A new computer chip developed by researchers at IBM and Cornell University is based on the design of the human brain, and could signal a new era of super-intelligent computers.

For nearly 70 years, computer chip designers have relied on same general architecture to build their chips, according to Science journal. This “Von Neumann” architecture separates a computer chip’s processing and memory functions into different regions and continuously communicates data back and forth between them.

IBM’s new SyNapse chip, however, processes information like a human brain. It uses a network of more than one million “neurons,” which communicate with one another using electrical spikes. While still no match for today’s conventional microprocessors at mathematical operations, MIT’s Technology Review reports that the chip consumes significantly less power than traditional chips, and may be vastly better suited to processing images, sound, and other sensory data.

“Inspired by the brain’s structure, we have developed an efficient, scalable, and flexible non–von Neumann architecture that leverages contemporary silicon technology,” the IBM and Cornell researches write in Science. “We built a 5.4-billion-transistor chip with 4096 neurosynaptic cores interconnected via an intrachip network that integrates 1 million programmable spiking neurons and 256 million configurable synapses.”

According to The New York Times, the new processor may be able to recognize and interpret basic human functions that current computers continue to struggle with, such as a woman in a video picking up a purse, or controlling a robot to reach into a pocket and pull out a quarter.

“The novel chips could revolutionize efforts in everything from helping computers and robots sense their environment to offering new tools to help blind people navigate their surroundings,” writes Science editor Robert F. Service.