The world’s smallest computer, developed by the engineers at the University of Michigan, is way smaller than a grain of rice, that is, 0.3mm in length, the university said.
Grunge reported that there has been a competition going on between IBM and the university for who can create the smallest computer in the world. And it looks like Michigan is winning.
Even though it is extremely tiny, the computer has RAM, a processor, and even transmitters and receivers. They use visible light instead of radio antennae.
The computer has a base station that gives it power, according to Digital Trends. Through the process of photovoltaics, light is converted to electricity.
Three Michigan professors of electrical and computer engineering, namely David Blaauw, Dennis Sylvester, and Jamie Phillips, developed the computer.
Is it even a computer though?
After IBM released its micro-computer, a debate regarding these devices sparked questioning if they could even be called computers.
Insider said that since the University’s micro-computer has a processor, it’s closer to being an actual computer.
However, it does not retain programming and data.
Blaauw admitted that the team was not sure either whether they can be called computers., Grunge quoted the university.
The device is primarily a temperature sensor, engineers say. A professor of biomedical engineering who collaborated on the project said that he was hopeful the “computer” could be used in oncology to sense the temperature of tumours.
Previously, small computers have also been used to study small creatures like snails. Other uses include oil reservoir monitoring and the diagnosis of glaucoma from inside the eye.
