Press release -
Artificial intelligence speeds up! A new electronic circuit to solve complex problems
Milan, March 14, 2019 – A group at Politecnico di Milano has developed an electronic circuit able to solve a system of linear equations in a single operation in the timescale of few tens of ns.
The performance of this new circuit is superior not only to the classical digital computers, but also to the futuristic quantum computers: it will be soon possible to develop a new generation of computing accelerators that will revolutionize the technology of artificial intelligence.
Solving a system of linear equations means finding the unknown vector x which satisfies the equation Ax = b, where A is a matrix of coefficients and b is a known vector. To solve this problem, a conventional digital computer executes an algorithm which takes several operations, thus translating into considerable time and energy consumption.
The new circuit, which has been developed in the frame of the ERC European project RESCUE (Resistive switch computing beyond CMOS), solves systems of linear equations (Ax=b) thanks to an innovative method of in-memory computing, where the coefficients of matrix A are stored in a special device called memristor. The memristor is able to store analogue values, thus a memristor matrix can physically map a coefficient matrix A within the circuit, thus strongly accelerating the computation.
The memristor array has been developed at the Clean Room of the Center for micro and nano fabrication Polifab of Politecnico di Milano. The memristor circuit has been tested and validated on a wide set of algebraic problems, such as the ranking of internet websites and the solution of complicated differential equations, such as the Schrödinger equation for the computation of the quantum wavefunction for an electron. All these problems are solved in a single operation.
These results have been published on the prestigious journal PNAS of the National Academy of Science of the USA.
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Politecnico di Milano is a scientific-technological university which trains engineers, architects and industrial designers.
The University has always focused on the quality and innovation of its teaching and research, developing a fruitful relationship with business and productive world by means of experimental research and technological transfer.
Research has always been linked to didactics and it is a priority commitment which has allowed Politecnico Milano to achieve high quality results at an international level as to join the university to the business world. Research constitutes a parallel path to that formed by cooperation and alliances with the industrial system.
Knowing the world in which you are going to work is a vital requirement for training students. By referring back to the needs of the industrial world and public administration, research is facilitated in following new paths and dealing with the need for constant and rapid innovation. The alliance with the industrial world, in many cases favored by Fondazione Politecnico and by consortiums to which Politecnico belong, allows the university to follow the vocation of the territories in which it operates and to be a stimulus for their development.
The challenge which is being met today projects this tradition which is strongly rooted in the territory beyond the borders of the country, in a relationship which is developing first of all at the European level with the objective of contributing to the creation of a single professional training market. Politecnico takes part in several research, sites and training projects collaborating with the most qualified European universities. Politecnico's contribution is increasingly being extended to other countries: from North America to Southeast Asia to Eastern Europe. Today the drive to internationalization sees Politecnico Milano taking part into the European and world network of leading technical universities and it offers several courses beside many which are entirely taught in English.
