Thursday 24 February 2011

First complete millimeter-scale computer developed

Scientists from the University of Michigan have made significant advances towards such a millimeter-scale computer, a field of electronics which is expected to expand massively over the next few years.

The "computer", an eye pressure monitoring system for glaucoma patients is only a few millimeters across. Similar systems could make practically anything "smart". They could be used to track structural deficits in buildings as they develop, they could be used to track pollution or make any object traceable.

The implantable eye pressure monitor. (Credit: Greg Chen)


They are once again in line with Bell's law, which states that about once every decade there are computers that are smaller and at the same time better at what they are doing than before. The law has held up with the 1960s' mainframes through the '80s' personal computers, the '90s' notebooks and the new millennium's smart phones.

I myself expect these "millimeter computers" to be the next great advancement in computing, although they will get competition from quantum computing over the next few years and decades as well.

Especially for medical purposes there are many possible applications for these devices, not just measuring eye pressure, but possibly replacing eyes, allowing blind people to see again, or constantly monitoring bloodstreams of hospital patients, so any dangerous changes can be counteracted at once.

35 comments:

  1. wow that is extremely small...

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  2. Seems small enough to swallow it by accident and never see it again.

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  3. Looking at the future, Man. You can't stop progress.

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  4. Simply amazing! We can't stop the progress of technology... soon we'll see cyborgs and stuffs like that at the corner of the street

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  5. seems like "ghost in the shell" could realy be our future...

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  6. i want one in my head

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  7. wish i was 10 again....need to live forever i love this stuff

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  8. Those 'millimeter computers' would be awesome!

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  9. I've heard about those screens that attaches themselves to the human eye, pretty impressive!

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  10. technology never ceases to amaze me...

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  11. Holy crap that thing is tiny

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  12. Looking forward to use this technology in the near future.

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  13. i friggin love technology. wow

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  14. There are numerous possible applications for this technology

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  15. ...hard to see the screen though :P

    Only joking awesome technology. Can't wait for mega laptops which have 100 of those in them :)

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  16. Thats crazy! Good post, you have my support.

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  17. wow - Skynet here we come

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  18. this scares me. the possibility for tracking everything and everyone doing anything is horrifying, but luckily that would be prohibitively expensive for some time yet.

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  19. Oh wow, it's so great to hear that a University here in Michigan is working on something so ground breaking!

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  20. Cant believe how small it is, good post.

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  21. its scary how efficient we are becoming

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  22. AwEsOme!!! very cool story, Just signed up to follow you!

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  23. I just want a computer that I can control with my brain

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  24. just a matter of time before we have computers in out blood man then they can always watch us!! nah but really love how technology is progressing

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