MIT researchers have created a computing platform that could be used to develop intelligent and adaptive next-generation electronics that can perform multiple functions, like computing and memory, within one extremely compact, energy-efficient device.
Such a platform opens opportunities for low-power edge computing applications, interactive medical and environmental monitoring systems, and smart robots.
The researchers accomplished this by leveraging the unique mechanical response of soft polymers at the nanoscale. A mechanical response is how a structure changes when a force is applied to it.
They harnessed this response to create tiny mechanical devices that use reconfigurable motion to remember and process information in a way that mimics how neurons behave in the brain.
Because key computing functions are built into the intrinsic properties of the soft polymer material, the number of components needed to perform the functions is minimized, enabling a compact and versatile platform for information processing.
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