ARM has renewed a research agreement with the University of Michigan to fund and collaborate with university scientists on ultra-low energy and sustainable computing.
The five-year, $5 million extension of the partnership will run until 2015 and focus on energy efficient cloud computing, wearable medical/lifestyle devices and ubiquitous sensor networks.
Previous funding from ARM allowed researchers to explore various aspects of ultra-low computing, including three-dimensional chip stacking, many-core processors, non-volatile memory systems and “power aware” architecture.
The University of Michigan researchers are led by Trevor Mudge, Bredt Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.
“Over a decade ago, Mudge recognized the future of computing was in miniature form factor microprocessors,” an ARM rep told TG Daily in an e-mailed statement.
“[He then] shifted his focus from the development of high-performance computers to the pursuit of new technologies for ultra-low energy computing.”
Indeed, during the first five years of collaboration with ARM, Mudge and his researchers developed an energy management system that enables mobile phones to automatically optimize their battery usage.
The partnership has also led to the filing of 40 patents and publication of numerous journal articles detailing the joint, ultra-low energy initiatives.
