The Imperial College of London informs of a qualitatively new way of computing. According to the report, the scientists have first successfully used nanomagnets to send and read information, which can be used in AI-like computing.
Why is that different from what we have now?
The first obvious benefit of new technology is cost-saving. Traditional AI computing is highly energy-consuming, and consumption doubles every quarter. The same refers to other technologies, like blockchain. For example, one bitcoin transaction equals 100 000 VISA transactions, according to statistics.
The bigger issue is that a lot of energy gets lost on the way. Conventional silicon-chip computers send streams of electrons through the wires and nods during processing and memory storage. A lot of the particles get lost on the way.
With nanomagnets, everything is different.
They can have different states based on their direction. To send information through the network of magnets, one has to apply a magnetic field, and it changes the state of the magnets based on the input field. The ability to read this change is a key to coding information.
The scientists in the imperial college learned how to count the number of magnets in each of the states once the magnetic field is sent through the network.
It’s worth mentioning that the technology of nanomagnets has long been known to scientists, but they couldn't solve the issue of how to send data through the network, ask questions, and get results.
Now, the data can be received by observing how magnets interact between themselves under the influence of the magnetic field. As the co-author of the research Kilian Stenning says: “the laws of physics themselves become the computer.”
This technology may potentially have a lot of applications. Besides, it can reduce energy consumption by up to 100,000 times. It can also allow AI where it is geographically difficult, like in the arctic zones.
The nanomagnetic technology would allow AI devices to charge from renewable sources, which is not currently possible due to their low efficiency for current energy output. New technology will enable using AI on weather stations in Antarctica directly. Currently, the data collected in the arctic zones get sent to the large data centers on other continents for processing.
Other applications of technology may include transportation, wearables, and other spheres.
For example, it can increase the effectiveness of wearables that proceed with biometric data, like the level of insulin, or turn effective in detecting abnormal heartbeats.
Since the start, the computing area has been trending towards hardware, software, and organization effectiveness. Therefore, traditional services shift to DevOps services, which are more cost and time-effective, conventional computing moves to AI, and even our laptops become thinner.
Also, the new approaches to design dictate simplicity and ease of use (read this article for more information: https://mlsdev.com/services/ui-ux-design)
In this overall rush to efficiency, nanomagnetic energy may be a game-changer.
Anyways, this technology is in the initial phase of development, and it requires time until it enters our everyday lives.
Author’s bio: Anastasiia Lastovetska is a technology writer at MLSDev, a software development company that builds web & mobile app solutions from scratch. She researches the area of technology to create great content about app development, UX/UI design, tech & business consulting.
