In the first real-world test of a revolutionary type of computing that thrives on random errors, scientists have created a microchip that uses 30 times less electricity while running seven times faster than today's best technology. The U.S.-Singapore team developing the technology, dubbed PCMOS [pronounced "pee-cee-moss"], revealed the results last weekend in San Francisco at the International Solid-State Circuits Conference (ISSCC), the world's premier forum for engineers working at the cutting edge of integrated-circuit design.
Conceived by Rice University Professor Krishna Palem, PCMOS piggybacks on the "complementary metal-oxide semiconductor" technology, or CMOS, that chipmakers already use. That means chipmakers won't have to buy new equipment to support PCMOS, or "probabilistic" CMOS. Although PCMOS runs on standard silicon, it breaks with computing's past by abandoning the set of mathematical rules--called Boolean logic--that have thus far been used in all digital computers. PCMOS instead uses probabilistic logic, a new form of logic developed by Palem and his doctoral student, Lakshmi Chakrapani.
"A significant achievement here is the validation of Rice's probabilistic analogue to Boolean logic using PCMOS," said Shekhar Borkar, an Intel Fellow and director of Intel's Microprocessor Technology Lab. "Coupled with the significant energy and speed advantages that PCMOS offers, this logic will prove extremely important because basic physics dictates that future transistor-based logic will need probabilistic methods."
Silicon transistors become increasingly "noisy" as they get smaller, but engineers have historically dealt with this by boosting the operating voltage to overpower the noise and ensure accurate calculations. Chips with more and smaller transistors are consequently more power-hungry.
"PCMOS is fundamentally different," Palem said. "We lower the voltage dramatically and deal with the resulting computational errors by embracing the errors and uncertainties through probabilistic logic."
PCMOS was jointly validated by Rice and Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore via a joint institute that Palem founded in 2007, the Institute for Sustainable Nanoelectronics (ISNE). Directed by Palem, ISNE is based at NTU, where the first prototype PCMOS chips were manufactured last year in collaboration with Professor Yeo Kiat Seng and his team.
The prototypes were application-specific integrated circuits, or ASICs, that were designed solely for encryption. Unlike the general-purpose microprocessors that power PCs and laptops, ASICs are designed for a specific purpose, and they are embedded by the millions each year in a growing constellation of products like automobiles, cell phones, MRI scanners and electronic toys.
The Rice-NTU team plans to follow its proof-of-concept work on encryption with proof-of-concept tests on microchips for cell phones, graphics cards and medical implants.
Palem said PCMOS is ideally suited for encryption, a process that relies on generating random numbers. It's equally well-suited for graphics, but for different reasons. In a streaming video application on a cell phone, for example, it is unnecessary to conduct precise calculations. The small screen, combined with the human brain's ability to process less-than-perfect pictures, results in a case where the picture looks just as good with a calculation that's only approximately correct.
"The key is to consider the value that the computed information has for the user," said Palem, who directs Rice's Value of Information-based Sustainable Embedded Nanocomputing Center, or VISEN. "Our goal is green computing. We're looking for applications where PCMOS can deliver as well as or better than existing technology but with a fraction of the energy."
If PCMOS can slash energy use for embedded ASICs in key devices, the implications are enormous. For consumers, it could mean the difference between charging a cell phone every few weeks instead of every few days. Globally, that would help reduce the information technology industry's carbon footprint.
"Based on our findings, we view PCMOS as a path to help IT become more 'green' even as it keeps pace with Moore's Law," said Palem, the Ken and Audrey Kennedy Professor of Computing, professor of computer science, professor of electrical and computer engineering, and professor of statistics.
Palem said he hopes PCMOS technology will enter the embedded computing market in as little as four years.
Palem's PCMOS research was funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and Intel Corp.
More than ever, there is a demand for IT to deliver innovation. Your IBM i has been an essential part of your business operations for years. However, your organization may struggle to maintain the current system and implement new projects. The thousands of customers we've worked with and surveyed state that expectations regarding the digital footprint and vision of the company are not aligned with the current IT environment.
TRY the one package that solves all your document design and printing challenges on all your platforms. Produce bar code labels, electronic forms, ad hoc reports, and RFID tags – without programming! MarkMagic is the only document design and print solution that combines report writing, WYSIWYG label and forms design, and conditional printing in one integrated product. Make sure your data survives when catastrophe hits. Request your trial now! Request Now.
Forms of ransomware has been around for over 30 years, and with more and more organizations suffering attacks each year, it continues to endure. What has made ransomware such a durable threat and what is the best way to combat it? In order to prevent ransomware, organizations must first understand how it works.
Disaster protection is vital to every business. Yet, it often consists of patched together procedures that are prone to error. From automatic backups to data encryption to media management, Robot automates the routine (yet often complex) tasks of iSeries backup and recovery, saving you time and money and making the process safer and more reliable. Automate your backups with the Robot Backup and Recovery Solution. Key features include:
Business users want new applications now. Market and regulatory pressures require faster application updates and delivery into production. Your IBM i developers may be approaching retirement, and you see no sure way to fill their positions with experienced developers. In addition, you may be caught between maintaining your existing applications and the uncertainty of moving to something new.
IT managers hoping to find new IBM i talent are discovering that the pool of experienced RPG programmers and operators or administrators with intimate knowledge of the operating system and the applications that run on it is small. This begs the question: How will you manage the platform that supports such a big part of your business? This guide offers strategies and software suggestions to help you plan IT staffing and resources and smooth the transition after your AS/400 talent retires. Read on to learn:
LATEST COMMENTS
MC Press Online