Chinese scientists have created a superfast analogue chip that can solve complex maths problems for advanced scientific tasks and artificial intelligence (AI) while using less power than conventional computing, according to a paper published this month.
“Benchmarking shows that our analogue computing approach could offer a 1,000 times higher throughput and 100 times better energy efficiency than state-of-the-art digital processors for the same precision,” the team said in the paper.
These researchers have developed an all-analog photoelectronic chip that promises to revolutionize high-speed vision tasks. The chip, named ACCEL, combines electronic and light computing to achieve unprecedented energy efficiency and computing speed for vision-related processes.
Traditional digital computing units have long been limited by their energy consumption and computing speed when it comes to handling vision tasks. These tasks, such as image recognition for autonomous driving, robotics, medical diagnosis, and wearable devices, require high-resolution imaging, precise classification, and ultra-low latency.
The ACCEL chip takes advantage of the emerging field of photonic computing, which utilizes light to process information and perform computations. By integrating diffractive optical analog computing (OAC) and electronic analog computing (EAC) in a single chip, ACCEL achieves remarkable energy efficiency and computing speed.