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'Approximate Computing' Saves Energy

Posted by Soulskill on from the 1+1=3-for-sufficiently-large-values-of-1 dept.

hessian writes "According to a news release from Purdue University, 'Researchers are developing computers capable of "approximate computing" to perform calculations good enough for certain tasks that don't require perfect accuracy, potentially doubling efficiency and reducing energy consumption. "The need for approximate computing is driven by two factors: a fundamental shift in the nature of computing workloads, and the need for new sources of efficiency," said Anand Raghunathan, a Purdue Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, who has been working in the field for about five years. "Computers were first designed to be precise calculators that solved problems where they were expected to produce an exact numerical value. However, the demand for computing today is driven by very different applications. Mobile and embedded devices need to process richer media, and are getting smarter – understanding us, being more context-aware and having more natural user interfaces. ... The nature of these computations is different from the traditional computations where you need a precise answer."' What's interesting here is that this is how our brains work."

7 of 154 comments (clear)

  1. Re:It's a nice thought by K.+S.+Kyosuke · · Score: 3, Funny

    Actually, computers are already capable of computing with arbitrary precision - they're just incapable of computing with infinite precision.

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    Ezekiel 23:20
  2. Been there by frovingslosh · · Score: 4, Funny

    I remember Intel doing something like this back in the days of the 386, except without the energy savings.

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    I'm an American. I love this country and the freedoms that we used to have.
    1. Re:Been there by Dogtanian · · Score: 3, Funny

      I remember Intel doing something like this back in the days of the 386, except without the energy savings.

      Actually it was Pentium [wikipedia.org] which was a precursor for these processors.

      Near enough... he was saving mental energy by settling for the approximately correct answer.

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  3. Maybe now I can get respect here when I say by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Funny

    FSRT POST!!!

  4. Re:meanwhile... by lgw · · Score: 5, Funny

    Currently Slashdot is displaying ads for me along with the "disable ads" checkbox checked. Perhaps "approximate computing" is farther along than I imagined!

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    Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
  5. Re:Finally some better 'Ai' by Diss+Champ · · Score: 3, Funny

    It's just another example of the 'Approximate Spelling' technique. The parent poster is illustrating significant savings in mental energy.

  6. Re:meanwhile... by formfeed · · Score: 5, Funny

    Currently Slashdot is displaying ads for me along with the "disable ads" checkbox checked. Perhaps "approximate computing" is farther along than I imagined!

    Sorry, that was my fault. I didn't have my ad-block disabled. They must have sent them to you instead.
    Just send them to me and I will look at it.