Revolutionary new bendable processors cost less than $1 to manufacture

Processors continue to evolve as manufacturers find new ways to upgrade them. One of the latest upgrades comes in the form of a 32-bit bendable microprocessor that can run machine learning models even when bent excessively. What’s really exciting about these bendable processors is that they cost less than a dollar to produce.

The new microprocessor is based on the RISC-V open standard but is known as Flex-RV thanks to its highly adaptable design. It’s also made from a completely different material called indium gallium zinc oxide (IGZO), which is used to replace the more traditional silicon found in processors.

While a bendable microprocessor can run machine learning models, it inherently won’t be able to provide the most spectacular performance ever seen from a processor. But that’s because it only has 12,600 logic gates and a maximum clock speed of 60 kHz (about 0.00006 GHz for those more familiar with PC processors).

Despite these mid-range performance characteristics, the chip can be successfully integrated into hardware as a low-power machine learning accelerator. But Pragmatic, the manufacturer behind the chip, never intended to train AI models like GPT-4. Instead, the chip is designed to power disposable medical devices at the edge of the frontier of new medical-based devices, such as advanced health wearables, soft robots, and even brain-computer interfaces.

Such bendable microprocessors could prove very efficient indeed for powering small medical devices. 3D printed medical devices scientists test the pressure directly on the human body. With such low power requirements, it can also operate perfectly. The world’s first biomedical processorMade using human brain tissue.

The bendable microprocessor maintained accuracy even when bent to a 5 mm radius curve; This makes it ideal for use in small devices that may require steep bending to fit the processor inside them. Researchers responsible for the design of the new processor shared all the details In a new article published on this subject Nature last month.