Each year, IBM’s Think conference gives us a glimpse of all the innovations that we could potentially see in the future. This year, among the inventions showcased in “5 in 5” or technologies we can hope to use within five years, includes the world’s smallest PC.
The computer has dimensions of just 1mm x 1mm, succeeding the previous smallest computer which measured 2mm x 2mm. For context, it is smaller than a grain of salt.
Tech SpecsIBM
The PC is fully functional. It features “several hundred thousand” transistors. Memory is provided by Static random-access memory (SRAM), power via a photo-voltaic cell, while communications are done through LED and photo-detectors.
Within the next five years, cryptographic anchors — such as ink dots or tiny computers smaller than a grain of salt — will be embedded in everyday objects and devices.
To put it simply, the computer has the same processing power as any other from 1990, while being nearly invisible from world view. As The Verge notes, that will be enough for it to play the original Doom, which required an Intel 80386 processor and 4 MB RAM.
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Possible Application
According to Mashable,
It works with blockchain. Specifically, this computer will be a data source for blockchain applications. It’s intended to help track the shipment of goods and detect theft, fraud, and non-compliance. It can also do basic AI tasks, such as sorting the data it’s given.
It will be among the crypto-anchors which IBM claims can save the world as much as $600 billion a year in fraud.
The world’s smallest PC is also cheap to manufacture, costing less than 10 cents apiece. The commercial aspects and availability are anyone’s guess, though.
Via Mashable
