Chips

Twas the night before Halloween, and Apple held a “spooky” event to announce some “scary fast” new products. The company unveiled its next generation chips, the M3 family, as well as the first iMacs and MacBooks that will feature them.

IBM Research’s lab in California is developing a prototype chip called NorthPole based on the architecture of the human brain. It holds the promise of greatly improving computer efficiency and producing systems that do not rely on cloud computing.

Last year, Monash University scientists created the "DishBrain" – a semi-biological computer chip with some 800,000 human and mouse brain cells lab-grown into its electrodes. Demonstrating something like sentience, it learned to play Pong within five minutes.

Computers destroy humans at chess, but there's not a single one that could go into a house and feed the dog. Intel's research-grade Loihi 2 neuromorphic chips are working on it though, drawing inspiration from nature's greatest necktop supercomputer.

A powerful new optical chip can process almost two billion images per second. The device is made up of a neural network that processes information as light without needing components that slow down traditional computer chips, like memory.

Heat is a major hurdle for electronic devices. Scientists have now found that nanowires made of a certain isotope of silicon can conduct heat 150 percent better than regular silicon, potentially leading to drastically cooler computer chips.

Highlighting the march of technology, IBM has unveiled new semiconductor chips with the smallest transistors ever made. The new 2- nanometer tech allows the company to cram a staggering 50 billion transistors onto a chip the size of a fingernail.

Engineers have created one of the smallest memory storage devices ever, made out of a 2D material measuring 1 nanometer square. The device works on the movements of single atoms, paving the way for memory systems with incredible information density.

Engineers at EPFL have created a new computer chip that can both process and store data in the same circuit. It’s made using a two-dimensional material called molybdenum disulfide, paving the way for smaller and more energy efficient electronics.

​We're getting one step closer to a portable, practical and affordable "cocaine breathalyzer," thanks to research being conducted at the University at Buffalo. Scientists there have created a chip that detects the drug in samples of a person's blood, breath, urine or saliva.

​When the water in a building's air conditioning system gets infected with Legionella bacteria, people can get Legionnaires' disease. Therefore, it's important to check that water for the bacteria on a regular basis. A new chip is promised to do the job faster than ever.

Intel has used CES to unveil a new kind of processor with a Radeon GPU built right into it. By embedding a Radeon RX Vega M Graphics chip into an 8th Gen Intel Core CPU, the new configuration can share power and data more efficiently and boost the graphical grunt in smaller devices.