous cars and modern medical diagnostics.