Qamcom, a knowledge-based research and technology consulting company within hardware, software and system development, announces joint research project and publication of article ‘Bendable non-silicon RISC-V microprocessor’. Published Sept. 25th, the article is now available on Nature.com, the world’s leading multidisciplinary science journal. The project is based on highly flexible, physically bendable, printed electronics where vastly reduced infrastructure is needed for manufacturing. The research collaboration shows the way forward for general-purpose computing using sustainable and low cost, low-carbon footprint computing technologies and tapping semiconductor expertise from higher education institutes and private sector research partners.
The article presents findings based on a joint project employing the award-winning “SERV” CPU designed by Olof Kindgren, Senior Digital Design Engineer at Qamcom, integrated in a comprehensive system developed by a team at Harvard and implemented using Pragmatic Semiconductor’s printed electronics technology.
The research paper cites: Semiconductors have already had a very profound effect on society, accelerating scientific research and driving greater connectivity. Future semiconductor hardware will enable new capabilities in quantum computing, artificial intelligence and edge computing, for applications such as cybersecurity and personalised healthcare.
Article and collaboration:
- The article presents Flex-RV 32-bit microprocessor core based on the RISC-V architecture enabling an ultra-low-cost bendable microprocessor – Integrates programmable machine learning HW accelerator to demonstrate less than 6 mW power consumption
- The joint project demonstrates how Flex-RV will pioneer an era of sub-dollar open standard non-silicon 32-bit microprocessors, and will democratise access to computing and unlock emerging applications in wearables, healthcare devices and smart packaging
Contributors
The joint research includes senior experts from Qamcom, a Swedish knowledge-based research and technology consulting company, Harvard University’s School of Engineering and Pragmatic Semiconductor, a leading manufacturer of flexible integrated circuits.
Authors: Emre Ozer, Jedrzej Kufel, Alireza Raisiardali, Ronald Wong, Nelson Ng, Damien Jausseran, Feras Alkhalil and Richard Price from Pragmatic, Shvetank Prakash, Vijay Janapa, David Kong and Gage Hills from The Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, and Olof Kindgren from Qamcom.
“Qamcom is an expert design house with deep knowledge of RISC-V, committed to sustainable computing and continual collaboration with expert partners,” says Olof Kindgren, Senior Digital Design Engineer at Qamcom. “Collaborating with like-minded experts from Pragmatic and Harvard for sustainable and low cost, low-carbon footprint solutions continues both my own and Qamcom’s dedication to turning technology into value.”