Engineers Craft Lego-style AI Processor
In the realm of technological advancements, researchers are making strides towards creating a Lego-like design for artificial intelligence (AI) chips. A team of engineers from MIT has developed a stackable, reconfigurable AI chip, with their findings published in Nature Electronics.
The team, led by Jeehwan Kim, envisions a general chip platform where each layer could be sold separately, much like video games, allowing customers to choose what they want and add to an existing chip, similar to building with Lego blocks. This innovative design could revolutionize the electronics industry by offering modular architectures that enable device upgrades and reduce electronic waste.
While no single chip strictly described as "Lego-like" for smartphones and smartwatches has been announced, research in modular quantum processors and reconfigurable AI chips is progressing rapidly. For instance, researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have demonstrated a high-fidelity modular quantum architecture, connecting quantum modules with 99% gate fidelity, showcasing a scalable and reconfigurable system.
The focus on reconfigurability in AI chips is noteworthy. Chips capable of changing functionality post-fabrication to optimize for different tasks or upgrades align with the goal of reducing electronic waste by allowing a single chip platform to adapt rather than be discarded.
The broader semiconductor industry also supports the modular concept, with increasing focus on scalable, composable systems for data centers and edge devices. This trend could ultimately translate to consumer electronics like smartphones and smartwatches.
Meanwhile, a separate project led by Choi and Kim at MIT has resulted in a "smart" skin for monitoring vital signs. The team paired image sensors with artificial synapse arrays, each trained to recognize certain letters. The chip, stacked with three image recognition "blocks," can classify one of three letters, M, I, or T.
The design comprises alternating layers of sensing and processing elements, along with light-emitting diodes (LED) for optical communication between layers. The team fabricated an optical system between each sensor and artificial synapse array to enable communication without requiring a physical connection.
The chip can be reconfigured by swapping out or stacking layers to add new sensors or updated processors. The researchers were able to swap out the chip's processing layer for a better "denoising" processor, improving its ability to identify images.
Potential applications for this chip include enhancing cellphone cameras to recognize more complex images, creating healthcare monitors that can be embedded in wearable electronic skin, and developing modular chips that consumers can customize with the latest sensor and processor "bricks."
The research, supported by the Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy (MOTIE) from South Korea, the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), and the Samsung Global Research Outreach Program, is intended for application to edge computing devices. The team plans to add more sensing and processing capabilities to the chip, expanding its potential applications.
In summary, while prototype modular quantum and AI chips demonstrate principles needed for Lego-like, reconfigurable devices, commercial products specifically targeting consumer modular upgrades for phones or watches have not yet been widely reported. However, advances in modular architectures and reconfigurable AI hardware indicate strong progress toward that vision.
- The reconfigurable AI chip developed by MIT researchers, envisioned as a Lego-like design, could change functionalities post-fabrication to optimize for different tasks or upgrades, reducing electronic waste.
- By allowing customers to choose and add layers to an existing chip, this design could revolutionize the electronics industry and offer modular architectures for device upgrades.
- Research in modular quantum processors and reconfigurable AI chips is progressing rapidly, with teams like the one at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign demonstrating high-fidelity modular quantum architectures.
- The broader semiconductor industry is focusing on scalable, composable systems for data centers and edge devices, a trend that could potentially translate to consumer electronics like smartphones and smartwatches.
- A separate MIT project led by Choi and Kim resulted in a "smart" skin chip for monitoring vital signs, capable of reconfiguration by swapping out or stacking layers to add new sensors or updated processors.
- This research, supported by various institutions, is intended for application to edge computing devices, with potential applications including enhancing cellphone cameras, creating healthcare monitors, and developing modular chips that consumers can customize.
