SYDNEY, March 10 (Xinhua) -- Researchers in Australia have built an ultra-compact artificial intelligence (AI) chip that is able to make calculations using the power of light at light speed, potentially slashing AI computing's energy footprint.
The prototype, developed at the Sydney Nano Hub at the University of Sydney, harnesses photons rather than the electrons used in traditional computer chips that rely on electricity, said a university statement on Tuesday.
Published in Nature Communications, the study said the prototype could help develop more energy-efficient AI hardware as global demand for AI continues to grow.
The nano photonic chip uses light, which travels without electrical resistance, and the prototype performs calculations on the picosecond timescale, or trillionths of a second -- the time it takes light to pass through the nanostructure, it said.
The nanostructures together help form a neural network: artificial neurons that mimic the human brain to recognize and complete calculations, researchers said. ■
