- 4524
- LASER COMPUTERS
- Laser computing is more
effective than both supercomputing and quantum computing. The desktop-sized “LPU100” eschews
traditional electronics and qubits in favor of lasers, and it can reportedly
perform complex AI calculations in nanoseconds.
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------------------------------------ 4524
- LASER COMPUTERS
-
- LightSolver's LPU100 is based on
"quantum-inspired" technology.
Engineers have developed an optical computer, about the size of a
desktop PC, that can purportedly execute complex artificial intelligence (AI)
calculations in nanoseconds, rivaling the performance of both quantum and
classical supercomputers.
-
- The computer uses an array of 100 lasers to
perform calculations through a process called laser interference. In this process, an optimization problem
that requires solving is encoded onto physical obstacles on the lasers' paths
using a device called a programmable spatial light modulator. These obstacles
prompt the lasers to adjust their behavior to minimize energy loss, similar to
how water naturally finds the easiest route downhill by following the path of
least resistance.
-
- By quickly altering their state to minimize
energy waste, the lasers achieve a state of minimal energy loss. This directly
corresponds to the problem's solution.
The LPU100 then uses conventional cameras to detect and interpret these
laser states, translating them into a mathematical solution to the original
optimization problem.
-
- The LPU100 can perform complex operations
such as vector-matrix multiplications, a demanding computational workload, in
just 10 nanoseconds. That is hundreds of times quicker than the fastest
graphics processing units (GPUs) can perform the same task.
-
- Vector matrix multiplication is key to
handling complex tasks involving a large number of potential outcomes. One
example is the vehicle routing problem, a logistics challenge used in the
transportation and delivery sector to determine the most efficient routes for
vehicle fleets.
-
- The LPU100 identified the most efficient
route for vehicle fleets in less than a tenth of a second. The LPU100 outperformed traditional GPUs in
Max-2-SAT challenges, which are used for testing the efficiency of
logic-solving algorithms, as well as in the 3-Regular 3-XORSAT problem, a test
for evaluating the performance of algorithms used for handling difficult
problems that involve sorting through numerous combinations to find the best
solution.
-
- While the LPU100 employs what LightSolver
"quantum-inspired" technology, it doesn't rely on qubits nor the laws
of quantum mechanics. Instead, it borrows the principle of processing multiple
operations simultaneously at very high speeds, which classical computers cannot
do.
-
- According to LightSolver, the LPU100's laser
array can handle 100 continuous variables, theoretically allowing it to address
computational problems involving an astronomically large number of variable
combinations (120 to the power of 100).
-
- This makes it particularly well suited for
industries such as finance, aerospace, logistics and manufacturing, all of
which have resource-intensive data demands.
-
- Quantum computers require extremely cold
temperatures to operate and remain highly experimental, whereas supercomputers
typically consume large amounts of energy and need to be housed in
purpose-built facilities. By contrast, because the LPU100 lacks electronics, it
can operate efficiently at room temperature and maintain a compact size,
similar to a desktop computer.
-
- It is also built entirely from
"well-understood laser technology and commercially available
components. This makes it a more
practical alternative to resource-intensive quantum computers and
supercomputers.
-
- LightSolver now offers select enterprise
customers the ability to use the LPU100 through its cloud platform for problems
involving up to 1 million variables.
-
-
July 10, 2024 LASER
COMPUTERS
4524
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--- Some reviews are at: -------------- http://jdetrick.blogspot.com -----
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--- to:
------
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------ “Jim Detrick” -----------
--------------------- --- Wednesday, July 10,
2024
---------------------------------
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