Most of our computers and other devices use digital processors to transmit data. Throughout the decades, we have leaned toward digital because it's more flexible and much easier to program. However, the company Aspinity says that it has finally broken the code for programming analog processors.
But what exactly is the difference between digital and analog? Analog data can be thought of as a wave, smooth and continuous, while digital are like steps on a ladder, discrete and binary, filled with ones and zeros. Most of the data we have in the real world are analog, and so, those data are converted into digital signals which can be processed by our devices and computers.
If we have analog processors transmitting analog data, then it will be a lot faster. Moreover, Aspinity says that creating analog processors that can accurately transmit and convert data might be a breakthrough in the future of computing as these will consume far less energy, about one-thousandth of the digital ones we have today.
The company says that they do not expect analog processors to replace digital ones, but they can complement them, being the processors that will always be turned on, doing all the "behind-the-scenes" work in the background, while digital processors will be on an "as-needed" basis, which should theoretically save on energy.
They have developed the first few processors, but it would take time for these analog processors to be manufactured at scale, so if all goes according to plan, they expect that these analog processors will be able to power about 30 billion devices by 2040.
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