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'Handwritten' numbers generated by integrated optical computing chip
An illustration of an integrated optical computing chip and "handwritten" numbers it generated. The chip contains an artificial neural network that can learn how to write in its own distinct style. The system uses "noise" (stray photons from lasers and thermal background radiation) to augment its creative capabilities and is approximately 10 times faster than comparable conventional digital computers and more energy efficient.
[Research supported by U.S. National Science Foundation grants CNS 1955196, CCF 2105972, ECCS 1542101 and ECCS 2025489.]
Learn more in the University of Washington news story Harnessing noise in optical computing for AI. (Date of image: Jan. 2022; date originally posted to NSF Multimedia Gallery: Nov. 19, 2022)
Credit: Seokhyeong Lee, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Washington
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