"Microsoft's Light-Based Computer: Solving Optimization Problems at Light Speed"
Originally Published 2 years ago — by Slashdot
Microsoft has developed the Analog Iterative Machine (AIM), an analog optical computer that uses photons and electrons instead of transistors to process data. AIM can solve complex optimization problems at the speed of light and has shown potential to surpass digital and quantum computers. It is built using low-cost and scalable opto-electronic technologies and is designed for math-intensive industries such as finance, logistics, transportation, energy, healthcare, and manufacturing. AIM provides a 100x increase in performance compared to digital approaches and is currently being tested by Barclays. Microsoft is releasing the AIM simulator as a service for selected users, including collaborators at Princeton and Cambridge University.