Nanoscale Mechanics Could Enable Brain-inspired Computing
A new device uses reconfigurable motion to mimic the firing behavior of a neuron, which could lead to more efficient computing.
MIT researchers have created a new computing platform that could be used to develop intelligent and adaptive next-generation electronics that can simultaneously perform multiple functions, like computing and memory, all within one extremely compact, energy-efficient device.
Such a platform opens opportunities for low-power edge computing applications, interactive medical and environmental monitoring systems, and smart robots.
The researchers accomplished this by leveraging the unique mechanical response of soft polymers at the nanoscale. A mechanical response is how a structure changes when a force is applied to it.
They harnessed this response to create tiny mechanical devices that use reconfigurable motion to remember and process information in a way that mimics how neurons behave in the brain.
Because key computing functions are built into the intrinsic properties of the soft polymer material, the number of components needed to perform the functions are minimized, enabling a compact and versatile platform for information processing.
“Complex and coupled nanoscale phenomena can provide tremendous opportunities for new approaches to information processing and integrating multiple functionalities, such as computing, sensing, and actuation. This could enable levels of energy efficiency, autonomy, and reconfigurability in nanoscale devices and systems that are challenging to achieve with conventional computing platforms,” says Farnaz Niroui, an associate professor of electrical engineering and computer science (EECS), a member of the Research Laboratory of Electronics (RLE), and senior author of a paper on this device. “Here, we harness the intrinsic mechanical properties of materials to engineer device-level dynamics, such that the material building blocks play a much more active role in defining device functionality than conventionally considered.” The research appears in Science Advances
Read the original article on Massachusetts Institute of Technology