Devouring solar energy to power processors.
The CPU scene is currently ruled by Intel and AMD, packing processors powered by electricity from the power grid into motherboards with hot chipsets. They need a decent amount of power to run, and while this is rewarded with some great performance it also means that incorporating them into other devices such as televisions or cars can prove difficult.
A recent consortium formed by the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry has spurred major players in the Japanese technology scene to band together to create their own CPU. Bringing together Fujitsu, Toshiba, Panasonic, Renesas Technology, NEC, Hitachi and Canon, they've pooled their resources and development teams towards developing a standardised CPU for all their devices.
The new processor will most likely not be x86 based due to the licensing restrictions imposed by Intel, but rather is more likely based on an ARM (Advanced RISC Machine) architecture that sees most use in smartphones and other devices. Power draw will be significantly limited to the amount harvested from a typical small solar panel (roughly 10W, though panel size and efficiency may vary).
Also in the pipeline is potential ways to harvest other sources of renewable energy such as biomass or wind power to generate enough to run these CPUs, but the bottom line is that all the devices made by the consortium partners would benefit greatly from the extra processing grunt, meaning we can enjoy more advanced features. It'll be interesting to see how Intel particularly react to the news, as their Atom chip at 4W relies on the 945 chipset that uses 8W, hitting 12W alone without the power draw of motherboard or memory.
Head to Forbes to check out the 'Super Chip', via bit-tech, and post below with which devices you'd like to see a processor in - maybe a DSLR camera with built-in Photoshop?
Issue: 111 | April, 2010