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Measuring the User For CPU Frequency Scaling

Posted by timothy on from the no-this-one-goes-in-your-mouth dept.

An anonymous reader writes "The Empathic Systems Project a Northwestern University demonstrate up to 50% power savings by controlling CPU frequency scaling based upon the end user. They measure the user with eye trackers, galvanic skin response, and force sensors to find a CPU frequency that the user is satisfied with. They are currently studying user activity and system performance on mobile architectures, specifically the Android G1 phone."

4 of 190 comments (clear)

  1. So does this mean by MiKM · · Score: 5, Funny

    Does this mean that clicking a button multiple times and yelling at my computer will finally make my it go faster? Sweet!

    1. Re:So does this mean by plut4rch · · Score: 5, Funny

      It's like a Turbo button but with your mind!

      --
      An intriguing solution to a problem that should never have existed in the first place...
  2. Overhead? by bcmm · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I cannot imagine that, in the near future, a mobile device will draw more power by just using full processor speed than it would by having to power all those sensors and interpret their data.

    --
    # cat /dev/mem | strings | grep -i llama
    Damn, my RAM is full of llamas.
  3. Way I read it by Moraelin · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Way I read it, it'll just make sure it goes just fast enough to want to make you scream for real anyway. I doubt that faking screaming alone will take care of the other variables they mention. But being genuinely stressed, probably will. And they'll underclock the computer until they start seeing what they consider an acceptable level of stress, regardless of whether you're actually screaming or not.

    I seriously wonder who comes up with that kind of ideas. If the user seems to actually be enjoying his experience at the computer for a change, by all means, let's start degrading his/her experience until he starts showing some stress.

    And it's good 'cause you can save a few watts! At the expense of probably reducing the user's life expectancy a little due to a constant baseline of stress, not just make him enjoy that life less. But it's teh green!

    How much self-hate does someone need to actually want to punish themselves to save the planet? I guess we'll soon know.

    --
    A polar bear is a cartesian bear after a coordinate transform.