14 DAY TRIAL // Researchers from the United States have developed a new type of computer chip that is capable of performing imprecise mathematical calculations. The approach could yield impressive results for processing certain types of data, and also for reducing power consumption.
Specific information, say experts, could be processed a few thousands of times more efficiently than they are today. The issue with the new chips is that they have a high degree of imprecision.
For example, when you query such a chip as to the result of the equation “100+100=?” the computer will reply with a wide range of results, ranging from 198 to 202. This variation is within 1 percent accuracy of the correct reply.
It goes without saying that this type of approximate processing will not be useful for calculations that require precise data processing, but could be a lot smaller, less energy-demanding, and more efficient overall.
Many arithmetic circuits of the new type could be fitted on a single processor, a lot more so than possible with precise transistors, like the current habit in the industry goes.
But the innovative circuits could also be used for other things too. One possible application is in video algorithms, which experts believe could be retooled to tolerate sloppy arithmetic calculations.
The research, carried out with funding from the US Office of Naval Research (ONR), took place at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), in Cambridge.
In charge of the research were experts Joseph Bates, who is an adjunct professor of computer science at Carnegie Mellon University, and MIT Media Lab researcher Deb Roy. MIT graduate student George Shaw was also a part of the work.
“The difference between the low-precision and the standard arithmetic was trivial. It was about 14 pixels out of a million, averaged over many, many frames of video,” Shaw explains of using the circuits with a video surveillance software.
“No human could see any of that,” Bates argues, referring to the quality of the image.
“There’s a lot of places where the machine does a lot of work on your behalf just to get information in and out of the machine suitable for a human being,” explains Bob Colwell.
“If you put your hand on a mouse, and you move it a little bit, it really doesn’t matter where exactly the mouse is, because you’re in the loop. If you don’t like where the cursor goes, you’ll move it a little more. Real accuracy in the input is really not necessary,” he adds.
Colwell, who is a private consultant since 2000, was the chief architect on many of Intel's Pentium processors. It remains to be seen where the MIT group will head with this new technology.