IBM opened its annual IBM Think conference with a collection of inventions and technologies of its brand, called’5 in5′. The company says these developments could change our lives over the next five years. What technologies do we see mentioned at the event? Artificial intelligence, the blockchain, and quantum computing. But inside the lectures, Mashable discovered a little news. IBM is building the world’s smallest computer.
Not much is known about this device yet, but the little we know is enough to get us excited. The computer measures only 1 mm x 1 mm. It’s smaller than a grain of sea salt. And apparently, it costs less than two cents to do it. We must clarify that the previous image is a set of 64 mother chips. Each chip contains two of these mini computers. Instead, in the picture below we see a single machine next to a pile of salt.
Regarding functions, this computer has a processor with’several hundred thousand’ transistors, an SRAM memory, a photovoltaic cell for energy. It also comes with a communications unit that uses LEDs and a photodetector to talk’ to the outside world. IBM says this mini computer has the power of a 1990 x86 chip. That gives you the possibility to play the original Doom video game, for example.
Could you imagine a computer with a screen and keyboard? You may have heard that any machine that can be instructed to perform mathematical or logical operations automatically is also called a laptop. So this tiny chip also counts as a computer.
What can you do with this microcomputer?
If you’re a fan of crypto coins, don’t worry. The computer works with blockchain. In general, this computer may be a source of data for blockchain applications. It is designed to help monitor the shipment of goods. And also to detect theft, fraud, and noncompliance with contracts. It also does essential tasks of artificial intelligence, such as organizing the data supplied to it.
But according to IBM, this is only the beginning. In the next five years, we will see devices like this mini-computer, integrated into objects and tools that we use every day. So said Arvind Krishna, IBM’s research leader. It is not yet clear when this mini-computer, or even its name, will be launched. But the company’s researchers are testing the prototypes.