Microsoft Shows Off its Latest Analog Optical Computer
upstart writes:
Microsoft shows off its latest Analog Optical Computer:
Microsoft researchers in Cambridge have unveiled its latest iteration of an Analog Optical Computer (AOC) and have inevitably incorporated AI into the technology's capabilities.
The AOC harnesses light as a medium for solving complex problems, notably optimization challenges found in the worlds of logistics, finance, and healthcare. It uses different light intensities to perform operations such as addition and multiplication. It's also considerably faster at certain problem-solving activities than traditional computers, we're told.
The prototype is built from commercially available parts, including micro-LEDs, optical lenses, and sensors from smartphone cameras. Since the underlying technology - shunting photons along fiber optic cables - is decades old, much of the hardware does not need to be expensively exotic.
While the aim is for a durable and practical machine that can operate at room temperature, and yet still be 100 times faster and 100 times more energy efficient when solving certain problems than conventional hardware, it's highly unlikely to be appear on a desktop anytime soon.
Francesca Parmigiani, the Microsoft principal research manager who leads the team developing the AOC, said the system is "not a general-purpose computer, but what we believe is that we can find a wide range of applications and real-world problems where the computer can be extremely successful."
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