SNARC
No estimate
No hardware requirements for this model
The weights for this model have not been published, so it cannot be downloaded or run on your own hardware at any size. It is reachable only through its provider, and no graphics card changes that.
On record
Full specification
Everything on record for this model. Most of it describes how it was trained rather than how it runs — useful context for judging how much work went into it, and how it compares with models built at a different scale.
Origin
Who built this model, where, and when it was published.
- Organisation
- Harvard University
- Organisation type
- Academia
- Country
- United States of America
- Published
- 8 January 1952
- Authors
- Marvin Minsky
What it does
The problem areas the model was built for. A model can carry several of each.
- Domain
- Robotics
- Task
- Maze solving
Size
How large the model is and how much data it was trained on. Parameters are the figure that decides whether it fits on a given graphics card.
- Parameters
- 0K
- Training data
- tokens
The link below seems to suggest the SNARC had 40 cells, each with a dial that acts as a configurable weight. https://www.webofstories.com/play/marvin.minsky/137
How it is classified
Labels the source dataset applies when tracking notable models, and how confident it is in the entry.
- Why it is tracked
- Historical significance
- Citations
- 33
Sources
Where this record came from and when it was last checked.
- Reference
- A Neural-Analogue Calculator Based upon a Probability Model of Reinforcement
- Last updated
- 28 November 2025
What the numbers mean
What this model is
SNARC was published by Harvard University, in United States of America, in January 1952. It comes out of academia.
It works in Robotics, and is recorded as doing maze solving.
Its weights were never published, so it can only be reached through its provider. No graphics card changes that.
How it was trained
Its inclusion criterion is historical significance.
Answers
SNARC — common questions
How many parameters does SNARC have?
SNARC has 0K parameters. The link below seems to suggest the SNARC had 40 cells, each with a dial that acts as a configurable weight. https://www.webofstories.com/play/marvin.minsky/137. That figure is the total, and it is what decides how much memory the model needs — roughly half a gigabyte per billion at the compression most people use.
Who created SNARC?
SNARC was published by Harvard University, based in United States of America, categorised as academia.
When was SNARC released?
SNARC was published in January 1952. Capability per parameter has improved considerably since, so a newer model of the same size is often the better use of the same hardware.
What is SNARC used for?
SNARC works in Robotics, and is recorded as handling maze solving. These are the areas it was designed around; they describe intent rather than a hard boundary.
What GPU do I need to run SNARC?
None. SNARC is a closed model — its weights were never published, so it cannot be downloaded or run on your own hardware at any price. It is reachable only through its provider.
Is SNARC open source?
The licensing for SNARC was never recorded in our source data. We treat unstated licensing as closed, because an unrecorded licence is not one to rely on.
The other direction
Looking at it from the other side?
This page starts from the model. If you already own a card and want to know everything it will run, start from the hardware instead.