World, meet “The Machine”. It’s not a phone, PC, workstation, or server, but rather, a combination of all these things, specially designed by Hewlett Packard (HP) to handle the massive amount of data produced from the Internet of Things (concept of a future network that connects everyday objects with common gadgets).
It does this vis-à-vis clusters of specialized cores, as opposed to the more typical approach of using a small number of generalized cores. Also helping to support the increased workload: everything’s connected using silicon photonics instead of traditional copper wires. This boosts the speed of the system while simultaneously reducing energy requirements.
In terms of storage, The Machine is outfitted with memristors, which are resistors capable of storing information even after power loss.
All of this adds up to a super machine that is six times more powerful than existing servers and requires eighty times less energy. According to HP, The Machine is able to manage 160 petabytes of data in 250 nanoseconds, a feat that would be perfect for supercomputer purposes and yet, it can be used in smaller devices like smartphones and laptops.
In fact, during a speech given at Discover, HP’s chief technology officer Martin Fink said that if the technology was scaled down, smartphones could be made with 100 terabytes of memory.
HP foresees the technology being put to use in numerous settings, ranging from business to medicine to your typical household. Samples are expected to be ready in 2015, and the first devices outfitted with The Machine will be ready in 2018.
Story via iflscience.com
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